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Procedure documentationEditing Retention Rules

 

In SAP NetWeaver ILM, retention rules control the determination of the minimum and the maximum periods in which data (represented by the relevant ILM object) needs to remain in a system until it is destroyed. With the help of retention rules, you enable data retention within and outside of the system (in the ILM store) while adhering to legal requirements.

The structure of the retention rules is predefined by the Retention Rules policy category.

Prerequisites

You have called the function for editing ILM policies based on selection criteria so that you can edit the policies of an ILM object within an audit area.

For more information, see Editing ILM Policies.

Procedure

Defining Rules

  1. After you have created a policy, you can go directly to the rule editing screen (in editing mode).

    If you have used selection criteria to call the list of policies, proceed as follows:

    • Select the policy for which you want to edit rules.

    • Choose Edit.

  2. To define a policy, enter the following data in the Rules for Policy <Policy Name> table for each rule (line):

    • Condition field values

    • Inherit Rule (if this is supported in Customizing for the ILM object)

      If you select this option, the ILM object inherits the rule definitions from other ILM objects.

      Caution Caution

      If you select Inherit Rule, you need to leave the other fields for this rule blank.

      End of the caution.

    • Minimum Retention Duration

      Length of the minimum retention duration in the time period defined thereafter, for example, in years. You use the minimum retention duration, in combination with the determined start time, to determine the end date of the minimum retention period.

    • Maximum Retention Duration

      Length of the maximum retention duration in the time period you then define, for example, years. You use the maximum retention duration, in combination with the determined start time, to determine the end date of the maximum retention period (mandatory destruction).

    • Time Unit for Retention Duration

      Time unit for retention duration (selection options according to Customizing, for example, years, months, days)

    • Time Reference

      A time reference available for the ILM object according to Customizing. The time reference refers to an event in the document's history for which the start of retention is crucial, for example, creation of the document. In rule evaluation, the system determines the specific reference date (in this example, the creation date) based on the time reference. If a time offset is intended, this affects the reference date. The offset reference date is the start date of the period to be calculated. The end date of the minimum and maximum retention periods is the result of the determined start date and the relevant minimum and maximum retention durations.

    • Time Offset (The column is shown only if the Customizing settings specify it is relevant)

      A time offset for the time reference available for the ILM object according to Customizing. Based on the time offset, the system offsets the reference date determined during rule evaluation to the end of the specified calendar unit (for example, the relevant year end).

      The offset reference date is the start date of the period to be calculated. The end date of the minimum and maximum retention periods is the result of the determined start date and the relevant minimum and maximum retention durations.

    • ILM Archive Store

      ILM store for the archive files created during data archiving.

    • Content Repository and Logical File Name

      Alternative to the ILM store (with the corresponding logical path). These fields are hidden by default. If necessary, you can include them in the table of ILM rules (tool symbol on the application toolbar of the table).

      Note Note

      As opposed to the ILM store, you cannot store ILM-specific metadata in a Content Repository.

      To assign retention periods to the archived data, you must also specify an ILM store before writing. The system does not use the end dates of a retention period until it stores the archived files.

      End of the note.

    • Rule Number

      The system assigns this number for identification of the rule within the system.

    • Rule Priority

      Note Note

      This column is hidden by default. If necessary, you can include it in the table of ILM rules. For more information, see SAP Note: 1617105Information published on SAP site

      End of the note.

      When conditions for rules overlap within a policy, you can use the numbers 0 to 999 to specify the priority of the rules. No entry in the rule means the priority is 0. A higher number designates a higher priority.

      When evaluating rules, the system includes only the valid rules with the highest priority. A rule is valid if its condition fields correspond to the field values of the current object instance (for example, the document). The condition fields of a policy are the mandatory fields defined in Customizing for the object category in conjunction with the policy fields. Result fields are all fields in a policy that are not condition fields.

  3. Save your entries.To do so, you need a transport request (Customizing request).

Changing Rules

You can change existing rules and their conditions if the corresponding policy is not yet live. The procedure is the same as for defining a new rule.

Caution Caution

The changes (such as conditions, residence duration, storage) only take effect for new write runs in data archiving.

End of the caution.
Simulating the Evaluation of Rules

You use ILM rule simulation to check the results of the start date and end date of the retention period when multiple retention rules exist for an ILM object.

For more information, see Simulating the Evaluation of ILM Rules.