Storage Policies Overview

• A Storage Manager storage policy defines how the Storage Manager feature manages files in a directory and its subdirectories. Specifically, these are the available Storage Manager storage policy settings:

  • Number of copies to create

  • Media type to use when storing data

  • Amount of time to store data after data is modified

  • If disk-to-disk relocation is enabled, the amount of time (in days) before relocating a file

  • Amount of time before truncating a file after a file is modified

• A Storage Manager storage policy is used to make copies of files to tape or to storage disk, and also to relocate files between stripe groups within a file system.
• A Storage Manager storage policy does not control replication or deduplication.

• Number of copies to create
• Media type to use when storing data
• Amount of time to store data after data is modified
• If disk-to-disk relocation is enabled, the amount of time (in days) before relocating a file
• Amount of time before truncating a file after a file is modified

Storage policies can be related to one or more directories. In this situation, all files in that directory and sub-directories are governed by the storage policy.

Note: The connection between a storage policy and a directory is called the relation point.

• A directory in which to store backups every night is created. This directory is seldom accessed after the files are copied over. A storage policy could be set up to create two tape copies of the files, store one copy of the files to LTO media after residing on disk for 10 minutes, and then truncate the other set of files immediately after storing the other set to tape in order to free up disk space. This policy can be associated with a directory such as: /sandsm/dsm1/backup.
• A directory has been created to store all documents that are accessed frequently, and if truncated, need to be retrieved quickly. In this cas, the policy could be configured to create a single tape copy, store the files to LTO media 15 minutes after being on disk, and then truncate after 60 days of non-use. This policy can be associated with a directory such as: /sandsm/dsm1/docs.

A Replication/Deduplication storage policy defines the parameters governing the data replication process, including inbound and outbound replication parameters, and enabling or disabling data deduplication and truncation.