If purge does not recover expected disk space, check these items first
- If the store is in an inconsistent state, the purge process will end before data deletion takes place. This would be indicated in the purge log. To view the log, go to Archive Manager > Storage > [the store] > Task history > then highlight the purge task in the center pane > then click 'view log' in the bottom center pane. Scroll to the bottom of the log for the most recent entry and look for a line that the store is inconsistent and no items will be deleted.
- Check for any quarantined items in the Quarantined Items folder under the store folder. All quarantined items should be resolved and deleted from the Quarantined Items folder prior to starting purge. Quarantined Items should be resolved according to our kb Handling Quarantined Items. Once the Quarantined Items folder is empty, start the purge task again. Make sure you refresh your view in Archive Manager at the store level prior to clicking on the Quarantined Items folder to see the current state of the folder.
- Make sure the purge task is not already running. Purge may take significant time to complete. You should allow purge to run all the way to completion. Select the store, then select the Store Tasks action and check the status of the purge task in the center pane.
Purge may run successfully but recover less disk space than expected for the following reasons:
- The protected data set is relatively static, with few changed files but new data added to it, such as with document management systems. Current restore points would still reference the older data, so nothing would be eligible for deletion.
- Deduplication techniques may require that the original version of a file be retained in the store if another version of the file has been deduplicated by referencing the original. Over time, smaller deduplicated versions of the file may be purged but not the original version, even if it was stored earlier than the expiration settings dates. This is by design.
- Plans have been ending with errors before purge has been run. In this case, plan indexes would not be trimmed and less disk space would be recovered by purge. Resolve the plan errors and warnings for index trimming to take effect, then run purge again. Contact support if you need assistance with plan errors and warnings, or refer to the knowledge base.
