How to move product directory of Shareplex in version 6.0 or up without impacting existing replic (4299512)

A product directory needs to be moved for several reasons. The most common one being server move. This solution delves on changing location of Shareplex product directory without impacting the existing replication.

Need to move the proddir of Shareplex to a new location.

The structure of the product directory has undergone radical change starting with Shareplex 6.0 and up. There are a number of soft links involved for one thing. Consequently it is very cumbersome to move the same product directory from one location to another using tar or any other equilvalent OS command. Attempting to move Shareplex product directory this way is prone to error. There is a simpler workaround when trying to move the proddir around. Here are the steps:

1.Shutdown Shareplex.
2.Re-install Shareplex once again by specifying a new proddir and new vardir (specify a dummy vardir, not the original vardir). Keep a temporary key or a permanent key ready as applicable. Seek help from Support, Sales or Licensing as needed.
3.Startup Shareplex to rule out any starting problems and shutdown Shareplex.
4.Edit the file named defaults.yaml located in /proddir/data subdirectory to amend the values for SP_SYS_VARDIR (environment variable for vardir), ORACLE_SID, ORACLE_HOME, etc, as appropriate, in case you do not intend to specify them in the environment and wish to use the defaults contained in this file.
5.From this time on use the newly created proddir and point to the original vardir (in case you want to retain the existing replication) when starting Shareplex.
6.If Shareplex comes up fine when using the new proddir, the old proddir can be removed.

NOTE: Shareplex needs to be reinstalled fresh. Simply moving proddir to another location will cause issues during operation.

It is recommended to test these steps in a QA environment to reduce the chances of error. The terms proddir and vardir are used interchangeably for product directory and variable directory respectively.