Configure general retention when you want to base the retention period for records in an entity on the data archive job date or on the retirement archive job date. The expiration date for each record in the entity equals the retention period plus the archive job date.
When you configure general retention, you can select an indefinite retention period. When you select an indefinite retention period, the records do not expire from the Data Vault.
When you configure general retention, all records in the entity to which you associate the policy have the same expiration date. For example, you create a retention policy with a five year retention period. In a retirement archive project, you select this policy for an entity. You run the archive job on January 1, 2011. Data Archive sets the expiration date for the archived records in the entity to January 1, 2016.
You can configure general retention when you select entities in a data archive project or a retirement archive project. Select the entity, and then select the retention policy.