System properties

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
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    Summary of System Properties

    This document outlines the system properties that manage the Data Management capabilities within ServiceNow, focusing on archive and table cleaner properties. These properties allow customers to optimize system resource usage during archiving and cleaning operations.

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    Key Features

    • Archive Rule and Destroy Rule Properties: Automates the management of system resources during the archiving process, which can be adjusted manually. The process uses a producer-consumer model for efficient record handling.
    • System Properties for Archiving:
      • glide.db.archive.chunksize: Defines the number of unique identifiers in each archive chunk (default is 1000).
      • glide.db.archive.max.rule.records: Sets the maximum records per rule processed by consumers (default is 10,000).
      • glide.db.archive.max.batches: Specifies the number of chunks a consumer processes before scheduling another (default is 10).
      • glide.db.archiving.maxconsumerworkers: Establishes the maximum number of concurrent consumers (default is 4).
    • Table Cleaner Properties:
      • glide.db.tablecleaner.daysbeforeslowrulereattempt: Configures the waiting period for reprocessing slow rules (default is 2 days).
      • glide.db.tablecleaner.chunkdeletemaxtimespent: Limits the time spent deleting records per rule (default is 1200 seconds or 20 minutes).

    Key Outcomes

    By configuring these system properties, ServiceNow customers can enhance the efficiency of their data management processes. Adjustments allow for better control over resource usage during archiving and cleaning, ensuring a smoother operation and minimizing disruptions in system performance.

    These system properties control the behavior of the Data Management capabilities.

    Archive rule and destroy rule properties

    Rules to prevent the archive process from consuming too many system resources have been automated. You can manually change the system behavior.

    The archive process uses a producer and consumer model. Records are queued for archiving in the Archive Job Execution Chunks [sys_archive_run_chunk] table in batches.

    • The ArchiveProducerJob creates chunks of sys_ids records that need to be archived. Each chunk contains records pertaining to a single archive rule. The maximum number of records in a chunk is specified by the property glide.db.archive.chunk_size. The maximum number of records for a single rule across all chunks is specified by glide.db.archive.max.rule.records.
    • The producer starts up 4 (default) ArchiverJob consumers. The exact number of consumers is specified by glide.db.archiving.max_consumer_workers.
    • Consumers read and process chunks of sys_ids. The number of chunks each consumer processes is specified by glide.db.archive.max.batches. The chunks processed by each consumer may be from different archive rules.
    • Consumers repeat reading chunks of sys_ids until none remain or the limit of chunks a consumer can process (specified by glide.db.archive.max.batches) is reached, after which it shuts down and schedules another consumer.
    • If a chunk remains in the running state longer than what's specified in glide.db.archive.chunk.max.process.time, the system assumes that the consumer abruptly terminated, and it changes the chunk’s status to error. This doesn't stop or end any running consumers.
    Note:
    The archive and destroy properties listed in the table are not used if the Archive Job Execution Chunks [sys_archive_run_chunk] table is deleted.
    To manually control how many records the archive rule and destroy processes at one interval, you can change these default settings by adding the following system properties.
    Table 1. Archive System Properties
    Name Description Type Default Value
    glide.db.archive.chunk_size Number of unique identifiers added to each record in the Archive Job Execution Chunks [sys_archive_run_chunk] table. The record is formatted as CSV values in the keys field of the Archive Job Execution Chunk (sys_archive_run_chunk.do) form. Integer 1000
    glide.db.archive.chunk.max.process.time Number of milliseconds a record can remain in the Active state in the Archive Job Execution Chunks [sys_archive_run_chunk] table. The time is the difference between the system time and the value of the Start field in the Archive Job Execution Chunks [sys_archive_run_chunk] table. Integer 600000
    glide.db.archive.max.rule.records Maximum number of records to batch per consumer, per rule. Integer 10000
    glide.db.archive.debug Option that enables verbose logging when copying the column definitions from the original table to the archive table. true | false false
    glide.db.archive.max.batches Number of chunks, which are records from the Archive Job Execution Chunks [sys_archive_run_chunk] table, processed by a consumer before it shuts down and schedules another consumer. Integer 10
    glide.db.archiving.max_consumer_workers The maximum number of concurrent consumers cluster-wide. Integer 4

    Table cleaner properties

    To set table cleaner system properties, navigate to the System Properties [sys_properties] table and add the property.

    Table 2. System properties
    Property Description

    Configure the number of days table cleaner must wait before attempting to reprocess a slow rule.

    glide.db.tablecleaner.days_before_slow_rule_reattempt

    		 When a table cleaner rule has a query that takes longer than 30 seconds to complete, the entire table cleaner job is stopped. By default, table cleaner waits two days before including that rule in the table cleaner job again.

    You can change the default waiting period by adding this property.

    • Type: integer
    • Default value: 2

    Configure a time limit for a table cleaner rule.

    glide.db.tablecleaner.chunk_delete_max_time_spent

    		 Limits how long the cleaner spends trying to batch-delete records per rule during a single run. The value is given in seconds and defaults to 1200 (20 minutes), which means the table cleaner runs hourly for a maximum of 20 minutes.

    You can change the default time limit by adding this property.

    • Type: integer
    • Default value: 1200