Grooming is the process of deleting audit snapshots from the IDERA SQL Secure Repository. Grooming allows you to keep only the permissions data you need for future reporting. SQL Secure allows you to schedule snapshot grooming at the enterprise and at the individual SQL Server instance levels. Keep in mind that baseline snapshots and snapshots associated with saved assessments cannot be groomed.

Grooming should be scheduled for off-peak hours so that it does not interfere with your normal business operation. Depending on the amount of data collected, grooming can be a performance intensive operation.

To keep a snapshot, mark it as a baseline. For more information, see Designate a baseline snapshot.

You can configure the enterprise level grooming schedule on the Grooming schedule window. 

To schedule the grooming schedule at the enterprise level:

  1. Select from the menu toolbar Snapshots > Grooming Schedule.  The Grooming Schedule window opens. By default, the grooming process occurs every Monday at 12:00 AM
  2. If you want to change the default grooming schedule, click Change. A Job Schedule window opens. 
  3. Edit the schedule according to your requirements. You can specify if you want to have a Daily, Weekly, or Monthly grooming schedule and define the respective frequency settings. 
  4. Click OK to save the schedule. 

If you do not want to have a grooming schedule, you can disable the option Enable Grooming Schedule. 

Additionally, the Grooming Schedule window informs you the SQL Server Agent Status of the SQL Server hosting the Repository Database. SQL Secure uses this agent for data collection and grooming. 

In addition to routine snapshot grooming, the grooming process deletes all the snapshots that are associated with any SQL Server instances you have removed from the SQL Secure Console

Set a grooming schedule at the SQL server instance level

Snapshot retention is the number of days SQL Secure will continue to store all your non-baseline audit snapshots in the SQL Secure Repository.

To schedule grooming at the SQL Server instance level:

  1. Right-click the SQL Server instance you want to configure in the Audited SQL Servers tree of the Explore Permissions view and select Properties.
  2. The Audited SQL Server Properties window opens, select the Schedule tab.
  3. Specify the number of days between 1 and 10000 that SQL Secure will keep snapshots before grooming them. 
  4. Click OK to save changes.

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