1. Introduction
  2. Application Data
  3. Licenses
  4. Application Installations
  5. Base URL
  6. AD/LDAP Integration
  7. Application Versions
  8. JAVA
  9. Database
  10. Apps / Add-ons
  11. Backup Policy
  12. Testing Environment
  13. Tool Administration
  14. Conclusion

Introduction

Maintaining the health and stability of your Jira application is crucial for seamless project management. To ensure your Jira instance is running smoothly and efficiently, it’s essential to perform regular checks and follow best practices. In this blog post, we’ll outline a comprehensive checklist of areas to inspect within your Jira instance.

Application Data

  • Check this post about what not to do in Jira. This may indicate that best practices are not being followed.
  • Run an integrity checker and the instance health check to identify any errors that Jira can potentially rectify or preemptively flag.
  • Search for issues that are in closed status and without any resolution set.
  • Verify if there are custom fields with the same name or have the same name as system fields like “Due Date”.
  • Verify if any project can be archived.

Licenses

  • Verify license’s expiry date and issue a warning if it will expire in the next 30 to 90 days.
  • Remove license for users who have Never Login or are Not active.
  • Search for users that are not using the tool within a certain number of days.

Application Installations

  • Confirm that the index is replicating across the cluster in a timely manner (if Data Center).
  • Verify that cache replication is functioning properly among all nodes in the cluster (if Data Center).
  • Check that the system time is synchronized across all nodes in the cluster (if Data Center).
  • Check if your application version is listed as an affected version for any critical security vulnerabilities published at http://www.atlassian.com/trust/security/advisories.
  • Check that emails are consistently leaving the mail queue.
  • Ensure that the user running the application is not the root user.
  • Ensure there is enough free space to backup and restore the index.
  • Verify that the application is running under the HTTPS protocol with an installed and secure certificate.
  • Check if the application is initializing with the correct encoding.
  • Check if there is any antivirus software on the application’s installation machine. If present, ensure that it excludes the JIRA_HOME and Jira installation directories.

Base URL

  • Ensure that Jira can access itself through the configured Base URL to ensure the functionality of dashboard gadgets.

AD/LDAP Integration

  • Check if Jira can successfully connect to LDAP servers using the user and password provided in the User Directory configuration.
  • Confirm the presence of an enabled internal user directory and an enabled administrator user within this directory.
  • Scan all user directories for duplicate user accounts or invalid emails.
  • Whenever possible, filter the amount of groups and users that are being brought to the tool using AD filters.

Application Versions

  • Check if the application or plugins are not too outdated.

JAVA

  • Ensure that the JVM parameters related to memory are appropriate for the application’s usage, considering the number of active users or licenses.
  • Ensures you’re using a supported version of the JDK/JRE.

Database

  • Ensure that you are not using Jira’s internal databases (HSQL or H2) instead of a proper database like PostgreSQL or MySQL.
  • Verify that your database is using the correct character set (applies only if MySQL is used).
  • Verify that your database is using the correct collation (applies only if MySQL is used).
  • Ensure that your database is using an appropriately sized max_packets value (applies only if MySQL is used).
  • Verify if the database connection is configured according to our recommended settings.
  • Check if the database and tables are configured with the required collation.
  • Ensure that your Jira instance is using a supported database model and version.
  • Monitor the database connection pool graph to ensure it is within normal parameters.

Apps / Add-ons

  • Review which plugins are installed in the system, whether they are reliable, have good support, and if they carry Atlassian’s endorsement like CLOUD FORTIFIED.

Backup Policy

  • Assess the backup policy, including whether backups exist, if they are functional, whether they have been utilized, how long it would take to restore them, and whether there is a documented process for restoration.

Testing Environment

  • Determine if there is a testing environment and if it is regularly updated.

Tool Administration

  • Identify the number of administrators, and their responsibilities, and ensure that they genuinely require those permissions.

Conclusion

I’ve highlighted a comprehensive list of relevant points in this blog post. While there are many aspects to consider, rest assured that you don’t need to address all of them at once. Focus on the ones that align most closely with your specific needs and priorities. By taking a strategic and tailored approach, you can make significant improvements to your Jira setup and ensure it operates efficiently for your team/company.

Do you remember anything else? Please add it as a comment!