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AI Data Engine

Explore storage optimization workflows in AI Data Engine

Contributors netapp-dbagwell
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These AI Data Engine workflows take you from identifying a storage problem on the dashboard through investigation and action to an ongoing monitoring policy. Each workflow follows the same path: dashboard, investigate, act, and save as a policy.

Identify and act on cold data

Scenario

You notice on the dashboard that a storage resource has a large amount of data flagged as cold. Cold files haven't been accessed within the configured cold data threshold, which defaults to one year and is configurable in Configuration > Settings.

Steps

  1. From the dashboard, identify the resource with the highest concentration of cold data and select Investigate.

  2. In Investigation, confirm the resources using the Last accessed filter set to match your configured cold data threshold (default: 1+ year).

  3. Review the results to decide whether to tag, archive, or delete the matching files.

  4. If these resources are worth monitoring on an ongoing basis, save the filter set as a policy so you are notified as new files go cold.

Identify and act on stale data

Scenario

Files that are still occasionally accessed but haven't been modified in years are classified as stale when they fall outside your organization's stale threshold (default: three years since last access or modification).

Note This threshold is configurable in Configuration > Settings.
Steps

  1. From the dashboard, identify a resource with significant stale data.

  2. In Investigation, apply the Last modified filter set to your stale threshold (default 3+ years).

  3. Review the results to decide whether to tag, archive, or delete the matching files.

  4. Save the filter set as a policy to track these resources across subsequent scans.

Manage data retention compliance

Scenario

Your organization requires that files older than a certain age are reviewed for retention. The default retention threshold in AI Data Engine is seven or more years since file creation. You can adjust this threshold to match your organization's compliance and retention policies.

Note This threshold is configurable in Configuration > Settings.
Steps

  1. In Investigation, apply the Last created filter set to your retention threshold (default 7+ years).

  2. Review the results with the relevant stakeholders before acting. Retention-flagged files are often monitored rather than automatically deleted.

  3. Create a policy with a monitor-only or email notification action so you are alerted as new files meet the retention threshold, rather than acting on these resources once.

Find and eliminate duplicate files

Scenario

Multiple identical copies of the same files exist across volumes or shares, a common issue in environments with backup jobs, data migrations, or shared project folders.

Steps

  1. In Investigation, select Add filter and then select Duplicates.

  2. Review the results. Files listed have one or more identical copies elsewhere in the catalog.

  3. Select files to act on and choose an action. Archive or delete confirmed duplicates that have an original copy elsewhere.

  4. Save the filter as a policy to track duplicate accumulation over time and receive notifications when the count increases.

Target cleanup by data owner

Scenario

Data meeting your organization's cold and stale thresholds is distributed across many owners. Identifying which data owners hold the most files in these categories can help you prioritize cleanup.

Steps

  1. From the dashboard, locate the Top data owners by reclaimable storage table.

  2. Select an owner row to open Investigation filtered to that owner's files.

  3. Review the results and decide whether to tag, archive, or delete files.

  4. Save the filter set as a policy to monitor how that owner's potentially reclaimable data changes over time.