SharePlex 10.2.1 - Installation and Setup Guide

Set up SharePlex in an Oracle cluster

These instructions are for setting up SharePlex in an Oracle cluster.

Important! These instructions cover the parts of installing and setting up a cluster that pertain to the setup of SharePlex in the cluster. See the Oracle documentation for complete instructions for the platform that you are using.

The setup has the following phases:

Configure the cluster

Perform these steps on a source cluster and a target cluster, if applicable.

1. On one node of the cluster, create a static application Virtual IP (VIP) address for SharePlex. This VIP must point to the node where SharePlex will run and fail over to the secondary node if the primary node fails.

   Notes:

   See the Oracle documentation for more information about creating a Virtual IP address on your specific platform.

   The VIP establishes a consistent host name across all nodes.

   The cluster software maps the VIP to the SharePlex server and migrates it during a failover.

   Alternatively, this mapping can be done as a host alias in the hosts file (on Windows) on both nodes. The alias is exported in the SharePlex user profile and used in the SharePlex configuration parameters.

   Example:

   123.456.0.78 splex

2. Create a TNS alias for SharePlex to use to connect to the database on each node. Use the same alias on each node of a cluster. Set load balance to off and set failover to on. For example:

   Node 1:

   	ora_a_sp =
          	(DESCRIPTION =
          	(ADDRESS_LIST =
             	(ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = RAC1)(PORT = 1521))
             	(ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = RAC2)(PORT = 1521))
           	)
           	(LOAD_BALANCE = OFF)
           	(FAILOVER = ON)
           	  (CONNECT_DATA =
   		  (SERVER = DEDICATED)
           	  (SERVICE_NAME = ora_a)
   		  (INSTANCE_NAME = ora_a1)
           	  )
   		)

   Node 2:

   	ora_a_sp =
          	(DESCRIPTION =
          	(ADDRESS_LIST =
             	(ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = RAC2)(PORT = 1521))
             	(ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = RAC1)(PORT = 1521))
           	)
           	(LOAD_BALANCE = OFF)
           	(FAILOVER = ON)
           	  (CONNECT_DATA =
   		  (SERVER = DEDICATED)
           	  (SERVICE_NAME = ora_a)
   		  (INSTANCE_NAME = ora_a2)
           	  )
   		)

   Note: A TNS alias establishes global connection information that supercedes local instance names and enables SharePlex to connect to the failover instance without requiring a configuration reactivation. SharePlex identifies the correct Oracle instance from the configuration file.

3. If the Oracle instances in the cluster have different ORACLE_HOMEs, edit the oratab file on each node and on the DNS nameserver, if applicable, to use a symbolic link in place of the actual ORACLE_HOME path:

   SID:/path_to_symbolic_link:N

Install SharePlex on the cluster

To install on Windows

• On Windows, you must install the SharePlex product directory on each node of the cluster in order to make the binaries and the required MKS Toolkit components available to all nodes, and to establish Registry entries. Install each SharePlex instance on the same port number, with identical path names.

• It is best practice to install the SharePlex variable-data directory on a shared drive to enable more efficient failover. If you do install this directory locally on both nodes of the cluster, specify a temporary variable-data directory on the secondary node and remove it after installation. You will configure SharePlex to use the correct variable-data directory in this procedure.

• For more information, see Read this before you begin:.

Run Database Setup

After you install SharePlex, run the Database Setup utility. The following applies in a cluster:

• Source cluster: Run Database Setup and specify the TNS alias as the connection type.
• Target system or target cluster:Run Database Setup and specify the TNS alias as the connection type, except if you are populating the target with a hot backup. If you are populating the target with a hot backup, do not run Database Setup now. You will run Database Setup during the activation procedure.
• For more information, see Database Setup for Oracle.

Persist the SharePlex licenses

Perform these steps on a source cluster and on a target cluster, if applicable.

SharePlex will not run without a license key for each node of the cluster. This license key must be persisted in the SharePlex environment.

To add licenses on Windows

Run the license utility on each node of the cluster.

