Disk Management

SmarterTrack uses two types of storage: database storage and file storage. The database holds the structured content of your help desk like ticket messages, live chat transcripts, knowledge base article text, task details, and more. File storage holds assets that are associated with that content: attachments uploaded to tickets and live chats, images embedded in KB articles, files attached to canned replies, and similar items.

SmarterTrack manages file storage efficiently on its own. It deduplicates files automatically, meaning the same image used across ten KB articles is stored on disk only once. It also purges file assets when their parent records are deleted. For example, delete a ticket (or if it's automatically purged), and its attachments are cleaned up as well. Even so, on a busy help desk storage grows steadily over time, and it helps to know where that space is going.

The Disk Management page gives administrators a clear view of how much disk space SmarterTrack is consuming and what is driving that consumption. It also details how much of something there is. For example, the Tickets and Live Chats tabs show the numbers of these items and their dispositions (e.g., total tickets, the number of completed live chats, etc.) Additional tabs are available as well, for File Storage, and then Departments.

Note: Storage statistics are calculated on demand when this page is loaded. On a large installation the numbers may take a moment to populate.

Overview

The Overview tab provides a summary of all storage types in a single view. Rather than navigating tab by tab, administrators can use this tab to get a quick picture of total usage and spot which category is using the most space. For example, if total file storage is unexpectedly large, a glance at the Overview will show whether ticket attachments, KB images, or some other category is responsible before drilling into the relevant tab.

The storage types visible are:

Database Size - This is the overall size of the database used by SmarterTrack.
File Storage - The is the total space used for file attachments, inline images, etc.
Ticket Attachments Size - The shows the total storage consumed by files uploaded directly to tickets, both internal attachments added by agents and external attachments submitted by end users. Because tickets tend to have long retention periods and may receive many files over their lifetime, ticket attachments are often the largest contributor to file storage on an active help desk. As a result, this can help administrators decide whether to tighten attachment policies — for instance, restricting allowed file types or reducing the maximum attachment size — or to review the ticket deletion and purge settings to ensure old tickets (and their associated files) are not being kept longer than necessary.
Live Chat Attachments Size - This shows total space used by files that were shared during live chat sessions. Agents and end users can exchange files during a live chat, and those files are stored for the duration of the chat transcript's retention period. Once a chat session is deleted, either manually or by the Chat Manager thread's automatic cleanup, associated attachments are removed as well.
Knowledge Base Attachments Size - This shows the space used by files embedded in or attached to knowledge base articles, including images inserted into article bodies. Because SmarterTrack deduplicates these files, the same screenshot or diagram used in multiple articles is counted only once. This tab shows both the count of unique files and the total disk space they occupy. If KB storage is unusually large, it is often a sign that article images have not been optimized before upload. Large, uncompressed screenshots or high-resolution photos embedded in KB articles can add up quickly. Reviewing and replacing those assets with appropriately sized images is the most effective way to reclaim space in this category.
Call Log Attachment Size - The shows the space used by files that are added as internal attachments to for call logs.

Customers using the Hosted SmarterTrack service have a little extra information as well to help them better understand their overall usage and their available space:

Space Allowed - This is the total space (database storage and file storage) for a particular Hosted SmarterTrack customer. The amount of space allowed is based on the total number of agents multiplied by 20 GB.
Space Used - This is the total spaced used (database and file storage).
Free Space - This is the difference between the allowed space and used space.

Tickets

The Tickets tab shows a significant amount of detail about tickets in SmarterTrack. This includes information on the total tickets, total open tickets, and total closed tickets.

Then, there is a breakdown of tickets by age: Closed more than 90 days, closed more than 4 years, etc. It also shows the total Deleted Tickets and Tickets with Resolutions.

This information is important as it may lead administrators to review the automated settings across their various departments. For example, if there are a large number of tickets that were closed over 5 years ago, it may be worthwhile to review the auto-delete settings for departments and adjust those so that number is decreased. Additionally, if there are a large number of deleted tickets, those may be able to be manually purged by the administrator.

Note: "Tickets with Resolutions" are not impacted by any auto-delete settings.

Live Chats

Just as with Tickets, this tab displays details regarding Live Chats. And just like Tickets, there are Live Chat settings around automatically deleting live chats over a certain age that may need review should there be a large number of live chats that are closed but over a certain age.

File Storage

This tab covers file counts and total size used across various areas. As detailed above, if a certain area has a large number of files, or an inordinate amount of storage being used, it's worthwhile for an administrator to put policies in place to help alleviate that usage.

Using Knowledge Base Attachments as an example, an administrator may want content creators to limit the number and/or size of images used when creating articles. Limiting image dimensions (width and/or height), specifying image compressions types (no uncompressed images), or even file types used (e.g., no EPS files) can go a long way towards limiting a category's usage.

Note: "Raw Content" is the actual raw .EML file. It is what's used when you select "Raw Content" from a specific ticket's Actions menu.

Departments

The Departments tab is a bit unique: it displays the automatic settings SmarterTrack offers on a per-department basis, and what those settings are for each of the departments listed.

Administrators can configure SmarterTrack to automatically close, and then delete tickets and automatically delete live chats based on a time frame that works for their teams. For example, ad administrator might automatically close tickets after 14 days of no customer response, lock them a few days after that so users can no longer reply, and then permanently delete them after a year. All three settings can be customized, can be enabled or disabled independently, and are configured on a per-department basis, giving an administrator granular control over how each team manages its tickets and chats.

Using the Departments tab, an administrator can view those settings and how they're configured for each department set up in SmarterTrack. And there are three buttons/actions that can be performed from this page:

Edit - Selecting a department and clicking this button (or simply double-clicking on a department) allows administrators to modify these automated cleaning operations for that department. A modal opens where administrators can change the timings of each, and, when saved, the settings also change in that department's respective Ticket and Live Chat settings.
Run Purge Deleted - This will run SmarterTrack's purge deleted process. Unlike the normal purge process, which only purges tickets deleted for at least 90 days, this will immediately purge all deleted items.
Run Cleanup - This will run the cleanup process. This will cleanup any orphaned data within the database and the file storage.