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Available Retention Options

Within Cloud4You Tape as a Service, tape-copy retention can be adjusted to organizational requirements.

The service can be delivered as:

  • one-time archiving,
  • weekly copies,
  • monthly copies,
  • multi-level GFS retention,
  • a custom retention policy.

For more advanced scenarios, we use GFS — Grandfather-Father-Son available in Veeam Backup & Replication.

Veeam supports the following tape levels:

Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Quarterly
Yearly

Each level can have its own retention period.

Retention options are selected individually

The configurations below are examples of possible service variants. The final policy depends on data volume, required retention, copy frequency, and the media-storage model.

Quick comparison

Option Frequency Example retention Typical use
One-time on demand 3–60 months or custom migration, system closure, archive
Weekly once per week 4–12 weeks current tape copy
Monthly once per month 6–36 months longer history
Weekly + Monthly week + month 4 weeks + 12 months standard multi-level retention
Weekly + Monthly + Quarterly week + month + quarter 4 weeks + 12 months + 24 months extended archive
Full GFS multiple levels according to policy multi-year archiving

Note

Retention does not have to match the table exactly. We can prepare a policy tailored to the customer's requirements.

Option 1 — one-time backup

The simplest option:

Backup:
one time

Retention:
agreed period

For example:

3 months
6 months
12 months
24 months
5 years

This option is useful for:

  • migration,
  • decommissioning an old system,
  • a major update,
  • project completion,
  • retaining a specific historical data point.

Example:

ERP backup
    ↓
one-time write to tape
    ↓
retention 24 months

More information:

One-time Backup

Option 2 — weekly

A backup is written to tape once per week.

Example:

Weekly:
every Sunday

Retention:
4 weeks

Possible options:

4 weeks
8 weeks
12 weeks

Flow:

W1
W2
W3
W4

After retention expires, the oldest medium may be reused according to the service policy.

Option 3 — monthly

A backup is written once per month.

Example:

Monthly:
once per month

Retention:
12 months

Possible options:

6 months
12 months
24 months
36 months

Example:

M01
M02
M03
...
M12

This option is useful when weekly history is not required but longer-term archive points are needed.

Option 4 — Weekly + Monthly

This is one of the most practical options for organizations that need both short and longer history.

Example:

Weekly:
4 weeks

Monthly:
12 months

Flow:

Weekly
├── W1
├── W2
├── W3
└── W4

Monthly
├── M01
├── M02
├── ...
└── M12

This model makes it possible to:

  • quickly return to one of the latest weekly copies,
  • retain month-by-month history for a year.

Option 5 — Weekly + Monthly + Quarterly

For customers requiring a longer history, a quarterly level can be added.

Example:

Weekly:
4 weeks

Monthly:
12 months

Quarterly:
24 months

From a business perspective:

Weekly      → 4 weeks
Monthly     → 12 months
Quarterly   → 8 quarters

Quarterly in Veeam

Quarterly is natively supported by the GFS Media Pool for tape.

Retention for this level is technically defined in months, therefore:

8 quarters = 24 months

Option 6 — full GFS

The most extensive option may include:

Weekly
Monthly
Quarterly
Yearly

Example:

Weekly:
4 weeks

Monthly:
12 months

Quarterly:
24 months

Yearly:
5 years

Flow:

GFS

├── Weekly
│   └── 4 weeks
│
├── Monthly
│   └── 12 months
│
├── Quarterly
│   └── 24 months
│
└── Yearly
    └── 5 years

This option is suitable for environments requiring multi-year archiving.

Option 7 — Daily + Weekly + Monthly

If a very short daily history is also required, the:

Daily

level can be used.

Example:

Daily:
7 days

Weekly:
4 weeks

Monthly:
12 months

Note

In most Tape as a Service scenarios, the Daily level is not necessary because the current history is already stored in the Cloud Repository.

Consider Daily only when there is a specific requirement to maintain daily tape points.

Option 8 — long-term archive

For environments with long retention requirements, the policy can focus on long-term levels.

Example:

Monthly:
24 months

Quarterly:
60 months

Yearly:
10 years

This option can be used for:

  • archives,
  • financial systems,
  • closed projects,
  • data subject to long retention periods,
  • systems with audit requirements.

