How does CMDB Data Manager archiving affect CI relationships and references across tables?

pranavmperu
Mega Contributor

yesterday

 

 

Hello ServiceNow Community,

 

I'm investigating the impact of using **CMDB Data Manager** to archive core CI tables (specifically the `cmdb_ci_server` table) and need clarification on how archiving affects various types of relationships and references.

 

Background
We're planning to implement archiving for our server CI table to manage data growth, but we need to understand the full impact on related records and references before proceeding.

 

Specific Questions

 

1. **Relationship Table Impact (`cmdb_rel_ci`)**
- When a CI is archived, do relationships in the `cmdb_rel_ci` table get orphaned?
- Are these relationships automatically archived or do they remain pointing to archived records?

 

2. **Reference Field Impact (e.g., `cmdb_ci_network_adapter`)**
- For child CIs like network adapters that have reference fields pointing to parent CIs, what happens when the parent is archived?
- Do these reference fields break or become null?

 

3. **Auto-Archiving of Related Tables**
- Does CMDB Data Manager automatically archive related/child tables (like network adapters, storage devices, etc.) when the parent CI is archived?
- If not automatic, what's the recommended approach to maintain data integrity?

 

4. **Vulnerable Item Table (VIT) References**
- If an archived CI is referenced in a Vulnerable Item record, does the reference disappear or break?
- How does this affect vulnerability tracking and reporting?

 

5. **Change/Incident Related CI Section**
- When a CI is listed in the "Related CIs" section at the bottom of Change or Incident records, does archiving the CI break this relationship?
- Can users still see the archived CI in the related items list?

 

6. **Resource/CI Fields on Tickets**
- If a CI is listed in the CI/Resource field on an Incident or Change record, does it disappear when archived?
- Does this affect historical ticket data and reporting?

 

Any insights, documentation references, or real-world experiences with CMDB archiving would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thank you in advance for your help!
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pr8172510
Tera Guru

2 hours ago

Hi @pranavmperu,

 Archiving a CI does not automatically archive all related records across the CMDB and ITSM tables. The impact depends on the archive rules configured.

 

  • cmdb_rel_ci relationships are not automatically removed; relationship handling must be considered in your archive strategy.
  • Reference fields do not automatically become null, but references to archived records may no longer appear in standard active-record queries.
  • Child tables (network adapters, storage devices, etc.) are not automatically archived unless included in the archive policy.
  • Vulnerable Items, Incidents, Changes, and other records that reference the CI retain their references, but reporting and visibility can be affected if archived records are excluded from queries.
  • Historical ticket data is generally preserved, but related CI lookups and reports should be validated after archiving.

Before archiving cmdb_ci_server, review all dependent tables and relationships and include them in your archive design if they must remain accessible together.

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