Storage Lifecycle Policy (SLP) Planning Guidance

Problem

How do we determine the minimum number of Storage Lifecycle Policies (SLPs) needed for an environment?

Solution

Storage Lifecycle Policies are defined by destinations, consisting of a storage unit and a retention level and whether the storage unit is being used to write Backups or Duplications.

Using the attached spreadsheet as a template and referencing the table below as an example (with Server1-Policy/Full and Server3-Policy/Full), all the backup policy + schedule combinations that require duplication can be charted.  

 In the example, note that Server1-Policy/Full and Server3-Policy/Full both use the same Backup Storage Unit and Retention Level and the same Duplication Storage Unit and Retention Level.  Lines that contain the same Backup and Duplication combinations can be directed to a single SLP, since these are the same as what would be defined in the SLP itself. 

The attached spreadsheet may be used to assist in planning a Storage Lifecycle deployment.

Applies To

Applies to an environment where Storage Lifecycle Policies have been identified as the appropriate means for duplication and maintaining images in multiple locations at multiple retention levels.

Policies that require multiple copies/retention levels have been identified for the entire environment.

Storage Units that are supported within SLP are available within the environment and are configured properly to allow backups and duplications in the desired manner. (Note: Basic Disk is not supported for SLP).