A Guide to Purging Maintenance as a way to help with SMP Server Performance
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A Guide to Purging Maintenance as a way to help with SMP Server Performance

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Article ID: 417937

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Updated On:

Products

IT Management Suite

Issue/Introduction

An often-reported issue for IT Management Suite (ITMS) administrators is Symantec Management Platform (SMP) and SQL database performance degradation over time. This slowdown is commonly caused by the continuous accumulation of obsolete, stale, or unnecessary data within the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) and related tables, particularly the Resource Event data tables.

To maintain optimal performance and prevent the database from growing excessively large, it is critical for administrators to regularly implement and monitor the built-in purging maintenance tasks designed to clean up this unnecessary data.

Optimizing Symantec Management Platform (SMP) Database Performance: A Guide to Purging Configuration Management Database (CMDB) and Resource Event Data.

Environment

 

IT Management Suite (ITMS), including versions 7.x, 8.x, and later.

Symantec Management Platform (SMP).

 

Resolution

The Symantec Management Platform (SMP Server) is designed to collect and store extensive information about every managed IT resource (computers, users, software, etc.) and all associated events (inventory changes, task executions, policy updates, etc.).

The primary causes for excessive database growth and subsequent performance issues are:

  1. Obsolete CMDB Resource Records: Resources that are retired or decommissioned remain in the CMDB. If they do not communicate with the Notification Server (NS) for an extended period, they become stale. If left unpurged, these obsolete records bloat the CMDB and degrade query performance.

  2. Resource Event Data Overload: The system collects numerous event logs, audit records, and operational data that, while useful initially, loses value over time. Tables storing this "event" type of data, such as ResourceEvent, AeXAudit, and others, can grow very quickly and significantly affect daily database operations (e.g., index maintenance, backups, and query response times).

Recommendations:

Regularly schedule and verify the execution of the appropriate server-side maintenance and purging tasks within the SMP Console.

 

1. Purging Obsolete CMDB Resources (Retired and Deleted Records)

This task manages the lifecycle of resources that are no longer active on the network. The settings allow you to define the two-stage process for resource cleanup: Retirement (setting status) and Deletion (final removal).

 

Accessing the Purging Settings:

 

  1. Navigate to the SMP Console.

  2. Go to Settings > All Settings.

  3. Expand Notification Server > Purging Maintenance.

  4. Click Purging Maintenance tab.

    Console Path: Settings > Notification Server > Purging Maintenance > Purging Maintenance (tab)

 

Recommended Configuration Steps:

Locate the section "Purge computers managed by this NS, which have not reported data for:"

UI Field Name Function & Explanation Recommended Setting
Retire in (Months/Days) This sets the period of inactivity after which the computer resource's status will automatically change to Retired. The resource data remains, but it is excluded from active management and many reports. Start with 3 to 6 Months (90 to 180 days).
Delete in (Months/Days) This sets the final grace period. Once the computer is in the Retired status, its record and all associated inventory/historical data will be permanently deleted from the CMDB after this time. Set to a value greater than the Retire in value (e.g., 6 to 12 Months). This allows a final review of retired resources before they are purged.

 

2. Purging Resource Event Data

 

The Resource Event Data Purging task is responsible for removing old, transient log data from high-volume tables to keep them manageable. This is often the most critical task for addressing rapid database growth.

 

Accessing the Purging Settings:

    1. Navigate to the SMP Console.

    2. Go to Settings > Notification Server.

    3. Click Purging Maintenance.

    4. Select the Resource Event Data Purge Settings tab.

      Console Path: Settings > Notification Server > Purging Maintenance > Resource Event Data Purge Settings

 

Recommended Configuration Steps:

  • On this tab, you will see a list of event data tables (e.g., ResourceEvent, AeXAuditLog, Inv_Event_History).

  • For each table, review the Data Retention in Days setting.

  • For high-volume tables like ResourceEvent and AeXAuditLog, reducing the retention period from the default to 30 to 90 days can dramatically slow database growth.

⚠️ Warning: Data purged from the Resource Event tables is permanently removed. Consult organizational audit and compliance policies before reducing the retention period below the default setting.

 

3. Database Maintenance (Indexing and Statistics)

While purging removes data, physical maintenance is required to ensure the remaining data is quickly accessible. This is managed by a scheduled server task.

Recommended Action:

 

Additional Information

For further authoritative details on these maintenance processes, please refer to the official Broadcom documentation:

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