Skip to content
Release: Australia · Updated: 2026-03-12 · Official documentation · View source

Apply table rotation

Preserve instance performance by applying table rotation.

Before you begin

Determine the type of table you have and whether you can apply table rotation yourself.

  • You can apply table rotation to custom tables that begin with a u_ prefix at your own discretion.
  • Do not apply table rotation to scoped tables that begin with an x_ prefix without consulting ServiceNow or the third-party plugin developer first.
  • Do not apply table rotation to out-of-the-box tables that begin with a sys_ prefix. Contact Customer Service and Support for help with these tables.

Role required: admin

Procedure

  1. Navigate to All > System Definition > Table Rotations.

  2. Select New.

  3. On the form, fill in the fields.

FieldDescription
NameThe name of the table.
TypeThe type of rotation. Select Rotation.
RotationsThe number of tables to maintain through the duration.
DurationThe days and hours during which data is written to each shard.
Clean base rotationThe date to clean \(truncate\) the base table.
  1. Select Submit.

Result

A schedule is created and new data is written to one of the tables in the rotation group. The group includes the original table plus several additional tables.

Note: Deleting a rotation deletes the additional tables and all the data. Do not delete the rotation if you still need the data.

New table rotation group

Image omitted: NewTableRotationGroup.png
New table rotation group.

Parent Topic:Table rotation