Question on backup retention settings

[michaelf]

Hello!

Having read the Backup section of documentation (https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Backup_and_Restore) I still don't understand the following: when adding a new storage (and by default its content type is set to Images only) I see the Backup Retention tab:


Q1: For what does this tab define the retention - for the whole storage I'm currently adding (meaning the storage itself must be backed up to some other location) or for the virtal machines that could placed to it?

Q2: If the answer to Q1 = "for the VMs to be placed on the new storage" then why does this tab is visible for the storage with the Content = Disk image (the source of the backup procedure) rather then for the storage with the Content = ~Backups (the destination of the backup) ? I mean I would expect the backup storage to have the retention settings, not the storage from where the VMs will be coping...

Thank you in advance,
Michael

 

[fiona]

Hi,
the retention settings only apply if you do configure backups as Content and are for the backups made with this storage as the target. In principle, we could disable the tab when no backup content is configured or show a hint, feel free to open an enhancement request: https://bugzilla.proxmox.com/

 

[michaelf]

Hi Fiona,
Thank you for the clarification!

Just one more question, please: "for the backups made with this storage as the target" - we are talking about the backups of virtual machines and/or containers placed on the target storage, right?

 

[fiona]

Hi Fiona,
Thank you for the clarification!

Just one more question, please: "for the backups made with this storage as the target" - we are talking about the backups of virtual machines and/or containers placed on the target storage, right?

No. It's when the backup archive is placed on the storage. It's not relevant for retention on which storage the guest images are (you can have guests with images on multiple storages after all ).

 

[michaelf]

hmm... maybe I'm missing something but "It's when the backup archive is placed on the storage." - as fas as I get it - means exactly the same as I was talking about: it doesn't matter where the VMs's images are located, it only matters to which storage they'll be backing up - that storage would define the retention settings of those backups .

Regards,
Michael

 

[fiona]

Oh, I see the reason for the confusion now.

I was reading it as

backups of (virtual machines and/or containers placed on the target storage)

and not as

(backups of virtual machines and/or containers) placed on the target storage

 

[michaelf]

Thank you once again!!!