V11 Best uses for retention

[TheFiveB]

Hi All,

I think I have a poor knowledge of the best uses of the retention policy.
I am using V11, so i can use GFS for first backup job.

I want to backup some VM like this:
- Backup once a day
- Keep the last 15 days (1 full by weeks and incremental between)
- Keep a full once a week for 4 weeks
- Keep a full once a month for 12 month
- Keep a full one a year for 5 years

I Have tried using a single backup job like this:
- "Retention Policies": 15 restore points
- Checked "Keep certain full backups longer for archival purpose" with on the configure button: weekly for 4 weeks, montly for 12 months and yearly for 5 years

But it didn't work, it only keeps the last 15 points, so if i want it works like i want, i need to count 15 days + 4 weeks + 12 months + 5 years so a total of 36 restore points?
So i need to change this:
- "Retention Policies": 36 restore points

Thats the best use for my case?

I will use the seconday destination also, but i want to be sure that i use the first backup correctly before

Thanks

[PetrM]

Hello and Welcome to Veeam R&D Forums!

Your current configuration is fine and you should keep 15 restore points, this number controls only the short-term retention policy.

May I ask you to clarify why do you think that GFS did not work? I suggest to review this page to get a better idea of GFS-flags assignment. I believe your oldest full should have a corresponding flag.

Thanks!

[foggy]

You should stick to the settings you've configured initially but keep in mind that you need to enable periodic fulls for GFS flags to be assigned. Please review the GFS retention algorithm description for a better understanding of how it works in v11.

[TheFiveB]

I think i have a problem because i created the backup job more than 1 year ago (11/12/2020) and i have only 18 restore points.....
So i'm doing something wrong

Config




Restore point:

[foggy]

So we can see that GFS is working - you have three weekly points one of which is a monthly point as well. The question is why the fourth weekly backup is missing and there's just a single monthly one - I recommend opening a case with our technical support to take a closer look at your job settings and log files to identify possible causes.