Retention

I. Formal Definition

The defined period during which telemetry data of a given type, fidelity, and class is kept retrievable in the observability backend. Retention is a multi-objective decision: long retention supports forensic analysis and capacity planning while increasing cost and exposing more data to potential disclosure. The federation requires that retention be tiered by data class, that the tiering decision be documented, and that retention conform to the data-protection commitments published in the federation member's privacy notice under UFMS-001:2.4.

II. Etymology

Records-management term in continuous use since the early twentieth century; carried into observability without modification.

III. Federation Usage

Federation members must publish retention tiers for traces, metrics, and logs separately, with the cost basis and the governance owner. Single-tier retention policies are non-conforming under MEV-Annex:3.2.

IV. Related Terms

• traces
• metrics
• structured-logs
• sampling

V. Authoritative Citations

• UFMS-001:2.4UFMS Article II - Retention Tiers
• MEV-Annex:3.2MEV Annex III - Tier Disclosure

VI. Citation in BibTeX

@misc{ifo4_glossary_retention,
  title        = {{Retention}},
  author       = {{IFO4 Federation Editorial Board}},
  howpublished = {{IFO4 Federation Glossary, slug \texttt{retention}}},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://ifo4.org/glossary/retention},
  note         = {Category: Observability; key: Retention}
}

VII. Challenge This Definition

Federation members and accredited practitioners may challenge any entry under TGS-002:1.7. Filed challenges are routed to the editorial board, triaged into the revision register, and resolved in writing on the public docket. The slug remains stable through any revision.