Deleting Amazon Config Data - Amazon Config
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Deleting Amazon Config Data

Note

While Amazon Config uses Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) and Amazon Simple Notification Service (Amazon SNS) for sending configuration snapshots and configuration history files, Amazon Config has its own data store and retention policies. The information on this page is specific for Amazon Config. Amazon S3 and Amazon SNS have their own separate data store and retention policies.

Amazon Config allows you to delete your data by specifying a retention period for your ConfigurationItems. When you specify a retention period, Amazon Config retains your ConfigurationItems for that specified period. You can choose a period between a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of 7 years (2557 days). Amazon Config deletes data older than your specified retention period. If you do not specify a retention period, Amazon Config continues to store ConfigurationItems for the default period of 7 years (2557 days). When recording is switched on, the current state of the resource is when a ConfigurationItem is recorded and until the next change (a new ConfigurationItem) is recorded.

To understand the behavior of retention period, let's take a look at the timeline.

  • When recording is switched on, the current state of a resource always exists and can't be deleted irrespective of the date the ConfigurationItem is recorded.

  • When Amazon Config records new ConfigurationItems, the previous ConfigurationItems are deleted depending on the specified retention period.

In the following timeline, Amazon Config records ConfigurationItems at the following dates. For the purpose of this timeline, today is represented as May 24, 2018.


            Amazon Config retention period example.

The following table explains which ConfigurationItems are displayed on the Amazon Config timeline based on selected retention period.

Retention Period Configuration Items displayed on timeline Explanation

30 days

December 12, 2017

The current state of the resource started from December 12, 2017 when the ConfigurationItem was recorded and is valid until today (May 24, 2018). When recording is turned on, the current state always exists.

365 days

December 12, 2017; November 12, 2017, and March 10, 2017

The retention period shows the current state December 12, 2017 and previous ConfigurationItems November 12, 2017 and March 10, 2017.

The ConfigurationItem for March 10, 2017 is displayed on the timeline because that configuration state represented the current state 365 days ago.

After you specify a retention period, Amazon Config APIs no longer return ConfigurationItems that represent a state older than the specified retention period.

Note

Setting Data Retention Period in Amazon Web Services Management Console

In the Amazon Web Services Management Console, if you do not select a data retention period, the default period is 7 years or 2557 days.

To set a custom data retention period for configuration items select the checkbox. You can select 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, or a custom period. For a custom period, enter the number of days between 30 and 2557 days.

The following image displays how you can access General Settings from the Amazon Config console by choosing Settings in the left navigation bar, and then choosing Edit.


                Amazon Config retention period example.