---
title: "Index Lifecycles"
slug: "index-lifecycles"
updated: 2025-04-15T03:52:37Z
published: 2025-04-15T03:52:37Z
canonical: "kb.expedient.com/index-lifecycles"
stale: true
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kb.expedient.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Index Lifecycles

An index’s lifecycle policy specifies which phases are applicable, what actions are performed in each phase, and when it transitions between phases.

- **Hot**: The index is actively being updated and queried.
  - *96:1 GB of Disk to RAM ratio, requires 2x storage to provide redundancy*
- **Warm**: The index is no longer updated but is still queried.
  - *200:1 GB of Disk to RAM ratio, requires 2x storage to provide redundancy*
- **Cold**: The index is no longer updated and is queried infrequently. The information still needs to be searchable, but it’s okay if those queries are slower.
  - *96:1 GB of Disk to RAM ratio, if straight from hot to cold, 200:1 ratio if warm also used. 1x storage, redundancy provided by snapshot*
- **Frozen**: The index is no longer updated and is queried rarely. The information still needs to be searchable, but it’s okay if those queries are extremely slow.
  - *Purely searchable snapshot, only metadata mounted in the cluster.*
- **Delete**: The index is no longer needed and can safely be removed.

For more information, see [**Index Lifecycles**](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/ilm-index-lifecycle.html) and [LM Overview](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/overview-index-lifecycle-management.html) from [Elasticsearch Documentation](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/index.html).