Using Database Maintenance to remove unwanted data

The Database Maintenance utility enables you to purge the NetSupport DNA database of redundant data, applications and programs, remove Agent PCs that are no longer in use, remove users, create backups of key data using an export/import facility and set a data retention policy, allowing you to schedule automatic deletion of old data.

To maintain the NetSupport DNA database at a manageable size, it is recommended that you delete/archive historical or unwanted records on a regular basis.

1. In the Tools tab, click the Database Maintenance icon. The Database Maintenance dialog will appear.
2. Select the Data Size tab. This allows you to see where you are collecting data from and which areas are taking up the most space.

If required, you can export data in the NetSupport DNA database before it is removed. Select the Export Data tab. This can act as a secure backup in the event of a database corruption, or it can be imported to another database. It also frees up space and keeps a record of the data should you need to return to it later.

1. In the Available PCs Tree, select the Agent(s) to export data from.
2. Click to transfer to the PCs to export window.
3. Deselect any data categories that you do not wish to include.
4. You can further limit the amount of exported data by applying a Date filter.
5. Indicate if any additional system data is to be included. In the case of Applications and Custom User pages, click and select the items to include.
6. Click Export when ready. Enter a name for the .XML file that will be created. You will be prompted to enter a suitable description. This will help identify the data if re-importing.
7. Click OK. A confirmation message will appear when the export is complete.

Note: The Import Data tab allows you to import the data at a later date.

Next, if you go to the Delete Data tab, you can decide which data to clear from your database.

1. Select the database tables to include in the purge.
2. Choose the required ‘cut-off’ date. All records logged before the specified date will be deleted.
3. Click Delete and confirm that you wish to proceed.
4. A confirmation dialog will appear indicating how many records have been deleted.

This will reduce the overall size of the database and ensure you are only collating data that is required. If you have a large amount of data to delete, we recommend you perform the above in stages. Trying to remove too much data at once may result in NetSupport DNA becoming non-responsive.

Data retention policy
To keep the NetSupport DNA Database at a manageable size, you can delete old data automatically by creating a data retention policy. You can choose how old the data must be before it is deleted (the data can be backed up before it is removed), schedule the policy to run on a specific day/time and choose how often the policy runs. A notification email can be sent each time the scheduled policy runs, notifying selected Console Users of whether this was successful, how many records were deleted and how much database space was recovered.

1. Select Enable Data Retention Policy.
2. By default, the database will be backed up before it is deleted. Clearing the Backup database before deletion option will result in unrecoverable the data loss. We do not recommend this option is disabled unless you perform your own regular backups.
3. Enter the age of the data to be deleted (all data older than this will be removed) in the Delete all data older than field. The default is 12 months, the minimum is 3 months and the maximum is 120 months.
4. Select the day of the week the policy is to run on from the Run scheduled task on drop-down menu and specify a time.
5. Choose how often the policy runs from the Repeat interval drop-down menu.
6. The Next run field will now be populated with the date and time the policy is due to run. If a policy has already run, the date and status of this will be displayed.
7. A notification email can be sent, enter the required email address in the Send notification email field. Multiple addresses can be entered. Separate each address with a semicolon.
   Note: The email settings must be configured before email notifications can be sent.
8. Click Save to activate the data retention policy.