Truncating and Archiving System Logs

About this task

Retaining excessive data in the SOTI MobiControl database can consume significant storage space in your database. It is good practice to consistently truncate and archive unused data. Align the data truncation timeline with your business data retention or privacy policies.
Tip: To further reduce the database's size and optimize server performance:
Important: Files may contain sensitive and personal information. When archiving them, make sure to store them in a secure location. It is your organization's responsibility to restrict access to exported files.
Note: Microsoft SQL Server Express (provided by SOTI MobiControl) has a storage limit of 10 GB. If you have many devices or a lot of activity in your deployment, you may require more storage space to accommodate your log data. Consider purchasing and upgrading to Microsoft SQL Server Standard.

In addition to the default log behavior (see Log Maintenance), you can define custom truncation and archiving rules.

Procedure

  1. From the main menu, navigate to Global Settings > Logs and Alerts > Log Maintenance. The Log Maintenance page appears.
  2. Define truncation and archival settings for each of the log types.
    Data Type Displays the log type.
    Truncate Data Older Than Define the age at which the data must truncates from the database:
    • On the left, type the number of time units.
    • On the right, select a time unit.
    Archive Select Yes to archive the truncated data to files.
    Toggle Turn off the toggle to never truncate or archive logs of this type to files.
  3. Optional: Truncate logs immediately by selecting the corresponding icon(s) on the Data Truncation and Archival toolbar.
    • Truncate User, Device and System Logs
    • Truncate Alerts
    • Truncate App Logs
    Note: This process does not immediately archive data. Archival occurs only during nightly maintenance.
  4. Archive logs to files using the following fields.
    Archive Folder Turn on the toggle to enable file archiving. When you do, the Folder Path field appears.
    Folder Path [Appears when toggling Archive Folder] Enter a local or network path to the folder where you want to save archived files.
    Delete Archives Turn on to enable automated deletion of archive files based on their age. When you do, the Older Than controls appear.
    Older Than [Appears when toggling Delete Archives] Select the time unit and its quantity. Files older than the defined age delete during nightly maintenance.
  5. Select Save.

Results

Your logs truncate and archive according to the defined guidelines.