Documentation PI Nexus+ Documentation

PI Nexus+ / Administration Guide

Inventory Maintenance and SQL Admin UI

This chapter sets how long PI Nexus+ keeps history, explains the purge and reset actions, and covers the SQL Server page. Every retention default and what each purge removes are in the Retention and Maintenance Reference.

Overview

This chapter sets how long PI Nexus+ keeps history, explains the purge and reset actions, and covers the SQL Server page. Every retention default and what each purge removes are in the Retention and Maintenance Reference.

Set retention

Cleanup runs on its own every night; the defaults suit most estates. Admin > Inventory Maintenance has one tab per kind of history: Inventory (missing inventory), Scan history, Compression tuning and Analysis recalculation. What each keeps is in Retention settings in the Reference.

Scan history tab with Automatic cleanup, the two retention periods and Run cleanup now
  1. Open Admin > Inventory Maintenance and choose the tab.
  2. Keep Automatic cleanup ticked, or clear it to keep history until you clean it up yourself. Missing inventory has no switch: it is cleaned up after each completed scan.
  3. Choose the retention periods, for example Routine health history and Inventory and diagnostic history.
  4. Choose Save.
  5. To clean up at once, choose Run cleanup now, then Refresh status to see the result.

Cleanup never removes active or unresolved work, current inventory or anything a pending email still needs. SQL Server reuses the freed space; PI Nexus+ does not shrink database files. Do not shorten retention to solve unexplained database growth: check Admin > Support > Scale and send a support bundle instead.

Purge or reset deliberately

The Danger zone tab removes data permanently, from missing inventory up to everything (Reset database). Use it only when you know which data goes, or when support asks. What each action removes is listed under Danger zone actions in the Reference.

Danger zone tab with the three purge actions, Purge full inventory and Reset database

Purge missing inventory is queued: it appears on the Scanning page's Queued tab as Missing inventory purge and runs when no scan is running.

Note: Reset database also removes targets, rules, schedules, PI Vision instances and notification settings. Only role mappings and the security audit are kept.

Use the SQL Server page

Admin > SQL Server shows whether the database is reachable and the schema is current. Use it to change the database:

Admin > SQL Server with the status cards, SQL Server and Database, Test and Apply
  1. Enter the SQL Server and Database.
  2. Choose Test. The test runs as the web application's identity.
  3. Choose Apply. PI Nexus+ saves the settings and applies the schema.
  4. Recycle the IIS application pool PINexusAppPool and restart the PI Nexus+ Scanner service. A note on the page stays until both use the new database.

Apply does not grant SQL Server rights: both service identities still need access (see Prepare SQL Server in the Installation Guide). On a split installation the page changes only the web server's bootstrap.json; change the scanner server's own file there and restart its service. Schema upgrades are described in Upgrade, Repair and Uninstall in the Installation Guide.

Reference: Retention and Maintenance Reference