Issue
Database maintenance has been keeping the event and extendedlog tables trim and someone decides they want to see data from a period of time that has been truncated from the Database.
Environment
- Continuum Cyberstation
- SQL Server
- ActivityEvent
- AlarmEvent
- ErrorEvent
- ExtendedLog
Cause
Table truncation scripts have removed the events that a report is to be populated with.
Resolution
We can run reports on user activity and access event activity going back only as far as the information that is stored in the Continuum Database. This information is stored in specific tables that are normally truncated on a regular basis. The amount of time this information is saved for may be different for each installation. (See articles Stand Alone Continuum using SQL Server 2005 Express is not purging the ExtendedLog table and How to setup automatic table truncation on Single-User SQL Express systems on how this is setup on a single-user system.)
However, there is one possibility to being able to provide this information. If there has been a vigilant database maintenance schedule maintained and there have been periodic backups of the ContinuumDB, then the information stored in those backups can be retrieved and reports can be run.
- This would require a setup of a separate Continuum system (SQL Server and Cyberstation) that is able to have these backed up Databases restored to it.
- Restore each backed up copy of the ContinuumDB
- Run the required reports against this offline version of the Database.
- Do this one Database at a time until all the required data has been gathered.
