Creating an SLA policy for containers

You can create custom service level agreement (SLA) policies for persistent volumes that are attached to a Kubernetes or OpenShift® cluster. You can define the frequency of snapshot and backup operations and specify policies for retention, replication, and copy jobs.

To create an SLA policy for your PVCs, complete the following steps:

1. In the navigation panel, click Manage Protection > Policy Overview.
2. Click Add SLA Policy.
   The New SLA Policy pane is displayed.
3. In the Name field, enter a name that provides a meaningful description of the SLA policy.
4. Click Kubernetes, OpenShift.
   The SLA policy options for Kubernetes or OpenShift clusters are displayed.
5. In the Snapshot Protection section, set the following options for snapshot operations:

   Retention

   Specify the retention period for the snapshots.

   Disable Schedule

   Select this checkbox to create the snapshot policy without defining a frequency or start time. Policies that are created without a schedule can be run on demand. This field is optional.

   If you plan to enable the policy sections for copy backup, replication, or additional copy operations, ensure that this checkbox is not selected. Otherwise, no snapshots will be available for copying to the vSnap server.

   Repeats

   Enter a frequency for snapshot operations. Enter a frequency for snapshot operations. Choose from Subhourly, Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly. When Weekly is selected, you may select one or more days of the week. The Start Time will apply to the selected days of the week.

   Start Time

   Enter the date and time when you want the snapshot operation to start.

   The time zone is automatically populated with your browser settings. To update the time zone, click the field and select a region and city from the list, for example: Europe/Dublin. You can also click the field and enter a region or city in the Search field, and select an item from the matching results.

   Snapshot Prefix

   Enter a prefix to add to the beginning of snapshot names. You can add a prefix to snapshot names to help you organize and easily identify snapshots. This field is optional.

   You can enter up to 32 characters for the prefix.

   For example, if you entered the prefix "daily", all snapshot names that are created with this SLA policy will begin with "daily".

6. Optional: In the Backup Policy section, set the following options for copy backup operations to the vSnap server:

   Backup Storage

   Select this checkbox to enable copy backup operations to the vSnap server. These operations occur on the vSnap servers that are defined in the System Configuration > Backup Storage > Disk window.

   Retention

   Specify the retention period for the copy backups on the vSnap server.

   Disable Schedule

   Select this checkbox to create the backup policy without defining a frequency or start time. Policies that are created without a schedule can be run on demand. This field is optional.

   Frequency

   Enter a frequency for copy backup operations.

   Start Time

   Enter the date and time when you want the copy backup operation to start.

   Tip: Allot time for the snapshot backup to complete before starting the copy backup operation. For example, if the snapshot operation starts at midnight (0:00), set the copy backup operation to start 15 minutes later, at 00:15.

   The time zone is automatically populated with your browser settings. To update the time zone, click the field and select a region and city from the list, for example: Europe/Dublin. You can also click the field and enter a region or city in the Search field, and select an item from the matching results.

   Target Site

   Select the target site for backup copies.

   A site can contain one or more vSnap servers. If more than one vSnap server is in a site, the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus server manages data placement in the vSnap servers.

   Only sites that are associated with a vSnap server are shown in this list. Sites that are added to IBM Spectrum Protect Plus but are not associated with a vSnap server are not shown.

   Only use encrypted disk storage

   If your environment includes encrypted and unencrypted servers, select this checkbox to back up data to encrypted vSnap servers.

   Restriction: If this option is selected, but no encrypted vSnap servers are available, the associated job fails.

7. Optional: Under Replication Policy, set the following options to enable asynchronous replication from one vSnap server to another. For example, you can replicate data from the primary to the secondary backup site.
   Replication partnerships requirement: These options apply to established replication partnerships. To add a replication partnership, see the instructions in Configuring backup storage partners.

   Backup Storage Replication

   Select this option to enable replication.

   This option is enabled only when Backup Policy is selected.

   Disable Schedule

   Select this checkbox to create the replication relationship without defining a frequency or start time. This field is optional.

   Frequency

   Enter a frequency for replication operations.

