> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cyberup24.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Data Offloading

Offloading transfers collected data off the appliance for retention beyond the appliance's onboard capacity or for consolidation with data from other sources. The destination is determined by the operating organization, for example a central storage location or an analytics environment.

<Warning>
  Data to be retained must be offloaded before it is overwritten. As described on the data storage page, the appliance overwrites its oldest data once storage is full, so offloading should be performed while the data is still present rather than deferred.
</Warning>

## Physical connection

The physical connection for data offload is established through the Data Offloading Ports on the front panel of the appliance. These are the two copper interfaces on the NIC, described on the network interfaces page. A cable is connected from one of these ports to the destination.

## Offload procedure

The full dataset is offloaded as a single bulk operation, initiated through a GitLab pipeline.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Connect to the destination">
    Connect the appliance to the destination using one of the front Data Offloading Ports.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Run the Data Offloading pipeline">
    From the home page, an administrator signs in to GitLab and runs the **Data Offloading** pipeline, setting the appropriate variables for the destination.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm the transfer">
    Allow the pipeline to run to completion and confirm the data has arrived at the destination before the appliance is cleared or reused.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  The front Data Offloading Ports are separate from the TAP Ingress Port used for incoming traffic. The network interfaces page describes their location and purpose.
</Note>