Data Retention & Pruning Policy
How CatalyX Blockchain Manager handles data retention, ledger pruning, and backup strategy for validator and participant infrastructure.
Overview
CatalyX Blockchain Manager provides automated backup, recovery, data retention, and pruning capabilities to help organizations protect their blockchain infrastructure, optimize storage usage, and meet operational and regulatory requirements.
These capabilities are designed to:
Protect validator and participant data through scheduled backups
Preserve validator identities and cryptographic material
Enable disaster recovery
Optimize storage by removing obsolete data
Maintain security and audit logs
Support enterprise data lifecycle management
Although these concepts are closely related, they serve different purposes:
Data Retention
Defines how long operational logs and audit information are preserved.
Backups
Protect validator and ledger data for recovery.
Identity Dumps
Preserve validator identities and cryptographic material.
Pruning
Removes obsolete ledger data that is no longer required.
A complete disaster recovery strategy requires both scheduled database backups and scheduled Identity Dumps (IDDumps). These backup types protect different components of a validator and cannot replace one another.
Data Retention
Security and Audit Logging
CatalyX Blockchain Manager centralizes security and operational logs using Azure Log Analytics.
Default log retention periods:
Mainnet (Production)
30 days
Devnet / Testnet
7 days
These logs support:
Security investigations
Operational troubleshooting
Compliance audits
Incident response
Infrastructure monitoring
The centralized logging solution includes:
Azure Activity Logs
Kubernetes audit logs
Kubernetes API server logs
PostgreSQL audit logs (pgaudit)
Network flow logs
Microsoft Sentinel integration
Microsoft Defender integration
Infrastructure Audit Trail
CatalyX Blockchain Manager maintains an audit trail for infrastructure and operational activities, including:
Resource creation and deletion
Infrastructure configuration changes
Azure role assignments
Policy modifications
Kubernetes API activity
Database authentication
Database query execution
This information supports operational monitoring, forensic investigations, and compliance reporting.
Backup Strategy
Scheduled backups and Identity Dumps are the foundation of CatalyX's disaster recovery approach for validator infrastructure.
Identity Dump (IDDump)
Validator cryptographic keys, validator identity, wallet credentials
Database contents, ledger state, transaction history
Validator identity recovery
Database Backup (PVC/PV Backup)
Validator database, participant database, ledger state
Validator identities and cryptographic keys
Operational recovery
External Storage Backup (S3 or other supported storage)
Database dumps and snapshots
Runtime state and identities unless explicitly exported
Long-term disaster recovery
For scheduling database backups and Identity Dumps, viewing backup history, and restoring a validator, see Validator Backups and Identity Dumps. That page covers the full configuration and restore workflow — this page focuses on retention strategy, pruning, and compliance considerations.
Recommended Backup Schedule
Development
Daily
Weekly
Staging
Every 12 hours
Daily
Production
Every 6 hours
Daily
Recommended retention values are documented in Validator Backups and Identity Dumps. Organizations should ultimately configure retention according to their own operational and compliance requirements.
Pruning
What is Pruning?
Pruning permanently removes obsolete ledger data that is no longer required for normal ledger operation.
Unlike backups, pruning is intended to optimize storage rather than provide recovery.
Pruning helps:
Reduce database size
Improve storage efficiency
Remove obsolete ledger history
Support organizational data lifecycle policies
Assist with regulatory requirements such as GDPR "right to erasure," where applicable
Pruning does not affect active ledger state.
Supported Pruning Types
CatalyX Blockchain Manager supports scheduled pruning for:
Domain nodes
Participant nodes
Pruning is supported only for Enterprise deployments using PostgreSQL.
Configuring Pruning
Pruning schedules are configured directly from the Domain or Participant management pages (see Domains and Participants).
Cron Expression
Defines how frequently pruning is executed
Retention Time
Specifies how long data is retained before becoming eligible for pruning
Maximum Duration
Maximum execution time allowed for a pruning operation
Example configuration (for demonstration purposes only — production environments should set retention according to operational and regulatory requirements):
Cron Expression
*/1 * * * *
Retention Time
1 second
Maximum Duration
20 seconds
The same schedule can also be set at the CRD level. See Validator CRD User Guide for the scheduledPrune spec fields.
Monitoring Pruning
After configuring a pruning schedule:
Wait for the scheduled execution.
Refresh the Pruning Schedule page.
Verify that pruning completed successfully.
The UI displays:
Last execution
Pruning status
Pruned records
Backup Pruning vs. Ledger Pruning
These are different operations and should not be confused.
Removes old backup files
Removes obsolete ledger data
Controlled by backup retention setting
Controlled by pruning schedule
Frees backup storage
Reduces database size
Does not affect ledger state
Does not affect active contracts
Best Practices
For production deployments, IntellectEU recommends:
Schedule regular automated database backups.
Schedule regular Identity Dumps.
Store backups in external storage whenever possible.
Periodically validate restore procedures.
Configure pruning only after defining a suitable retention policy.
Monitor scheduled backup and pruning jobs.
Review backup retention periodically to balance recovery objectives and storage utilization.
Compliance Considerations
CatalyX Blockchain Manager provides capabilities that support organizational compliance requirements through:
Configurable backup retention
Scheduled pruning
Security logging
Infrastructure audit trails
Validator identity preservation
Disaster recovery mechanisms
Organizations remain responsible for defining retention policies that satisfy their own regulatory and business requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a Database Backup and an Identity Dump?
A Database Backup protects the validator database and ledger state. An Identity Dump protects validator identity, cryptographic keys, and wallet credentials. Both are required for complete disaster recovery.
Can I configure pruning schedules?
Yes. Pruning schedules allow administrators to define the execution schedule, retention period, and maximum execution duration, either from the Domain/Participant management pages or via the CRD.
Does pruning delete active ledger data?
No. Pruning removes only obsolete ledger data that is no longer required for normal ledger operation.
Can I restore a validator using only an Identity Dump, or only a database backup?
No, in either case. Identity Dumps restore validator identity only — database state must be restored separately. Database backups restore ledger state but do not restore validator identity, cryptographic keys, or wallet credentials. See Validator Backups and Identity Dumps for the full restore procedure.
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