Data Domain: Extended Retention (Archiver) FAQ | EOSL

Summary: This article is intended to address some of the more frequently asked questions regarding configuration/use of Data Domain Restorers (DDRs) using the Extended Retention (ER) feature.

This article applies to This article does not apply to This article is not tied to any specific product. Not all product versions are identified in this article.
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Instructions

Warning: Extended Retention (ER) is no longer a supported feature!
  • Extended Retention (ER) was a feature available only in Data Domain Operating System (DD OS) versions prior to 7.x  - which are now End of Service Life (EOSL) e.g DDOS 6.x.
  • When DD OS reached version 7.x and later, support for Extended Retention was removed.
  • Because of this removal, systems configured with Extended Retention cannot be upgraded to DD OS 7.x or any later version. They must remain on a version earlier than 7.x if ER functionality is required.

Essentially, if you have a Data Domain system using Extended Retention, you’re locked to DD OS versions before 7.x. Upgrading would break compatibility because the feature no longer exists in newer releases.

Why Extended Retention (ER) was deprecated

  1. Architectural Limitations
    ER was designed for older Data Domain systems to provide long-term storage for compliance or archival purposes. It relied on a separate tier of storage within the same system, which introduced complexity in management and performance.

  2. Shift to Modern Solutions
    As DD OS evolved, EMC/Dell moved toward more scalable and flexible solutions like Cloud Tier and Retention Lock Compliance, which offer:

    • Better integration with cloud storage.
    • Improved scalability for large datasets.
    • Enhanced compliance features without the limitations of ER.

Affected Products

Data Domain

Products

Data Domain, Data Domain Extended Retention
Article Properties
Article Number: 000021741
Article Type: How To
Last Modified: 04 Dec 2025
Version:  5
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