SAS Viya Workbench Recovery Policies and Procedures

Purpose

The following guide gives details on SAS Viya Workbench recovery policies and procedures.

Polices and Procedures 

All files in organization workbench folders are stored in Simple Storage Service (S3) buckets in Amazon Web Services (AWS). File versioning is enabled, which means that a file is never completely deleted. For example, if a user deletes a file, Amazon S3 inserts a delete marker instead of removing the file permanently. Similarly, in the case of a folder in the workbench being deleted, AWS would still flag it with a deletion label, rather than permanently removing it. If a user overwrites a file, it results in a new file version in the bucket. In all but the most extreme of cases, the CCSQ Data & Analytics team should be able to restore the previous version of any file.  

File versions are stored for up to 150 days before being moved to intelligent tiering, which is an S3 lifecycle process. Files stored in higher tiers will take longer to recover. Again, no files are being deleted, but moved into different levels of storage.

There are a few examples scenarios that are outlined below with information on what is needed from an end-user requesting recovery.

Individual File

In the case that an individual file may have been inadvertently deleted, the CCSQ Data & Analytics team would need the following from the user requesting recovery:

• file name
• file path
• approximate deletion date
• any details about the file contents that may distinguish the desired version from others.

Entire Folder

In the case that an entire folder may have been inadvertently deleted, the CCSQ Data & Analytics team would need the following from the user requesting recovery:

• folder name
• folder path
• approximate deletion date
• any details about the folder contents that may distinguish the desired version from others.

Multiple Files Within a Folder

In the case that multiple files within a folder may have been inadvertently deleted, the CCSQ Data & Analytics team would need the following from the user requesting recovery:

• file names
  • If the files follow a similar naming convention let the CCSQ Data & Analytics team know.
• file paths (parent folder)
  • If the files are within different folders provide all file paths.
• approximate deletion date
  • if the files were deleted at different times provide all dates.
• any additional details about the files and file contents that may distinguish the desired versions from others

Note: This scenario may require more manual effort than the prior two and depending on the complexity of the request it may take more time to fulfill. 

IMPORTANT: The above policies only apply to workbenches that are mounted to S3 buckets within the Centralized Data Repository (CDR) environment. Organizations that have external buckets that their workbench is mounted to will have to work with their AWS administrators for recovery.