During a PowerProtect Data Domain deployment review, the DR site storage bill has doubled because the replica retains every replicated backup for the same seven years as production. The customer needs a DR copy for recovery testing and short-term recovery, not a long-term archive. Which policy change should you recommend?

Replica-side retention is its own policy decision because a DR copy serves a different purpose than a production backup. On Data Domain, native MTree replication keeps the destination as a read-only mirror of the source, so its contents follow production's retention; a shorter DR window is set through application-managed replication (DD Boost managed file replication), where the backup application assigns the DR copies their own, shorter retention while production keeps its seven years. Aligning the replica with the customer RPO, RTO, and test requirements prevents unnecessary capacity growth. Enabling retention lock on production protects copies from deletion but does not automatically shorten or define the DR target retention period. Increasing replication frequency changes how often data is copied; it does not reduce the number of retained copies or the time they are kept. Compression and deduplication reduce the physical footprint of stored data, yet they do not correct an overlong retention policy that keeps many generations alive. Exam caveat: the exam emphasizes the policy decision and storage impact, not a precise CLI command. Operational check: confirm which replication type feeds the DR site, set the DR-copy retention in the backup application's policy, and watch the target MTree space trend after the change.