Elasticsearch 7.10 introduced enhancements to data lifecycle management by formalizing the configuration of data tiers—hot, warm, and cold—using specific node roles rather than the previous node attributes approach. This change simplifies the process of managing time-series data by allowing data to be automatically migrated between tiers within Index Lifecycle Management (ILM) policies, which utilize the new index.routing.allocation.include._tier_preference setting for specifying tier preferences. Additionally, the update introduced the concept of searchable snapshots, which optimizes storage by allowing one copy of the data to be stored locally while another resides in a snapshot repository, reducing the need for local replicas. The new data_content role caters to non-time-series data, ensuring all types of data are effectively managed within the cluster. The blog post provides practical examples of setting up nodes and configuring ILM policies to leverage these new features, ultimately leading to more efficient data storage and management practices.