Retention with tapes taken offline

For long-retention copies, it can also be agreed that after writing the tape is:

Export
   ↓
removed from the library
   ↓
stored offline

Example:

Weekly
4 weeks
remains in active rotation

Monthly
12 months
export after writing

Quarterly
24 months
export after writing

Yearly
5 years
export after writing

This model separates:

operational copies

from:

archival copies

Example — simple option

For a small environment:

Weekly:
4 weeks

Use cases:

  • an additional physical copy,
  • short history,
  • simple media rotation.

Example — standard option

Weekly:
4 weeks

Monthly:
12 months

A good starting point for an organization that wants:

the latest 4 weeks
+
12 monthly points

Example — extended option

Weekly:
8 weeks

Monthly:
12 months

Quarterly:
24 months

This provides:

2 months of weekly history
+
1 year of monthly history
+
2 years of quarterly history

Example — long-term GFS

Weekly:
4 weeks

Monthly:
24 months

Quarterly:
60 months

Yearly:
10 years

This model may be appropriate for environments requiring long historical retention.

Retention without media reuse

In standard GFS, a medium can be reused after retention expires.

If protection against rewriting is required, compatible:

WORM
Write Once Read Many

media can be used.

Veeam supports separate:

WORM GFS Media Pools

Note

Availability of WORM media within Tape as a Service must be agreed with Cloud4You before service activation.

How to select an option

Before selecting a retention policy, answer a few questions.

How long must the data be retained?

Example:

30 days
12 months
5 years
10 years

How quickly might a problem be detected?

If data loss or encryption might only be noticed after several weeks, retention of:

1–2 weeks

may be insufficient.

Are there formal requirements?

Check:

  • legal requirements,
  • customer contracts,
  • audit requirements,
  • security policy,
  • industry requirements.

Should copies be stored offline?

Possible models:

all tapes remain in the library

or:

Weekly remains active
Monthly / Quarterly / Yearly are taken offline

How much data needs to be protected?

With long retention, the number of required tapes depends not only on the number of periods, but also on:

  • data size,
  • LTO generation,
  • compression,
  • number of systems,
  • size of full backups.

Therefore, the final option should be selected together with the required media capacity.

How does GFS affect the number of copies?

Do not calculate the number of tapes simply as:

4 Weekly
+
12 Monthly
+
8 Quarterly
=
24 tapes

One GFS point may use:

one tape

or:

several tapes

depending on the amount of data.

When schedules overlap, Veeam also applies this hierarchy:

Yearly
→ Quarterly
→ Monthly
→ Weekly
→ Daily

If Weekly and Monthly fall on the same day, the higher GFS level takes priority.

Flexible retention policy

You do not have to choose one fixed package.

We can configure a custom policy, for example:

Weekly:
6 weeks

Monthly:
18 months

Quarterly:
36 months

Yearly:
7 years

or:

Monthly:
12 months

Yearly:
5 years

without Weekly or Quarterly.

Veeam allows unused GFS media sets to be disabled.

What should you choose?

For a typical environment, a good starting point is:

Weekly:
4 weeks

Monthly:
12 months

If a longer archive is required:

Weekly:
4 weeks

Monthly:
12 months

Quarterly:
24 months

For environments with multi-year requirements:

Weekly:
4 weeks

Monthly:
12–24 months

Quarterly:
24–60 months

Yearly:
5–10 years

Important

These are example models, not a universal recommendation. The policy should be tailored to the specific organization's requirements.

Summary

The most common options can be simplified to:

ONE-TIME
└── defined retention period

WEEKLY
└── e.g. 4 / 8 / 12 weeks

MONTHLY
└── e.g. 6 / 12 / 24 months

STANDARD GFS
├── Weekly 4 weeks
└── Monthly 12 months

EXTENDED GFS
├── Weekly 4 weeks
├── Monthly 12 months
└── Quarterly 24 months

LONG-TERM GFS
├── Weekly 4 weeks
├── Monthly 12–24 months
├── Quarterly 24–60 months
└── Yearly 5–10 years

Each option can additionally include:

  • media export after writing,
  • offline storage,
  • Media Vault,
  • WORM media, if available,
  • custom retention periods.

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