Erase Backed Up Data - Unix File System iDataAgent

Overview

The Erase Data feature allows you to permanently erase any data that was backed up. This is useful if you want to erase data so that it cannot be restored again. For example, you may want to erase data for legal purposes or compliance regulations. 

The Erase Data operation makes the data inaccessible for browsing and recovery - the data will remain on the media and take up space until it is aged off according to the retention rules set for the data. Data will not be recoverable using any data recovery methods. If the backup job is already content indexed, the data being erased will be removed from the index.

Using Erase Data, you can erase data such as Linux, HP-UX, AIX, Solaris, and IRIX files.

Prerequisites

The Erase Data feature requires:

• An Erase Data license to permanently erase data.
• The Allow Erase Data option needs to be enabled in the Storage Policy Properties dialog box as explained in the Configuring Erase Data.
• The MediaAgent must be installed on the CommServe.

configuring erase data

To erase data, you need to first configure the following:

• Assign a Filter Storage Policy for Erasing Data
• Enable Erase Data in Storage Policy

Assign a Filter Storage Policy

To erase data, a filter storage policy needs to be associated with the Agent. Ensure that the filter storage policy that you associate with the agent has retention criteria that is greater than or equal to the retention criteria of the storage policy for the data to be erased.

1.	From the CommCell Browser, right-click the appropriate agent icon and then click Properties. NOTES Your screen may look different from the example shown.
2.	From the Storage Device tab of the agent Properties dialog box, select a filter storage policy from the Filter Storage Policy list.
3.	Click OK.

enable erase data in storage policy

1.	From the CommCell Browser, right-click the storage policy you want to allow for the erasing of data, then click Properties.
2.	From the General tab of the Storage Policy Properties dialog box, select the Allow Erase Data check box.
3.	Click OK.

Running an Erase Data Job

run or schedule erase data job

1.	From the CommCell Browser, right-click the agent or instance that contains the data which you want to erase, select All Tasks and then click Erase Data By Browsing. NOTES Your screen may look different from the example shown.
2.	You are warned that the data will be permanently removed. Click Yes to continue.
3.	From the Erase Data by Browsing dialog box, click Browse. When a path is selected and a browse time is specified, all data that matches the path will be erased even if the data was not backed up in the specified time range.
4.	In the Browse Options dialog box, select a browse time range and any advanced browse options, and click OK.
5.	From the browse selection window, select the data objects that you want to erase, and click OK. If you need to erase data from a specific folder that is not visible in the current browse selection, you need to browse to a point in time to a backup that included the folder. Then, you can select the data under that folder to be erased.
6.	Optionally, you can click Advanced to configure an alert for this job.
7.	Click Job Initiation if you would like to run this job immediately or schedule it. Click Immediate and then OK to run the job now. When the job is done, Job Controller displays Completed. If Schedule is selected, click Configure to create a schedule for this operation. Your Erase Data by Browsing operation will execute according to the specified schedule. See Create a Job Schedule for more information.

using find to erase data

The Find feature allows you to search and locate data such as files, directories, and messages in a backup. Once located, this data can be erased. After erasing the data, it can no longer be browsed or restored. However, the data will remain on the media and take up space until it is aged off according to the retention rules set for the data.

1.	From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers |<Client>| <Agent>. Right-click Backup Set or Subclient, click All Tasks | Find.
2.	Enter search criteria. For example, you can type a file name in Name/Pattern to narrow the search. You can search for partial words without the need for wildcard characters at the beginning and/or end of the search string. These wildcards, or a combination of these wildcards, are supported: * for any number of characters e.g., Accounting*. ? for any one character e.g., user_group?. [] for a range of characters e.g., [a-k]Lee. [!] for a negation of a range of characters e.g., [!a-k] Lee. Click Search. The data that matches the criteria are displayed in Search Results.
3.	Select one or more items. Right-click the items and select Erase Selected Item(s). You can also erase data when it has been moved to Selected Items.
4.	Click Yes.
5.	Optionally, modify what will be erased by selecting either Browse, Add, or Delete. Confirm the data to be erased and click OK.

viewing erased Data

These features are available to view the data erased.

Admin Job History

You can view detailed, historical information about the Erase Data jobs in the Admin Job History Filter dialog box. 

To view admin job history:

1. From the CommCell Browser, right-click the CommServe, click View, and then click Admin Job History.
2. From the Admin Job History Filter dialog box, select the filter options that you want to apply and click OK.
3. The Admin Job History dialog box displays with the specified filter options.
4. Click Close.

view erased data in a Log File

The files have been erased can be viewed in the SelDelete.log file. For example, TempFil_00008.txt is a file that had been erased:

4836 17a4 10/15 14:37:10 1106 ::main() - 1: '/ext3/fsdm/HW_1/erasedata/TempFil_00008.txt'

To view the log files of a CommServe, MediaAgent, or client computer.

1. From the CommCell Browser, right-click a CommServe, MediaAgent, or client computer, click View, and then click Log Files. The Select the Log File to Open window displays.
2. To see a specific log file, either select the log file name from the list or type the name of the log file in the field provided. (In the Files of type field, Log Files (*.log) is displayed by default.) Click Open. The contents of the log file are displayed.

view erased data in an Erased data job summary Report

An Administrative Job Summary Report provides details of all the Erase Data jobs.

To create an Erase Data Job Summary report:

1. From the CommCell Browser, click the Reports icon.
2. Select Job Summary from the Reports pane of the Report Selection dialog box.
3. From the General tab, select Administrative Jobs and then select Erase Backup/Archived Data.
4. Select the filter criteria to include in the Erase Backup/Archived Data Job Summary Report from the various tabs (e.g., Computers, Selection, Options, Time Range).
5. From the Output tab, select the output format and/or save options for the report.
6. Click one of the following: Run to generate the report immediately, Schedule to schedule the reports for specific times, Save Template to save the report filter options into the My Reports node, or Close to exit the window.

See Erase Backup/Archived Data Job Summary Report for details.

Viewing Job History

Once an erase data job has completed, it may be useful to view specific historical information about the job, such as the following:

• Items that failed during the job
• Items that succeeded during the job
• Details of the job
• Media associated with the job
• Events of the job
• Log files of the job.

This information can be viewed in the Job History window. The history provided depends on the entity from which the job history is viewed. For example, viewing job history from the subclient level will yield information for the jobs performed for that subclient. Conversely, viewing job history from the instance level will yield information for jobs run from all subclients within that instance.

To view the backup job history:

1. From the CommCell Browser, right-click the entity (client computer, iDataAgent, instance, or subclient) whose backup history you want to view, click View, and then click View Job History.
2. From the Job History filter window select the filter options, if any, that you want to apply, and then click OK. The system displays the Job History window.
3. Once you have chosen your filter options, they are displayed in the Job History window.

   To view the additional options discussed above, right-click the desired job choose the appropriate option.

4. Click OK.

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