Is it safe to delete 'data*.tar.bak' files form segment store

[Pavan_KumarTi]

Hello Community,

We got AEM Author, Publish instance set up to host content in our cluster, As part of maintenance we are noticing our repository disk sizes for publish instances are growing continuously, focusing mostly on segment store.

We got Online RC, GC jobs scheduled yet the 'data04484a.tar.bak' files are piled up at disk level. So am here looking for suggestions to have an automation to clean these files from Disk. 

Are these .bak files safe to be deleted while AEM as service running ?

[arunpatidar · Accepted solution]

Hi @Pavan_KumarTi 
Generally, yes, but with caution.

The data*.tar.bak files are there to safeguard your repository during maintenance operations like compaction. Deleting them without ensuring that your repository is in a healthy state could leave you without a safety net if something goes wrong.

Always ensure you have a recent backup and that your repository is in a healthy state before proceeding with deletion.