Description

Ensure instance and volume snapshots and backups older than the organization's retention period are deleted, so only the backups that are needed are kept.

Rationale

Old snapshots increase cost and may contain outdated sensitive data that should have been deleted under data retention rules. Keeping them longer than needed increases the amount of data that could be exposed. Removing them according to policy keeps storage clean and compliant.

Impact

  • Reduces storage costs

  • Removes outdated sensitive data

  • Deleted snapshots cannot be recovered

Default Value

Snapshots are kept until they are deleted. Automated backups created by workflows follow the rotation you choose.

Pre-Requisites

  • Permission to manage the Public Cloud project

  • A defined retention period

Test Plan

  1. Log in to the OVHcloud Control Panel at https://www.ovh.com/manager/.

  2. In the left-hand menu, select Public Cloud and choose your project.

  3. Review instance backups in Instance Backup (under Compute), and volume snapshots and backups in Volume Snapshot and Volume Backup (under Storage).

  4. Identify any older than your retention period.

  5. If any are found, follow the implementation steps.

Implementation Steps

  1. Log in to the OVHcloud Control Panel at https://www.ovh.com/manager/.

  2. In the left-hand menu, select Public Cloud and choose your project.

  3. For each old snapshot or backup, confirm it is not needed, then open its ⋯ menu and delete it.

  4. For automated backups, review the rotation of the workflow in Workflow Management (under Compute) so it matches your retention period.

Backout Plan

  1. Deleted snapshots cannot be restored. Create a new snapshot if one is needed.

Reference