EMC Unity FLR

This page provides a guide to configuring an EMC Unity storage as a Storage Target in the system.

File-Level Retention (FLR) provides a software infrastructure in the Dell EMC Unity system for files to be locked, that is, protected from deletion or modification by users or storage administrators. This functionality is also known as Write Once, Read Many (WORM). FLR is available on the physical Dell EMC Unity family as well as Dell EMC UnityVSA systems. This feature is only available for file systems and is not available for VMware NFS datastores. FLR provides a cost-effective solution for NAS files throughout their life cycle. The File-Level Retention (FLR) process can be compliant with the regulatory requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Rule 17a-4 (f) for digital storage. FLR is enabled per file system at creation time so that you have the flexibility to use regular file systems and FLR-enabled file systems within the same NAS Server. Keep in mind that FLR cannot be modified (enabled or disabled) after the creation of the file system. Once FLR is enabled, it cannot be disabled. For which reason, it is critical to be certain that the use of FLR is required. The administrator can distinguish FLR-enabled file systems by the level of protection required: self-regulation or compliance. Individual files within FLR-enabled file systems can be locked with their own unique retention dates. Only when the retention date of a locked file has expired can that file be deleted.

For more information on the FLR feature in EMC Unity, see https://www.dellemc.com/resources/en-us/asset/white-papers/products/storage/h17523-dell_emc_unity_file_level_retention_flr.pdf

The Verba system automatically applies the retention period on the files, using the FLR feature described above, when the files are moved/uploaded to EMC Unity. The system uses the standard SMB protocol for file operations. Note: make sure the retention period configured in Verba is not longer than the maximum allowed retention configured in EMC UnityVSA, otherwise retention will not be applied to the files uploaded (EMC UnityVSA does not apply retention at all if the retention period would be longer than maximum allowed).

If you don't want to use the FLR feature, you need to setup a standard network storage target pointing to EMC Unity, see Network Storage.

For a general description of storage targets, please refer to Storage and export targets.

Creating an EMC Unity target

Follow the steps below to create a new Verba storage target for EMC Unity:

Step 1 - Open the Verba Web interface then select Data Management > Storage targets from the top menu.

Step 2 - Click on Add New Storage Target

Step 3 - Fill out the configuration form according to the requirements in the following table.

Step 4 - Click Save to save the settings

After this point, the Storage target is available for use by other Verba components (e.g. Data retention policies).

Using custom credentials for accessing file share

It is possible to use credentials other than the service user for each EMC Unity storage. If you want to use custom credentials, check the "Use custom credentials for accessing the file share" checkbox, then provide the credentials.