AUDIT Table Cleaning

1. Identify Large Segments in the SYSTEM Tablespace

Before deleting records, you may want to identify which segments occupy the most space in the SYSTEM tablespace. Run the following SQL command:

SET PAGES 999
SET LINES 300
COL OWNER FOR A10
COL SEGMENT_NAME FOR A20
COL SEGMENT_TYPE FOR A15
COL MB FOR 9999999

SELECT OWNER,
       SEGMENT_NAME,
       SEGMENT_TYPE,
       ROUND(BYTES/1024/1024) MB
FROM
       DBA_SEGMENTS
WHERE
       TABLESPACE_NAME='SYSTEM'
ORDER BY BYTES DESC
FETCH FIRST 5 ROWS ONLY;

2. Count Audit Records Older Than 180 Days

To estimate the number of audit records that are older than 180 days, use this query:

SELECT COUNT(*)
FROM SYS.AUD$
WHERE ntimestamp# < SYSDATE - 180;

3. Delete Audit Records in Batches

To prevent undo tablespace issues during deletion, remove records in smaller batches. Use the following PL/SQL block:

DECLARE
    v_limit NUMBER := 10000; -- Define batch size
BEGIN
    LOOP
        DELETE FROM SYS.AUD$
        WHERE ntimestamp# < SYSDATE - 180
        AND ROWNUM <= v_limit;
        EXIT WHEN SQL%ROWCOUNT = 0;
        COMMIT;
    END LOOP;
END;
/

4. Notes and Recommendations

• Always take a backup of the database before performing bulk deletions.
• Monitor the undo tablespace during deletion to ensure it does not run out of space.
• Adjust the v_limit variable based on your system’s capacity and performance.
• After cleaning up, consider purging or archiving old audit logs periodically to avoid similar issues in the future.

Tip: Regularly monitor the size of SYS.AUD$ and implement an automated cleanup job to manage its growth.