Purge Policy History Utility

[Ray Alvarez]

We are trying to reduce our server size for more efficient tape backups.  We currently have over 1GB of Policy History.  Applied suggested that we run the "Purge policy History" Utility of policies over 10 years old.  Have any of you run this utility?  Are there any gotchas that we should be aware of?

[Lance Bateman]

It works pretty well - last time I ran these, the "progress bar" on the local work station appeared as if nothing were happening - the server IS working, don't use the task manager to stop it.  Let it run until done.

You should have a retention/destruction policy, and if it says you keep things for 7 years, you should get rid of history over 7 years old.

It works from the "effective until" date on the history.

[Alice]

Ray - one thing to note. Any time you purge something, the process creates a backup first. So make sure you have enough space for double the file size before you start or you'll get errors. The backup file automatically deletes itself when finished.
Been there...