1. Code42 Support
  2. Incydr
  3. Using the backup agent
  4. Configuring

Specify version settings

Updated

Overview

The Code42 agent keeps multiple versions of each file as the file changes are backed up over time. Version snapshots can be downloaded from an archive to revert to a file's previous state. This tutorial explains how to change your version retention settings.

Considerations

This article describes how to configure the version retention feature if your administrator has not defined these settings. However, your administrator may configure and lock the version retention settings.

If the version retention settings are locked, they are disabled in the Code42 console. See your administrator to configure these settings.

How it works

Code42 is designed to keep more of the recent versions of your backed up files and fewer of the older versions.

Specifying the versions to retain involves:

  • Specifying versions to retain for each interval
  • Pruning unnecessary files from the backup archive (optional)
  • Specifying when to compact the backup archive

Backup frequency

The Code42 agent backs up new changes to files as often as your backup frequency settings allow. The Code42 agent watches the file system in real-time (unless that feature is turned off). When a file changes, the next backup is based on your frequency settings. For example, if the backup frequency is set to 30 minutes, then the changes will back up at the next 30 minute interval.

The Code42 agent retains the newest version in several intervals:

  • The last week
  • The last 90 days
  • The last year
  • Previous years

Version retention

Code42 selectively prunes out older file versions during the regular archive-maintenance process. This decreases the amount of data tracked as the archive grows, and it decreases memory usage in the Code42 agent. For example, two months from now, you might only need daily or weekly snapshots of a file, not hourly snapshots.

Avoid increasing the frequency or versions settings beyond the default settings. Increasing these settings requires the Code42 agent to use more system resources to maintain your backup. Even if you have a small file selection, increasing the version retention can cause a delay in backing up your files due to file monitoring.

Retention and storage vary by product plan
Data retention limits and cloud storage differ depending on product plan. For more information, see Code42 product plans.
Retain a single version of a file
You can tell the Code42 agent to only retain a single version of older files. This may be useful if you have large files that change frequently, but for which older versions provide little value. For example:
  • a database
  • Photoshop project file
  • iMovie project file
  • ProTools project file
To only retain a single version of a file, set your retention settings to:
  • Last week: every week
  • Last 90 days: never
  • Previous years: never
Please note that your retention settings apply to every file backed up to particular destination. In other words, if you are backing up to a cloud destination, your version retention settings apply to every file backing up to the cloud destination regardless of the backup set to which a file belongs.

Deleted file retention

If you delete a file from your device that was previously backed up, it remains in the archive for as long as indicated in the deleted files retention setting. Learn more about retaining and restoring deleted files.

Specify versions to retain

  1. Sign in to the Code42 agent. 
  2. Select Settings button Settings.
  3. Select Backup Sets.
  4. Next to Frequency & Versions, click Change. 
    Note: Your administrator may prevent editing the frequency and versions settings. 
  5. Select new backup frequency and version retention settings.
  6. Click Save.

Frequency and versions settings in the Code42 app

Remove unwanted versions immediately

Steps

  1. Sign in to the Code42 agent.
  2. Navigate to device preferences. 
  3. Select Settings button Settings.
  4. Click Destinations.
  5. Choose Run Maintenance.
    The Code42 agent sends a request to that destination to immediately remove unwanted versions from the backup archive.

Example

The following example displays the default configuration of the version retention settings:

Frequency and versions settings in the Code42 app

In this example, the Code42 agent retains:

  • One version every hour for each day in the last week
  • One version every day for dates between one week and 90 days ago
  • One version every week for dates between 90 days and one year ago
  • One version every month for dates over a year ago