   Start Time

   Enter the date and time that you want the replication operation to start.

   The time zone is automatically populated with your browser settings. To update the time zone, click the field and select a region and city from the list, for example: Europe/Dublin. You can also click the field and enter a region or city in the Search field, and select an item from the matching results.

   Target Site

   Select the target site for replicating data.

   A site can contain one or more vSnap servers. If more than one vSnap server is in a site, the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus server manages data placement in the vSnap servers.

   Only sites that are associated with a vSnap server are shown in this list. Sites that are added to IBM Spectrum Protect Plus but are not associated with a vSnap server are not shown.

   Only use encrypted disk storage

   Select this option to replicate data to encrypted vSnap servers if your environment includes encrypted and unencrypted servers.

   Restriction: If this option is selected, but no encrypted vSnap servers are available, the associated job fails.

   Same retention as source selection

   Select this option to use the same retention policy as the source vSnap server. To set a different retention policy, clear this option and set a different policy.

8. Optional: In the Additional copies section, set the options to copy data to standard object storage or archive object storage.

   When copying data from a vSnap server to cloud storage, the most recent successfully completed snapshot will be copied.

   Standard object storage (incremental copy)

   Select this option to copy data to cloud storage or to a repository server. This option is enabled only when Backup Policy is selected.

   Data is backed up to the vSnap server for short-term protection, and then copied to the selected cloud storage or repository server for longer-term protection. During the first copy of a backup volume, the snapshot is backed up in full. After the first copy of the base snapshot is completed, subsequent copies are incremental and capture cumulative changes since the last copy. Cloud or repository server restore operations can be performed from any vSnap server.

   Disable Schedule

   Select this checkbox to create the copy relationship without defining a frequency or start time. This field is optional.

   Frequency

   Enter a frequency for copy operations.

   Start Time

   Enter the date and time that you want the copy operation to start.

   The time zone is automatically populated with your browser settings. To update the time zone, click the field and select a region and city from the list, for example: Europe/Dublin. You can also click the field and enter a region or city in the Search field, and select an item from the matching results.

   Same retention as source selection

   Select this option to use the same retention policy as the source vSnap server. To set a different retention policy, clear this option and set a different policy.

   Restriction: Copy retention options are disabled if a server that uses Write Once Read Many (WORM) retention is selected in the Target field.

   Source

   Click the source for the copy operation:

   Backup Policy Destination

   The source for the copy operation is the target site that is defined in the Backup Policy section.

   Replication Policy Destination

   The source for the copy operation is the target site that is defined in the Replication Policy section.

   This option is enabled only when Backup Storage Replication is selected.

   Destination

   Click Cloud services or Repository servers.

   Target

   Click the cloud storage system or repository server to which you want to copy data.

   This list contains the secondary storage systems that you have added to IBM Spectrum Protect Plus.

   Archive object storage (full copy)

   Select this option to archive data to cloud storage or to a repository server for long-term protection. This option is enabled only when Backup Policy is selected.

   This operation provides a full image copy to the selected archival storage.

   Disable Schedule

   Select this checkbox to create the archive relationship without defining a frequency or start time. This field is optional.

   Frequency

   Enter a frequency for archive operations.

   Start Time

   Enter the date and time that you want the archive operation to start.

   The time zone is automatically populated with your browser settings. To update the time zone, click the field and select a region and city from the list, for example: Europe/Dublin. You can also click the field and enter a region or city in the Search field, and select an item from the matching results.

   Retention

   Specify the retention period for the archive snapshots as a unit of time in days, months, or years.

   Source

   Click the source for the archive destination:

   Backup Policy Destination

   The source for the archive operation is the target site that is defined in the Backup Policy section.

   Replication Policy Destination

   The source for the archive operation is the target site that is defined in the Replication Policy section.

   This option is enabled only when Backup Storage Replication is selected.

   Destination

   Click Cloud services or Repository servers.

   Target

   Click the cloud storage system or repository server to which you want to archive data.

   Only cloud targets that have a defined archive bucket are shown in this list.

9. Click Save.
   The SLA policy that you created is displayed in the table in the SLA Policies pane.