[sims] Sims server - storage almost full

[coolhands]

Sims server storage is over 96% full (35GB left of 899GB) 684GB is coming from the backup folder. should we manually delete old backups - is that the case? if so which ones / how many etc? How is this sort of thing normally dealt with? (I am not IT so don't know how this type thing is normally done). Some of the backups go back to 2019.

 

Edited September 15, 2021 by coolhands

[HarkNowHear]

Is that the backup folder within program files\SQL? SIMS will generate backups each time updates are done and patches are installed, so it can build up. Generally when clearing that down I leave the most recent just in case, but all the historic ones can go.

 

Sorry, I clicked the reply button without clocking the image you'd posted.

Edited September 15, 2021 by HarkNowHear

[3s-gtech]

Yeah, you can be pretty confident that a random backup from 2020 is absolutely no use at all now!

[coolhands]

thanks, I deleted the 2019 ones initially and no problems so far! On a similar note if you could tell me - whenever I install a patch I ask IT to do a backup first as this is (I think) recommended somewhere. But I notice when you go to actually install the patch (using database upgrade tool) it performs a backup. So is the initial backup I ask IT to do a waste of time?!! I assume so.

[Roberto]

You say you’re “not IT” - who is and can they look into things? SQL backups should happen regularly and the SQL management tools can be set to clean up old backups automatically, and whoever is managing this server should set this up.

 

This folder screenshot is a worry - lots of old orphaned backups and from what I can see, no up-to-date backups. Whichever end of the telescope you look through, this is still the wrong amount of backups. Backups can also be set to go to a new drive that won’t interfere with the c:\ drive or your data storage. This would be better for everyone’s peace of mind.

[round2it]

i would just keep the last weeks backups the rest is stale data so not much use but you could always copy onto a portable drive just in case and then delete

 

also you might want to look at the sql side

 

transaction logs etc

 

you can save a chunk of space that way

 

maybe worth while getting a company in to do a sims health check, I have done this and it helped us make sims run better also identifies gaps in your data.

 

i can recommend one that I use as they have been great and the price is fair.

[msi_school]

thanks, I deleted the 2019 ones initially and no problems so far! On a similar note if you could tell me - whenever I install a patch I ask IT to do a backup first as this is (I think) recommended somewhere. But I notice when you go to actually install the patch (using database upgrade tool) it performs a backup. So is the initial backup I ask IT to do a waste of time?!! I assume so.

 

I would not stop taking a back before patching you have no control over the the backup run during the process and it could potentially not be run before a patch due to a problem with the script however, I would not hold onto these back ups for long as they are becoming stale and should be available to be recovered from your scheduled backups if required.