This recipe provides the steps required to configure how long SCSM retains the data presented in the console. We will also provide steps on how long to retain data for historical use.
You need to ensure you have successfully installed the SCSM product, are a user in the SCSM Administrators role, and have the SCSM console open.
The following steps will guide you through the process of configuring the retention period in SCSM:
- Navigate to Service Manager Console | Administration | Settings | Data Retention Settings and click on Properties under Tasks, as shown in the following screenshot:
- Select Work Items | Review and adjust retention times (in days) to reflect how long the items should be kept in the SCSM database:
- Select History | Review and adjust the history retention times (in days) to reflect how long the history of items should be kept in the SCSM database:
- Click on OK to confirm the data retention settings.
SCSM, by default, has grooming settings in place to keep the performance of the product at its most desired state. There are two types of data in SCSM:
- Configuration Items: These are typically the console objects you see in the Configuration Items node and are of the class type
configuration item. The Configuration Items are typically introduced and maintained by the connectors (for example, the Active Directory connector imports the users, computers, and printer Configuration Items). - Work Items: These are typically the objects you see in the Work Items node of the console and are of the class type
work item. These objects are associated with their respective process class (for example, the incident management Work Items class for all incidents).
The retention settings are related to the Work Items class. The Work Items class, for example, incidents, cannot be deleted from the console. An automated deletion process using the data retention settings you specify is responsible for removing the Work Items data from the SCSM database. The automated process for deleting items is known as grooming. It is important to note that the criterion uses the following formula to groom (delete) the respective Work Items data:
Delete the work item type (for example, incident) with a status = Closed and has not been modified in x days (where x is the number of days you set for the respective work items type).
You must plan to have a data warehouse configuration with the following desired objectives of typical best practice organizations:
- Improve the performance and efficiency of the console: The old work items in the working database (the database name is
ServiceManagerby default) slows down the console and provides a negative experience for the service management team. - Historical retention and reporting: You need to install and configure a data warehouse in order to have reporting capabilities. The data warehouse is optimized for reporting and is the recommended option for retaining the old Work or Configuration Items information.
A data warehouse combined with optimal data retention settings will provide your environment with the desired objectives.
This recipe focused on the Work Item grooming and provided instructions to that effect. Configuration Items are also groomed but are controlled by the connectors, and the delete actions are manually performed by an SCSM administrator with the relevant role in the console.
Additionally, grooming has an internal schedule. The schedule control requires you to export and edit the internal management packs. The default schedule is midnight every day and it is run on the server that is assigned the workflow role. (This is typically the first management server unless you manually move the role.)
The Configuration Items displayed in the console can be manually deleted. The console user needs to be either an Advanced Operator, or an Administrator role user to perform a delete action. For example, you can delete a user in the console by selecting the Delete task in the console, as shown in the following screenshot:
The delete action marks the Configuration Items in scope for automated grooming and does not perform an immediate removal from the database. The Configuration Items will not show in the Configuration Items space and will be marked with a status of pending delete in the database. The deleted item will be placed in the Deleted items node and can be restored by an Administrator, if the action is performed before the internal grooming process runs. Note that if the Configuration Items is from an active connector then it would be re-imported into the database and displayed the next time the connector is synchronized. You must delete the object from the source (for example, Active Directory) if it is a Configuration Items from a connector.
The history setting determines how long Configuration Items are kept in the Deleted items node outside the normal connector behavior.
Modifying grooming settings is performed in the respective management pack responsible for the grooming process. This type of modification is typically performed in the authoring tool or an XML editor.
- See the Using the SCSM Authoring Tool and Creating new classes recipes in Chapter 11, Extending SCSM with Advanced Personalization, for advanced recipes on management pack authoring
- Appendix B, Useful Websites and Community Resources, provides a list of useful websites with comprehensive advanced instructions on authoring and configuring SCSM