What's changed: Created MS-102 Chapter 5 (domain: Manage compliance by using Microsoft Purview). Information protection (sensitive information types keyword/regex, sensitivity labels classify/encrypt/marking and label policies, Content/Activity explorer), data lifecycle management (retention labels item-level, retention label policies publish/auto-apply, retention policies location-level bulk retain/delete), and DLP (Exchange/SharePoint/OneDrive/Teams workload DLP, policy tips, Endpoint DLP device control, DLP alerts/events/reports). This completes the MS-102 textbook: all 5 chapters / 13 sections.
5.2Data lifecycle management
Understand retention labels (item-level retain/delete), retention label policies (publish/auto-apply labels), and retention policies (location-level bulk retain/delete), plus retention periods and deletion actions.
Data lifecycle management controls "how long to retain and when to delete". There are two approaches: item-level and location-level.
5.2.1Retention labels and label policies
Retention labels apply to individual items (emails/documents) to control retention and post-period deletion. Retention label policies publish labels to users/locations (manual apply) or auto-apply via conditions like SITs. They suit fine-grained, item-level control such as "retain this contract for 7 years."
5.2.2Retention policies
Retention policies apply retain/delete in bulk at the location level (Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams), e.g., "retain all Exchange mailboxes 3 years then delete." They suit broad, uniform application without per-item labeling. Use retention labels for fine-grained item control, retention policies for uniform location-level control.
Cues: "apply retain/delete to individual items (e.g., contracts 7 years)" = retention label. "publish/auto-apply labels" = retention label policy. "uniform retain/delete at a location (Exchange/SharePoint)" = retention policy. Retention (compliance preservation) vs Microsoft 365 Backup (operational restore) differ in purpose.
Watch the mix-ups: (1) Retention label (item-level) vs retention policy (location-level). (2) Retention label policy (publishing labels) vs retention policy (applying retention to locations) sound alike but differ. (3) Retention (compliance retain/delete) vs sensitivity label (classify/protect) vs Microsoft 365 Backup (restore).
5.2.3Section summary
- Retention labels are item-level retain/delete; published/auto-applied via retention label policies
- Retention policies apply uniform retain/delete at the location level (Exchange/SharePoint/OneDrive/Teams)
- Retention is compliance retain/delete; Microsoft 365 Backup is for restore (different)
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Quick check
(just a quick review)Q1. You want to apply "retain 7 years then delete" to individual contract documents one by one. Best?
Q2. You want to apply a uniform "retain 3 years then delete" to all Exchange mailboxes and SharePoint sites without labeling. Best?
Q3. You want to auto-apply a retention label to items matching a sensitive information type (SIT). Best?
Q4. "Long-term retain/delete for compliance" and "fast restore from accidental deletion" are different. Which is the former?
Q5. "Retention label policy" and "retention policy" sound alike but differ. Which applies retention uniformly at the location level?
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