Deleting Backups

With NAKIVO Backup & Replication, you can permanently delete a backup with all of its recovery points if this backup is available in a Backup Repository. You can also delete specific recovery points in a backup without affecting any of the other recovery points. The option to delete a specific recovery point can be used if you get an alert about corrupted recovery points in a backup.

Refer to one of the following sections:

Rules and Limitations

You cannot delete a backup or recovery point if it is in use or associated with a job. To remove such a backup or recovery point, delete the corresponding jobs.

For a Forever-incremental Backup Repository (that is, when the Store backups in separate files option is not selected), the space that was occupied by the deleted backup or recovery point is marked “free” and reused by new data blocks on subsequent job runs. However, the actual size of the Backup Repository may not change. To free up the space occupied by the deleted backup or recovery point, you can reclaim the free space.

For SaaS Backup Repositories, manually removing backup data may not return space to the operating system correctly.

You can select to delete a single recovery point, all corrupted recovery points, or all recovery points older than a specified number of days.

The Delete action is disabled:

  • For recovery points of the backup of VMware Cloud Director VMs underlying vApps

  • For the only remaining and/or uncorrupted recovery point, except in the cases system.repository.remove.backups.recoverypoints setting is enabled. The recovery point is set to be removed automatically according to the configured retention policy. In this case, removal of the last recovery point removes the corresponding backup object and data pertaining thereto.

  • For the recovery point, if there is at least one other recovery point, depending on the current recovery point

  • For missing backup objects

  • For pending removal recovery points

  • For backups and recovery points in inconsistent repositories

Deleting Backup Data

To delete a backup permanently, follow the steps below:

  1. In the main menu, click Settings.

  2. Go to the Repositories tab and click the Backup Repository you need.

  3. Hover over the backup you want to delete, and on the right side, click Delete.

  4. (Optional) If you need to remove a recovery point:

    1. Select the backup, and hover over the recovery point you want to delete from the Recovery points list.

    2. Click the ellipsis Manage button and select Delete.

  5. In the dialog box that opens, click Delete to confirm.

Deleting Backup Data in Bulk

To permanently delete several backups that match specific criteria, follow the steps below:

  1. In the main menu, click Settings.

  2. Go to the Repositories tab and hover over the Backup Repository you need.

  3. Click the ellipsis Manage button and then click Delete backups in bulk.

  4. In the Bulk Delete Backup dialog box that opens, select one of the available options for deleting backups:

    • All backups not belonging to any job

    • All backups not belonging to any job and older than X <time_units>, where X is an integer and <time_units> is either days, weeks, or months

  5. Alternatively, in the Bulk Delete Backups dialog box, select one of the available options for deleting recovery points:

    • All recovery points older than X <time_units>, where X is an integer and <time_units> is either days, weeks, or months. When selected, the recovery points that are older than the specified time interval are deleted. If all recovery points match the deletion criteria, the latest one is not deleted.

    • All legacy recovery points not belonging to any job and older than X <time_units>, where X is an integer and <time_units> is either days, weeks, or months. Selecting this option to delete legacy recovery points that:

      • Do not belong to any job

      • Have no expiration date

      • Are not marked as Keep forever

      • Exceed the specified time interval

      • Additional rules:

        • Forever-incremental repositories (Store backups in separate files = disabled)

          • Deletes recovery points older than the specified interval

          • If all recovery points match, the latest recovery point is preserved.

        • Incremental-with-full repositories (Store backups in separate files = enabled)

          • Deletes recovery points older than the specified interval

          • Recovery points with dependencies outside the interval are not deleted.

          • If all recovery points match, the latest full recovery point is preserved.

    • All corrupted recovery points: When this option is selected, all recovery points that are corrupted are deleted.

      • Additional rules:

        • Forever-incremental repositories (Store backups in separate files = disabled)

          • If all recovery points are corrupted, the latest recovery point is preserved

        • Incremental-with-full repositories (Store backups in separate files = enabled)

          • Also deletes recovery points dependent on corrupted ones

          • If all recovery points are corrupted or depend on corrupted ones, the latest full recovery point is preserved.

    • All missing recovery points: When selected, all missing recovery points are deleted.

      • Additional rules

        • Forever-incremental repositories (Store backups in separate files = disabled)

          • Deletes all missing recovery points

          • If all recovery points are missing, the latest recovery point is preserved.

          • Recovery points of deleted backup objects (e.g., manually removed from source) are excluded.

        • Incremental-with-full repositories (Store backups in separate files = enabled)

          • Deletes missing recovery points and those dependent on them

          • If all recovery points are missing or depend on missing ones, the latest full recovery point is preserved.

  6. The dialog also shows the number of backups or recovery points to be deleted.

  7. Click Next. The Bulk Delete Backups (or Bulk Delete Recovery Points) dialog box opens, displaying the list of backups (or recovery points) to be deleted.

  8. Click Delete to confirm the deletion.