The Retention attribute specifies how long NetBackup retains the backups. To set the retention period, select a time period (or level) from the drop-down list. When the retention period expires, NetBackup deletes information about the expired backup. Once the backup expires, the files in the backup are unavailable for restores. For example, if the retention is two weeks, data can be restored from a backup that this schedule performs for only two weeks after the backup.

If a policy is configured to back up to a lifecycle, the Retention attribute in the schedule is not followed. The retention that the lifecycle indicates is followed instead.