Configuring Global Retention Settings

You can configure global retention settings to specify for how long the following data must be retained in the configuration database:

Configuring Retention Settings for Obsolete Snapshots and Replicas

If an instance is no longer processed by a backup policy (for example, it was removed from the backup policy or the backup policy no longer exists), its cloud-native snapshots and snapshot replicas become obsolete. Retention policy settings configured when creating backup policies do not apply to obsolete snapshots — these snapshots are removed from the configuration database according to their own retention settings.

Note

Global retention settings apply to all cloud-native snapshots and snapshot replicas created by the Veeam backup service. If an instance is still processed by a backup policy, but some of its cloud-native snapshots and snapshot replicas are older than the number of days (or months) specified in the global retention settings, these cloud-native snapshots and snapshot replicas will be removed from Veeam Backup for AWS.

To configure retention settings for obsolete snapshots and replicas, do the following:

  1. Switch to the Configuration page.
  1. Navigate to General > Retention.
  2. In the Obsolete snapshots retention section, select one of the following options:

If you select this option, Veeam Backup for AWS will first wait for the specified period of time after an instance stops being processed by a backup policy, and then will remove its obsolete snapshots from the configuration database as soon as the period is over.

  1. Click Save.

Note

When Veeam Backup for AWS removes an obsolete snapshot from the configuration database, it also removes the snapshot from AWS.

Configuring Retention Settings for Session Records

Veeam Backup for AWS stores records for all sessions of performed data protection and disaster recovery operations in the configuration database on the additional data disk attached to the backup appliance. These session records are removed from the configuration database according to their own retention settings.

To configure retention settings for session records, do the following:

  1. In the Session logs retention section, select one of the following options:

If you select this option, Veeam Backup for AWS will remove all session records that are older than the specified time limit.

  1. Click Save.

Important

Retaining all session records in the configuration database may overload the data EBS volume. By default, the volume comes with 20 GB of storage capacity. If you choose not to remove sessions records at all, consider increasing the volume capacity to avoid runtime problems.

Specifying Global Retention