Push notification retention

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Push notification retention

    Push notification retention allows ServiceNow customers to archive and eventually destroy push notification records that are no longer needed or when the Push Notification table grows too large. This feature has been available since the Jakarta release and helps maintain optimal system performance and data management.

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    Key Features

    • Archiving and Destruction Plugins: The retention process requires two plugins: the Data Archiving plugin (enables archiving and destruction of records) and the Push Retention plugin (provides rules for when to archive and destroy records).
    • Activation: For new instances, the Push Retention plugin and archive/destroy rules are active by default. For upgraded instances, activation must be done manually after reviewing and approving the rules.
    • Archiving vs. Destroying: Archiving moves records older than the archive time limit from the Push Notification table to the Push Notification Archive table. Destroying permanently deletes records from the archive table once they exceed the destroy time limit.
    • Default Rules: Notifications older than 365 days in the Push Notification table are archived; archived notifications older than 365 days are destroyed. This results in a total retention period of two years (one year active, one year archived).
    • Manual Archiving: Customers can manually archive push notifications on demand instead of relying solely on scheduled jobs.
    • Compatibility: If other record management methods (e.g., table cleaners) are in use, Push Retention does not need to be activated. Avoid running multiple retention processes simultaneously to prevent accidental deletions.

    Practical Considerations

    • Review and approve archive and destroy rules before activation, especially on upgraded instances.
    • If replacing an existing retention method with Push Retention, deactivate the old process first.
    • For assistance in transitioning to Push Retention, contact ServiceNow professional services or sales representatives.

    Key Outcomes

    By implementing push notification retention, customers can efficiently manage their push notification data lifecycle, ensuring that outdated notifications are archived and eventually removed to reduce database size and improve performance. This retention policy helps maintain compliance with data management policies and streamlines push notification record handling within ServiceNow instances.

    You can archive and eventually destroy push notifications that you no longer need or if your Push Notification table is excessively large.

    Push notification retention is available starting with the Jakarta release.

    Push notification archive and destruction plugins

    The push notification archiving and destruction feature uses the Data Archiving and Push Retention plugins. The Data Archiving plugin must be active to archive and destroy push notification records. The Push Retention plugin provides a set of rules that specify when the system archives and destroys push notification records.

    In new instances, the Push Retention plugin and associated archive and destroy rules are active by default. On upgraded instances, you must manually activate both the plugin and the archive and destroy rules. Be sure to review and approve the archive and destroy rules before activating them.

    If your instance already has a process for managing push notification records, you do not need to activate the Push Retention plugin. If you want to replace your current process with Push Retention, be sure to deactivate the current process before activating the archive and destroy rules.

    Archiving and destroying push notification records

    Archiving means moving records from the Push Notification [sys_push_notification] table to the Push Notification Archive [ar_sys_push notification] table when they exceed the archive rule time limit. Destroying means deleting records in the Push Notification Archive table when they exceed the destroy rule time limit.

    Default archive and destroy rules

    Push retention provides the following push archive rules:
    • Push Notification - Over a year old: archives push notification records that were created more than 365 days prior to the current date.
    • Push Notification Archive - Over a year old:destroys push notification records that have been archived for more than 365 days prior to the current date.
    With these default settings, your messages are kept on the instance for a total of two years: one year in the Push Notification table, and one year in the Push Notification Archive table. At the end of the period, the system deletes the expired notification records from the Push Notification Archive table.
    Note:
    By default these rules are active on new instances and inactive on upgrades. The system runs archive and destroy rules when you activate them.

    Compatibility with other record management implementations

    If you are already using another method for managing push notification records, such as table cleaners, you do not have to use the Push Retention feature. To prevent unexpected record deletion, avoid using multiple push notification management processes on the same instance at the same time.
    Note:
    For assistance replacing your existing record management implementation with push notification retention, contact your professional services or sales representative.