SMART Migration keeps a log of every job session in its repository database. On SQL Server 2025 Express that database holds 50 GB — plenty for most projects, provided you plan for it and look after it.
Plan the database space
Section titled “Plan the database space”- The rule of thumb: 50 GB holds the job logs of a migration of about 1 million files.
- Jobs that do not move files — in the IDE, data ETL and other operations — have logs of their own nature. Watch how the repository grows for your jobs to judge the space they need.
- Measure before a large project. Run on SQL Server Express for a while and watch the used space on the Repository tab of the Account module. The growth per run tells you how far 50 GB goes.
- Large or long projects — well past 1 million files, or a history that must be kept for a long time — put the repository on a licensed SQL Server from the start. It has no storage limit.
Keep the BI data out of the repository
Section titled “Keep the BI data out of the repository”Every Discovery and migration run can record each file it handles for Power BI. Keep that BI data in PostgreSQL: the installer sets it up on the SMART Migration server, or it can run on a machine of its own — at no cost and with no storage limit.
Everything can run on SQL Server instead. On SQL Server Express, though, the BI data goes into the repository database and shares its 50 GB, so the repository holds about half as many files.
Warnings and the limit
Section titled “Warnings and the limit”| Space left | What happens | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 20 % | Jobs warn that it is time to purge data or move to a licensed SQL Server | Delete the logs you no longer need, or plan the move |
| None | Nothing runs — not the jobs, the job server or even the IDE | Back up the database and restore it on a licensed SQL Server — or reinstall and start over, with every job, connection and log lost |
Do not let the repository fill up
Once the database is full, logs can no longer be deleted: the migration stops until the repository has been moved to a licensed SQL Server, or SMART Migration has been reinstalled and every job set up again. Act on the first warning. The steps for both: When the repository is full.
Routine maintenance
Section titled “Routine maintenance”- Delete logs you no longer need on the Dashboard — one session, several or all at once. Deleting is a soft delete; the space is purged in the background and reused for new logs.
- Look at the Dashboard regularly — weekly, or every other week when many errors or warnings come up.
- Shrink the database after a large clean-up, if you want the disk space back: the database files keep their size until they are shrunk (how).
The Nextcloud app and the Microsoft Teams app
Section titled “The Nextcloud app and the Microsoft Teams app”With either app, storage is virtually unlimited. The logs of runs that complete successfully are purged from the repository automatically; runs with errors keep theirs, with the whole job context, for troubleshooting — typically few, and no threat to the space. All BI data goes to PostgreSQL, which has no limit, and the apps' Power BI reports read it through the ODBC data source SMARTBI.
See also