Creating a proposed ILM policy

You can create a proposed ILM policy from scratch, or you can clone the current active policy if you want to start with the same set of rules.

1. Select ILM > Policies.
   The ILM Policies page appears.

   Note: The Baseline 2 Copies Policy is the system's default policy, and it applies until you activate another policy. The stock ILM rule, Make 2 Copies, is the only ILM rule in the default ILM policy. This rule creates two replicated copies of all objects and stores them forever.

   From the ILM Policies page, you can review the proposed, active, and historical policies; create, edit, or remove a proposed policy; clone the active policy; or view the details for any policy.

   
   
   

   Note: If the global Compliance setting is enabled, the ILM Policies page indicates which ILM rules are compliant.
2. Determine how you want to create the proposed ILM policy.

   Option	Steps
   Create a new proposed policy that has no rules already selected	If a proposed ILM policy currently exists, select that policy, and click Remove. You cannot create a new proposed policy if a proposed policy already exists. Click Create Proposed Policy.
   Create a proposed policy based on the active policy	If a proposed ILM policy currently exists, select that policy, and click Remove. You cannot clone the active policy if a proposed policy already exists. Select the active policy from the table. Click Clone.
   Edit the existing proposed policy	Select the proposed policy from the table. Click Edit.

   The Configure ILM Policy dialog box appears.

   If you are creating a new proposed policy, all fields are blank and no rules are selected.

   
   
   

   If you are cloning the active policy, the Name field shows the name of the active policy, appended by a version number ("v2" in the example). The rules used in the active policy are selected and shown in their current order.

   

3. Enter a unique name for the proposed policy in the Name field.
   You must enter between 1 and 64 characters. If you are cloning the active policy, you can use the current name with the appended version number or you can enter a new name.
4. Enter the reason you are creating a new proposed policy in the Reason for change field.
   You must enter between 1 and 128 characters.
5. To add rules to the policy, click Select Rules.
   The Select Rules for Policy dialog box appears, with all defined rules listed. If you are cloning the active policy, any rules that are currently in use are selected.

   
   
   

6. Select and unselect the check boxes to choose the rules you want to add to the proposed policy.
   You can click the rule name or the more details icon to view the settings for each rule. Click Close when you are done viewing rule details.

   
   
   

7. When you are done selecting rules for the proposed policy, click Apply.
8. Drag the rows to reorder the rules in the proposed policy.
   Attention: You must confirm that the ILM rules are in the correct order. When the policy is applied to an object, object metadata is evaluated by the rules in the order listed, starting at the top.
9. Select the radio button to specify which rule you want to be the default rule for this policy.
   Every ILM policy must contain one default ILM rule. The placement instructions for the default rule are applied to any objects that are not matched by the other rules in the policy.

   In this example policy, the first rule applies only to .png files. The default rule applies to all other objects.

   
   
   

   Attention: A warning appears if the default rule you select does not retain objects forever. You must confirm this is the behavior you expect. Otherwise, any objects that are not matched by other rules in the policy will be deleted when the placement instructions for the default rule elapse (unless a bucket lifecycle keeps the objects for longer).

   In this example policy, the first rule applies only to larger objects. The default rule, which applies to all remaining objects, retains objects for 2 years. In this example, you must confirm that deleting smaller objects after 2 years (730 days) is the behavior you expect.

   
   
   

   Note: If the global Compliance setting is enabled, the default rule must be a compliant rule.
10. As required, click the delete icon to delete any rules that you do not want in the policy, or click Select Rules to add more rules.
11. When you are done, click Save.
    The ILM Policy page updates, and the policy you saved is shown as Proposed. Proposed policies do not have start and end dates. The Simulate and Activate buttons are now enabled.