Data management

Data is stored and managed in your instance according to a principled structure that administrators can view and configure. Data management functions include importing, exporting, and archiving database data and configuring fields and tables.

Database structure

All of the information in the instances is stored in tables, which consist of a series of records. The record in turn holds a series of fields that hold the individual bits of data and can be viewed either as a list or a form.

Tables can be related to each other in the following ways:

Extensions

A table can extend another table. The table doing the extending (child class) includes all of the fields of the other table (parent class) and adds its own fields. For instance, the Incident [incident] table has all of the Task [task] table fields (because an incident is a special form of task) and has its own incident-specific tasks.

One-to-Many

Within a table, a field can hold a reference to a record on another table. There are three types of one-to-many relationship fields:

• Reference Field: allow a user to select a record on a table defined by the reference field. For instance, the Caller field on the Incident table allows the user to select any record on the User table.
• Glide List: allows a user to select multiple records on a table defined by the glide list. For instance, the Watch list field on the Incident table allows the user to select records on the User table.
• Document ID Field: allows a user to select a record on any table in the instance. These fields are much less common, but one example is the Document field on the Translated Text [sys_translated_text] table.

Many-to-Many

Two tables can have a bi-directional relationship, so that the related records are visible from both tables in a related list.

Database Views

Two tables can be joined virtually with Database Views to enable reporting on data that might be stored over more than one table.

Data management tools

There are a number of tools that can help manage data within the instance.

Schema map

The Schema Map displays the relationships between tables visually, helping to navigate through the database structure.

The Schema Map provides an interface for viewing the relationships between tables. The inter-table relationships it captures include many-to-many relationships, tables that extend other tables, and tables that reference other tables through reference fields.

Data dictionary tables

Data dictionary tables holds information that defines the database and can be accessed for information on the database schema.

These tables hold important information on the database and its structure:

• Tables [sys_db_object]: contains a record for each table.
• Dictionary Entries [sys_dictionary]: contains additional details for each table and the definition for every column on each table. Each row represents either a column on a table or a table.
• Field Labels [sys_documentation]: contains the human-readable labels and language information.

Data management plugins

Table 1.

Plugin	Description
Data Archiving	Provides the ability to archive records to minimize performance issues.
Database Rotations	Provides tools for managing large tables to minimize performance issues.
Many to Many task relations	Provides the ability to define many-to-many relationships between task tables.

• Unique record identifier (sys_id)
  A unique 32-character GUID (Globally Unique ID), called a Sys ID (sys_id) identifies each record in an instance. There are various ways a record is assigned a sys_id.
• Data archiving
  Data archiving involves managing table size growth and archiving old data. It moves data that is no longer needed every day from primary tables to a set of archive tables.
• System clone
  Use the System Clone application to copy everything in a database from one instance to another.
• Clone Admin Console
  The Clone Admin Console provides a streamlined experience and enhanced visibility for cloning data between instances. You’ll find your existing clone profiles, exclusions, preservers, and scripts within the new console. It has added guidance on the clone request page, an on-demand backup option, and provides more visibility into clone progress.
• Database rotation
  Database rotation involves managing table size growth and archiving old data.
• Table cleaner
  Table cleaner deletes older records automatically and prevents data from growing exponentially.
• Deleting records safely
  You can safely delete records from a table without using scripts and without deleting the table by creating and executing delete jobs. For example, you might want to delete incident records on a test instance without deleting the incident table itself.
• Updating records safely
  Update several records simultaneously without using scripts by creating and executing a batch update job. For example, you might want to update the Assigned to value for multiple incidents on a test instance without running a script.
• Domain separation and Data Management
  Domain separation is supported in Data Management. Domain separation enables you to separate data, processes, and administrative tasks into logical groupings called domains. You can control several aspects of this separation, including which users can see and access data.