SNOW-CSA Database Administration and CMDB Practice Question
A ServiceNow administrator wants to archive old CMDB history records that are older than 12 months to improve performance. Which approach should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse 'pruning' (which deletes records) with 'archiving' (which moves records to a separate table), leading them to choose Option A, or they incorrectly assume that manual SQL operations are acceptable in ServiceNow, which is a common anti-pattern tested on the CSA exam.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use the 'Archive Old Records' functionality in CMDB Workspace
The CMDB Workspace provides a built-in 'Archive Old Records' functionality specifically designed to move old CMDB history records (e.g., from the `cmdb_ci_history` table) to an archive table, improving performance without data loss. This approach is supported by ServiceNow's recommended best practices for managing CMDB history data, as it preserves records for compliance while reducing the active table size.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Increase the 'CMDB History Pruning Frequency' property
Why it's wrong here
Pruning removes records permanently, not archives them.
- ✗
Manually delete rows from the 'cmdb_ci_history' table using SQL
Why it's wrong here
Direct database manipulation is not supported and can cause issues.
- ✓
Use the 'Archive Old Records' functionality in CMDB Workspace
Why this is correct
This is the designed feature to safely archive old history records.
- ✗
Run a scheduled report to export and then delete records
Why it's wrong here
No built-in export-delete mechanism; manual deletion would be needed.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SNOW-CSA practice question is part of Courseiva's free ServiceNow certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SNOW-CSA exam.