Question

A logging container has its container-level DefaultTimeToLive property set to null (TTL is not enabled). A developer writes several log documents that each include a 'ttl' property set to 3600 (one hour), expecting those specific items to expire after one hour. After several days, none of the items with the per-item 'ttl' have been deleted. Why are the items not expiring?

Accepted Answer

When the container's DefaultTimeToLive is null, TTL is disabled entirely and per-item ttl values are ignored, so no items ever expire.

Answer

The per-item ttl value of 3600 is interpreted as milliseconds, so the effective expiration is too short for the background process to act on.

Answer

Per-item ttl values only take effect when DefaultTimeToLive is set to a positive number equal to or greater than the item value.

Answer

TTL expiration requires a dedicated composite index on the ttl path, which was not created on the container.