GFS Policy: Questions and Answers
Q: Why should I use the GFS policy?
A: Of course, using the GFS policy is optional. The GFS policy can be useful when your business model requires regular full backup copy creation. Backups are accumulated on backup storage, and sooner or later the amount of backup data may become quite large with appropriate storage cost growth. The GFS policy helps you optimizing storage size and reduce your expenses along with keeping your backups for long periods of time.
Q: I already have a configured GFS policy and I want to change its settings. What happens to the restore points that are already marked by GFS policy?
A: Nothing. Restore points that were previously marked as GFS restore points will be kept on backup storage according to the operative GFS settings at the moment the GFS policy was applied. Once you modify the GFS policy settings, it will be applied to subsequent backups.
Q: If I enable the GFS policy, would it create new separate backups?
A: No. Backups are created according to the schedule you specify and then GFS policy is applied. However, keep in mind that the GFS policy applies only to backups that are created after the policy is enabled in the backup plan settings.
Q: What happens to my previous backups after I applied the GFS policy?
A: Nothing. They are subject to purge according to the regular retention policy settings.
Q: What if I need to delete GFS restore points?
A: You can delete them manually on the Backup Storage tab.
Q: I have applied the GFS policy some time ago and now see in the Backup Storage tab two yearly backups in a row. Why?
A: This indicates that you configured the GFS policy in such a way that you specified the month for the yearly backup which follows straight after the current period ends. This is normal GFS policy behavior. If required, modify your GFS settings, but keep in mind that restore points that were already selected for GFS will not be changed.
Q: I noticed some incremental restore points disappeared in the GFS-marked generation. Why?
A: Once the GFS policy is applied, the generation is kept on backup storage (including full and incremental restore points). As soon as the specified regular retention policy ends, the incremental restore points that follow the first successful one will be truncated in the generation. So, this means that you noticed the situation at the moment when the regular retention policy was already applied.
Q: What happens if I force full backup after the GFS policy was applied?
A: Any full backup in case it is successful will also become a subject of the GFS policy and may be selected by the GFS keeping period assignment mechanism.
Q: I have configured the GFS policy with the enabled weekly keeping period with 2 weeks duration. Two months have passed and it is still not deleted. Why?
A: This means that you have such regular retention policy settings with a long purge delay. It is not recommended to the Keep backup for: value longer than GFS keeping periods. Edit the retention policy settings in the corresponding backup plan.
Q: I have configured the GFS policy and left the backup plan running by schedule. Several backups have been executed, but I do not see any GFS restore points. Why?
A: This means that you have no successful restore points. The GFS policy is applied to successful restore points only. Check your backup plan for errors. You can do it on the History tab.
Q: I do not use GUI. Is it possible to enable the GFS policy for my backups?
A: Sure it is! Use the GFS parameters in the adding or editing backup plan CLI command to enable and customize the GFS policy. To learn more how to do it, refer to the Configuring GFS Using Command Line Interface chapter