Purge Policy

Purge Policy
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Note

The purge behavior of MSS files with the class of service usage=normal is different than those with usage=backup. See the section called “Class of Service” for a description of class of service values.

Currently, the purge processing is performed once a week early on Sunday mornings. The following actions are taken by the purge program:

For MSS files that have a retention period greater than or equal to 30 days: if the MSS file will be eligible for purging 14 days from now the first purge email notice will be sent.
For MSS files that have a retention period greater than or equal to 30 days: if the MSS file will be eligible for purging 7 days from now the second purge email notice will be sent.
For MSS files with the class of service usage=normal: if the MSS file has reached the end of its retention period it will be moved into the trash. The trash expiration date is set to 29 days. If the the MSS file is not recovered from the trash before those 29 days are up, it will be permanently deleted, and will be no longer recoverable.
For trash MSS files: if the trash MSS file has reached its purge date it is permanently deleted, and is no longer recoverable.
For MSS files with the class of service usage=backup or temporary MSS files if the MSS file has reached its expiration date it is permanently deleted and is not recoverable.

Before an MSS file is moved into the trash by the purge processing, up to two email notifications will be sent to the owner of the file. If the owner of the top-level directory under which the MSS file resides is different from the owner of the MSS file, the top-level directory owner will also receive the email notifications.

Caution

Keep your e-mail address updated in the NCAR/UCAR People Search web site to ensure correct mail delivery. You will need to use your UCAS account and password to access the system.

Warning

Due to the timing of when the purge processing is run, MSS files can exist for up to a week after their calculated purge date and time. However, as the MSS grows, it may become necessary to change the frequency and timing of the purge processing. Thus, users should not rely upon this behavior (the unintended grace period) for the retention of valuable data.

Figure 5.1. The life cycle of a usage=normal MSS file.

Figure 5.2. The life cycle of a usage=backup MSS file.

Figure 5.3. The life cycle of a temporary MSS file.