Backup files not deleted according to retention policy

[foggy]

Most likely this is what has happened.

[dbrewood]

Well I'm happy to say after adding an extra 1Tb of storage VEEAM completed a backup last night. It created a massive incremental file, likely though as it had missed the designated day for the full backup, but after doing that it did clear out and delete the full backup and incrementals from 2 weeks ago. So I'm now more confident that the issue will be resolved once we complete the week and the next full backup runs at weekend.

[foggy]

Glad you're fine now. Keep monitoring and feel free to ask for assistance, if required.

[dbrewood]

Not a problem will do, fingers are firmly crossed

[bernpaquet]

Hi! We've been using Veeam Backup and replication V9 for 3 weeks now. We set up backup jobs to keep 7 restore points on disk so at the end a the weeks (friday) we send the chain on tape and create a synthetic full backup after. I Would expect that previous backups would be deleted but it seems that it even if we set the retention policy to 7 restore points, it keeps 14 restore points before deleting it. If someone could help me, it would be appreciate. since we are new to Veeam maybe we miss something on the configuration. Thanks for your help.

[PTide]

Hi,

That's expected, please see this article and animation.

Thanks

[shirag]

hello,

i'm using v 9.0.0.1715.
My backup mode is forever incremental .
The restore points pass the limit i set and my disk is getting off the limit.

what can be the problem?

Thanks

[Vitaliy S.]

How many restore points do you have configured in the retention policy? How many do you see on the disk and when opening the restore wizard?

[shirag]

i set 120 restore points and i have 134 on disk.
we start using veeam 4 month ago..

thanks

[veremin]

What kind of job is it? Backup or backup copy one? Can you provide us with with screenshots of job retention settings and full backup settings in case of backup job? Thanks.

[shirag]

sorry i'm still learning about veeam..
how can i know what kind of job is it?

*the settings at restore points to keep on disk : 120
*[V]configure secondary destinations for this job.

there is another place with settings about retention policy?

thanks

p.s
how can i upload a screenshoot? i can not see where i got this option...

[veremin]

This is a backup job, and this is a backup copy one. In your case, it seems to be a backup job. So, I'd like to see these setting as well.

In order to post image use [img]"Yourlink"[/img] construction.

[foggy]

Also, have you ever made manual active fulls for this job? What kind of restore points do you have on disk - how many of them are VBK files and how many are VIB files?

[shirag]

1)i use backup job.
2)backup mode is :incremental with no option to create synthtic full backups priodically.
3)i have 2 vbk files from each backup job and the others are VIB files. between the 2 VBK file i have 2 months .

[foggy]

3)i have 2 vbk files from each backup job and the others are VIB files. between the 2 VBK file i have 2 months .

Not sure why you're mentioning several jobs, we're talking about a single job, right? So the oldest VBK along with related increments will be deleted once the second chain (starting from the second VBK) will reach the specified number of restore points (120).

[shirag]

I think i understand now why it's not delete it..i didnt notice that i have 2 chain.
Can i delete the oldest vbk file manualy and the vib files that before the second chain?
thanks

[foggy]

Yes, in case you do not need them, they can be safely deleted. You can then remove them from Veeam B&R UI as well.

[adispy]

Hello,
I have a Veeam machine with some backup jobs and these backup jobs are set with one full backup every month and 30 RP. Backups take place once a day. When I look in the backup repository folder after a period o time, I see 60 files instead of 30; two full backups and the incrementals.

The question is why does it go beyond those 30 backups?

Thanks

[foggy]

Hi Adrian, the first full with the related increments should be deleted when the most recent part of the chain reaches the specified retention setting. How many increments do you have on disk after the latest full backup file?

[adispy]

I wanted to send you some screens but I deleted the backups before posting because of the lack of space. After the second -and the last- full backup I have ~20 something incrementals.
So it is one full > 30 incrementals > one full > 20 something incrementals.

It should be one full > 30 incrementals > retention kicks in and makes just one full. Right?

[foggy]

Not exactly. Please review the KB article mentioned above for details on how retention works for different backup methods.

[Natalia Lupacheva]

Hi @adispy,

just to clarify - did you configure forever forward backup mode with scheduled full backups?
If you check this animated KB, you might notice your situation looks like forward incremental.

Could you specify if you have enabled periodic full backups?

Thanks!

[adispy]

just to clarify - did you configure forever forward backup mode with scheduled full backups?
Correct. One full backup every month and the rest are forward incremental.

I really wanted to attach a screenshot, but looks like you don't have the option in your forum. I have to uploaded it somewhere in the cloud, which is very childish...

[Gostev]

There's no need for a screenshot anyway here, your situation is perfectly clear - and what you're observing is perfectly normal and how classic incremental backup with periodic fulls works: the entire previous backup chain must be kept until the last incremental restore point in the chain is still under retention, because that last increments is dependent on the corresponding full backup AND all the increments in between. Thanks!

[foggy]

And btw, if you have periodic fulls configured, then this is NOT the "forever forward incremental" backup method but rather classic forward incremental.