How the file system archive retention works?

hello ​@Ajal 
Thank you for your great question!

every archive project, I note that to the customer retention policies determine the default duration for how long messages are retained on secondary storage (storage policy).

To simplify how archiving works

1- the file system is scanned to identify files that qualify for stubbing, based on the archiving policy.

2- the qualifying files are then backed up to secondary storage (Commvault library).

3-  a stub file is left in place of the original production data that was qualified for stubbing. Depending on the cleanup policy, the source data may be erased and replaced with a small locator file.

4- as i mentioned, the retention policy determines the default duration for how long messages are retained in the Commvault library.

apologies if my explanation isn’t the clearest! Please let me know if anything is unclear
Best Regards,
Mohamed Ramadan
Data Protection Specialist

​@Mohamed Ramadan  so that means after the retention period these files get removed from commvault library , which doesnt make sense . so the once the retention happens does it delete the stub as well ?

hello ​@Ajal 

That's another great question!

Yes, this is exactly what happens. To think about it simply, a stub file is a small file that acts as a pointer to the original source data, containing valuable file information such as reparse points and metadata.

Now, what happens if the data has aged? Of course, it will be deleted.

However, in some cases, we've encountered situations where the stub file isn't deleted as expected (troubleshooting issue). To address this, I use a Commvault tool called GXHSMutility, which helps collect a list of good ,bad , invalid, and problematic stub files...etc 

Best Regards,
Mohamed Ramadan
Data Protection Specialist