Here at MSP360, we are constantly improving our Backup software and adding new features to make your backup routines more convenient and reliable. In this guide, we introduce the new version of MSP360 Backup, version 7.2, with an important Immutability feature. Read on to learn more.
Please note that this feature is currently in BETA and is supported in the new backup format only.
What Is Immutability?
The Immutability feature prevents backup data from being overwritten or deleted within a period specified in the GFS retention policy settings. This mechanism allows you to configure additional retention policy rules to protect the integrity of the data. It simplifies meeting compliance requirements and working in legal cases concerning data maintenance by providing an additional layer of security for dataset protection.
How Immutability Works in MSP360 Backup
At the moment, the Immutability feature is supported for Amazon S3 storage accounts only. To enable Immutability in MSP360 Backup, select the specific storage account, create a new bucket and tick the Allow Immutability box.
Please note that this feature is available for new buckets only.
To apply the Immutability feature in a new or existing backup plan, set the GFS preferences in the Retention Policy step and click Enable Immutability.
Immutability Retention Modes
Generally, there are two retention modes for Immutability:
- governance mode
- compliance mode
These retention modes apply different levels of protection. In governance mode, users can't overwrite or delete an object version or alter its lock settings unless they have special permissions. Objects in backup storage are protected against being deleted, but you can still delete the object, if necessary, in the AWS console.
In compliance mode, a protected object version can't be overwritten or deleted by any user, including the root user in your AWS account. When an object is locked in compliance mode, its retention mode can't be changed, and its retention period can't be shortened. While in BETA, Compliance mode is unavailable.
While in BETA, all buckets with Immutability enabled are in governance mode
To learn more, please refer to the Help section.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading, and don't hesitate to ask questions in the comments below or via our forum to help us with product improvement.
