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Overview
Enterprise teams generate a massive volume of test Test artifacts, : automated results, screenshots, logs, and evidence. Without a clear storage strategy, even the most powerful Xray instances can become harder to manage over time. But Storage Management Practices are not isn't just a technical concern, it’s a reflection of ; it reflects your process maturity, tooling alignment, and governance culture. This guide goes beyond limits. It offers real-world storage strategies tailored to enterprise testing Enterprise Testing realities.
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Choosing Your Storage Pattern
Decentralized, Unlimited Approach
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While Xray Enterprise offers unlimited storage, maintaining performance in Jira environments still benefits from healthy attachment practices and routine housekeeping. Here’s what you can do:
- Encourage
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- regular Test Run
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- housekeeping: establish a retention policy
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- for test executions based on criticality, audit
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- needs, and
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- workflow habits. Periodically review and delete older Test Executions that exceed the defined retention period.
- Monitor
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- storage-heavy projects:
- Identify projects
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- with high attachment usage
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- .
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Use the Global Storage Settings to
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detect them within Xray or by exporting data.
- Follow up with teams to encourage
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- cleanup or optimization.
- Optimize
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- evidence handling in automation: when using the Xray REST API
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- , validate imported results. Only submit relevant Test Executions, statuses, and evidence
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- . Avoid importing
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- large logs,
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- screenshots, or debug outputs
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- unless required for traceability or audit purposes.
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Shift verbose data to CI/CD
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tools: keep detailed build logs in your CI/CD system and link the build to the Test Execution
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Issue in Jira using a custom field
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for full traceability.
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| between Jira entities and build information.
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Figure 1 - Storage at your fingertips with the tutorial we’ve made for you!
General Guidance for a
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Decentralized Approach in Xray
Scenario | Approach | |||||
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Operate in a high-speed, autonomous environment | Letting Allow teams to manage their own evidence formats, but while guiding via them with optional best practices | |||||
Run frequent automated tests with large result volumes of results | Define which evidence types | of evidenceare required for long-term traceability ( | regulatory validationse.g., for regulatory validation), and apply lighter | evidencestandards to low-risk, routine | automationruns to avoid unnecessary storage growth | .
Externalized Evidence Strategy
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While CI/CD platforms (like Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, or CircleCI conveniently generate and store test ) are great for generating and storing Test artifacts, they’re but not designed for long-term retention or complianceaudit-driven level traceability. Instead Linking to these artifacts instead of uploading every raw output into Xray, many teams choose to link back to these artifacts, but this choice comes with them into Xray reduces clutter but introduces trade-offs. Here are key considerations to keep in mind:
Key Considerations
Retention Policies
CI platforms often purge artifacts automatically
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(e.g., after 30, 60, or 90 days
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). Teams unaware of
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this may unintentionally lose critical test evidence.
Recommendiations
If
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longer retention is needed (for compliance or regression traceability),
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configure your automation
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tools accordingly.
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Xray allows you to archive work items
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(e.g., Test Plans or Executions) while retaining evidence access, without cluttering active
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views.
| Tipinfo |
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Your CI system is built for speed. Xray is built for permanence. - Your CI system is optimized for speed & designed to run fast feedback loops, discard intermediate data, and prioritize throughput over retention. Xray, on the other hand, is designed for permanence, withCI tools are designed for fast feedback and throughput, discarding intermediate data quickly. Xray is designed for structured traceability, auditability, and long-term access tovisibility into test history ,and evidence , and coverage across releases. Some teams use |
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shared drives (e.g., Google Drive, OneDrive) |
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for storing evidence, but this introduces risks like broken links, inconsistent access |
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control, and |
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audit |
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gaps. |
Accessing
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Control Risks
Automation platforms often lack the granular, role-based permissions found in Xray, making it harder to
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secure critical Test artifacts.
Recommendations
- Review and align group permissions with internal role structures.
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Define a policy
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requiring certain types of evidence
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to be stored in Xray - regardless of CI
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integration - especially for audits or regulated releases.
Review
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access to each evidence repository
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(CI
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or cloud
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storage) at least quarterly.
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Real-World Scenarios Where Storage Matters Example: Medical Devices Example: |
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The key takeaway:
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For teams relying on CI tools but still needing governance, here’s how to balance flexibility with control
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:
General Guidance for Teams using CI + Xray
Scenario | Approach |
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Short-lived artifacts (e,g., debug logs) | You may prefer to link Link them in comments to keep execution records lightweight and focused. |
Critical test Test output or evidence needed for audits | Best stored in Xray’s TestRun Test Run Evidence panel to ensure for long-term availability and traceability. |
Large reports (test e.g., Test coverage in HTML format) | Consider summarizing the content Summarize in Xray , with a and link to the full version report hosted externally. |
Regulated environments | Ensure Align CI retention and access policies in your CI system are aligned with compliance needs. ; use Xray can serve as a stable system of record if required. |
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as the source of truth where needed |
Structured and Standardized Process
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A well-structured and standardized approach to evidence storage doesn’t have standardized process doesn’t need to feel like a heavy burden. With Xray’s built-in features and smart configurations, teams can effortlessly maintain consistency, improve traceability, and accelerate test cycles.can help teams maintain consistency while moving faster.
How Here’s how Xray can help enable a lightlightweight, actionable effective evidence processmanagement:
Use
Xraycustom fields in Test Executions or Test Runs to
help youcapture
key metadata. Not only evidence but test environment, revision for example.metadata like Test environment and revision.
Add
Opt to configurefield validations or
mandatoryrequired fields to ensure
critical evidenceessential information is
always provided without manual policingcaptured.
- While storing
Store all evidence
directly within Xray’s Test Runs, ensuringin Xray to ensure a single source of truth
, opt for use Xray’s.
Use traceability reports to
quickly reviewassess evidence completeness and quality across
testcycles.
Remember, Xray helps you toenables:
- Faster
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- reviews:
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- clear, consistent evidence
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- approval delays.
- Better
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- traceability: know who uploaded what and when.
- Scalable
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- onboarding: templates and guides help new members ramp up fast.
General Guidance for a Structured & Standardized Process
Scenario | Approach |
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Works Working under strict QA/compliance policies (e.g., ISO, FDA, DO-178C) | Using Use Xray-specific workflow settings that block transitions unless all executions have been performed, alied with validators in your Jira workflow that block transitions unless mandatory fields or evidence are present |
You have rotating Rotating or external QA resources | Creating Provide pre-filled Test Execution templates and onboarding kits with clear ✔️/❌ examples |
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Structure doesn’t have tomean rigidity. When done right, it createsbuilds clarity, trust, and the space for teams to move faster with confidencespeed. |
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to help you walk through smart storage decisions in Xray |
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(based on the type, purpose, and compliance needs of your |
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Test evidence). |
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Figure 2 - Storage
Next Steps
You don’t need a one-size-fits-all policy. You need : just a storage strategy that fits each team’s reality.
- Flexibility works , if when teams are empowered and accountable.
- Standardization delivers , when traceability is non-negotiable.
- Automation scales , when backed by smart evidence governance.
- Start by reviewing how your teams currently use storage.
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- Map the teams to the patterns
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- above
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- , then adjust
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- global settings, evidence formats, and expectations to
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- balance autonomy
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- with control.
Learn More
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