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Confirmation on Deleting Azure Diagnostic Tables and Retention Best Practices

Kiet Tran FPH 20241010 0 Reputation points
2025-10-14T04:16:47.8233333+00:00

Hello Microsoft,

My server currently has Windows Azure Diagnostics (WAD) enabled. The diagnostic tables have accumulated over time and now consume a significant amount of capacity within the associated Storage Account (General Purpose v1).

As there is no straightforward option in the Azure Portal to remove historical diagnostic data, I plan to implement a PowerShell cleanup script that will automatically delete tables older than 90 days to establish a manageable retention policy.

My understanding of the impact of deleting these tables:

·        It will not affect the operation of the VM or any dependent Azure services.

·        The Azure Diagnostics extension will automatically recreate new tables as it continues collecting current performance metrics and logs.

·        The only impact will be the loss of historical diagnostic and performance data, meaning older records will no longer be available for review or troubleshooting.

·        Current and future diagnostics should continue to function normally after the cleanup.

Could you please confirm whether this understanding is correct and advise if there are any additional considerations or recommended best practices before proceeding?

Azure Table Storage
Azure Table Storage
An Azure service that stores structured NoSQL data in the cloud.
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  1. Praveen Bandaru 9,250 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-10-14T11:25:38.2066667+00:00

    Hello Kiet Tran FPH 20241010

    I understand you're looking to clarify how deleting Azure Diagnostic Tables works, along with setting up a retention policy for your diagnostics data.

    Your understanding is correct removing these tables won't impact your VM or other Azure services.

    The Azure Diagnostics extension will create new tables as it gathers new data. However, deleting the tables means losing historical performance and diagnostic information, which could be important for troubleshooting if you need past records.

    If you need to keep historical data for audits or analysis, consider exporting it to Azure Blob Storage, Azure Data Lake, or another external archive before deletion.

    Using a PowerShell script to automatically remove tables older than 90 days is a sensible solution. Be sure the script handles any possible permission or locking issues during the deletion process.

    Hope the above answer helps! Please let us know do you have any further queries.

    Please do not forget to “up-vote” wherever the information provided helps you, this can be beneficial to other community members.

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