Automated, tiered data retention

1. A method for automatic, tiered data retention in a networked data storage system, comprising:

copying primary data comprising a plurality of files generated by one or more client computers from primary storage to secondary storage;

accessing from computer storage a data retention policy including classification criteria associated with each of a plurality of buckets in the secondary storage having corresponding retention periods associated therewith, wherein individual files in the plurality of files belong to a particular bucket of the plurality of buckets if the individual files meet the classification criteria associated with the particular bucket;

using computer hardware of one or more computers, automatically accessing the plurality of files and processing, based on the data retention policy, the plurality of files to identify at least a first file of the plurality of files in the secondary storage to determine that the first file belongs to a first bucket of the plurality of buckets that is associated with a first retention period;

using computer hardware of one or more computers, automatically processing, based on the data retention policy, the first file of the plurality of files to determine that the first file also belongs to a second bucket of the plurality of buckets that is associated with a second retention period that is longer than the first retention period;

associating a first instance of the first file with the first bucket; and

associating a second instance of the first file with the second bucket,

wherein the first instance of the first file associated with the first bucket is scheduled for deletion according to the data retention policy after the first instance has been retained for at least a duration of the first retention period, and wherein the second instance of the first file associated with the second bucket is scheduled for deletion according to the data retention policy after the second instance has been retained for at least a duration of the second retention period.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

retaining the first instance of the first file for at least the duration of the retention period associated with the first bucket; and

retaining the second instance of the first file for at least the duration of the retention period associated with the second bucket.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

deleting the first instance of the first file in response to expiration of the retention period associated with the first bucket; and

deleting the second instance of the first file in response to expiration of the retention period associated with the second bucket.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said associating the first instance of the first file with the first bucket comprises copying data from a first storage device to a second storage device to create the first instance.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said first instance and said second instance are stored on the same storage device.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and second instances comprise separate copies of the first file.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first and second instances comprise pointers to deduplicated versions of the first file or portions thereof.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the classification criteria for the first bucket of the plurality of buckets dictates that the first file belongs to the first bucket at least in part based on metadata associated with the first file.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the classification criteria for the first bucket of the plurality of buckets dictates that the first file belongs to the first bucket at least in part based on a determination that the first file includes at least one instance of a particular search term.

10. A data storage system for automatic, tiered data retention, comprising:

a computing system comprising one or more computing devices that include computer hardware, the computing system configured to:

initiate copying of primary data comprising a plurality of data items generated by one or more applications executing on one or more client computers from primary storage to secondary storage;

access from computer storage a data retention policy comprising a set of classification rules for classifying the files into a plurality of buckets in the secondary storage, each bucket associated with a particular retention period;

automatically access the plurality of files and process, based on the retention policy, the plurality of files to identify at least a first file of the plurality of files in the secondary storage to determine that the first file belongs to a first bucket of the plurality of buckets associated with a first retention period;

automatically process, based on the retention policy, the first file of the plurality of files to determine that the first file belongs to a second bucket of the plurality of buckets associated with a second retention period that is longer than the first retention period;

associate a first instance of the first file with the first bucket; and

associate a second instance of the first file with the second bucket,

wherein the first instance of the first file associated with the first bucket is scheduled for deletion according to the data retention policy after the first instance has been retained for at least a duration of the first retention period, and wherein the second instance of the first file associated with the second bucket is scheduled for deletion according to the data retention policy after the second instance has been retained for at least a duration of the second retention period.

11. The data storage system of claim 10 , wherein the computing system is further configured to:

retain the first instance of the first file for at least the duration of the retention period associated with the first bucket; and

retain the second instance of the first file for at least the duration of the retention period associated with the second bucket.

12. The data storage system of claim 10 , wherein the computing system is further configured to:

delete the first instance of the first file in response to expiration of the retention period associated with the first bucket; and

delete the second instance of the first file in response to expiration of the retention period associated with the second bucket.

13. The data storage system of claim 10 , wherein the computing system is further configured to associate the first instance of the first file with the first bucket at least in part by copying data from a first storage device to a second storage device to create the first instance.

14. The data storage system of claim 10 , wherein said first instance and said second instance are stored on the same storage device.

15. The data storage system of claim 10 , wherein the first and second instances comprise separate copies of the first file.

16. The data storage system of claim 10 , wherein at least one of the first and second instances comprise pointers to deduplicated versions of the first file or portions thereof.

17. The data storage system of claim 10 , wherein the classification criteria for the first bucket of the plurality of buckets dictates that the first file belongs to the first bucket at least in part based on metadata associated with the first file.

18. The data storage system of claim 10 , wherein the classification criteria for the first bucket of the plurality of buckets dictates that the first file belongs to the first bucket at least in part based on a determination that the first file includes at least one instance of a particular search term.