1. Log on to Windows as the SharePlex Administrator.

2. If SharePlex is running, do the following:

   1. Select the SharePlex Services tab.
   2. Select the port number of the SharePlex instance for which you want to add a license key.
   3. Click Stop.
   4. Wait for Current State to display a message that the service stopped.
3. Select the License Keys tab.

4. Select the SharePlex port number from the Port list.

5. Click Add License, then type or paste the information exactly as you received it from Quest, as follows:

   1. License Key: The license key, including any spaces. The key is case-sensitive.
   2. Customer Name: The text string that was included with the license. The name is case-sensitive.

6. (Windows Cluster) To add a license for another node in a cluster, select the Add Alternate Host Id check box, then select the machine ID from the CPU ID list box. Repeat this step to add a license to all secondary nodes in the cluster.

7. Click OK to close the utility.

8. To start SharePlex, do the following:

   1. Select the SharePlex Services tab.
   2. Select the port number of the SharePlex instance that you licensed.
   3. Click Start.
   4. Wait for Current State to display a message that the service started.

Set the SharePlex environment parameters

Perform these steps on a source cluster and on a target cluster, if applicable.

Set the SharePlex environment to point to the VIP alias and SharePlex variable-data directory.

• SP_SYS_HOST_NAME directs SharePlex to use the VIP alias when any of its processes issues a name lookup, superseding the local system name. It ensures that sp_ctrl commands are directed to the correct host, in this case the cluster name, and it enables SharePlex to migrate properly during failover.
• SP_SYS_VARDIR points to the variable-data directory that you installed on the shared disk. This is the active variable-data directory. Setting SP_SYS_VARDIR ensures that the current replication environment continues to be used by SharePlex after failover.

To set the environment on Windows

Important! Do not set these parameters as environment variables, and do not set them on any systems outside the cluster, even if those systems are running SharePlex.

1. On the primary node of the cluster, run the regedit program.

2. Locate the following SharePlex entry:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\QuestSoftware\SharePlex.

3. Expand the SharePlex node, then highlight the port number of the SharePlex instance you are configuring.

4. In the Name column in the pane to the right, right-click the SP_SYS_VARDIR variable, then select Modify.

5. Type the full path name of the shared variable-data directory in the Value Data field, then click OK.

   

6. Right click the SharePlex port number, then click New and select String Value.
7. Rename the new string to SP_SYS_HOST_NAME. Use all capital letters.
8. Click outside the name box to set the new name of SP_SYS_HOST_NAME.
9. Right-click SP_SYS_HOST_NAME, then select Modify.

10. Type the VIP alias in the Value Data field, then click OK.

    

11. Close the Registry Editor.
12. Restart the SharePlex service for the changes to take effect.

Configure SharePlex

When you create the configuration file that directs SharePlex replication, you specify the TNS alias rather than an actual ORACLE_SID, as follows.

To capture from a source cluster

Specify the TNS alias on the o.datasource line of the file. This is the first line of the configuration file.

For example:

datasource:o.ora_a_sp

To post to a target cluster

Specify the TNS alias as the destination in the routing map.

For example (assumes the use of wildcards to specify objects):

expand hr.%     hr.%    inst_c@ora_b_sp

Activate replication

Once a source and target cluster (if applicable) are configured, you can populate a standalone or clustered target with a copy of the source data, while replication keeps track of transactional changes made by users on the source database. Use any of the Oracle-specific copy methods for activating replication from an active source. See the procedures listed in Start replication on your production systems in the SharePlex Administration Guide for more information.

Add SharePlex to the cluster software

Incorporate SharePlex as a resource in the cluster software, and include it in the cluster failover routines so that it migrates with the other applications during failover. This ensures that the sp_cop process is started on the adoptive node by the cluster software. At minimum, this includes creating a startup script for SharePlex and a cluster script for SharePlex to handle failover. Note the following:

• The sp_cop program is the only process that the cluster software should start. The sp_cop process must be allowed to start the other SharePlex processes. All SharePlex processes, except sp_cop, can be controlled through the sp_ctrl interface.
• Do not attempt to start or stop sp_cop yourself through the command interface; otherwise the cluster software will attempt to restart it. If you need to stop sp_cop, use the cluster software commands.

• If possible, configure SharePlex and Oracle into a single global cluster package. The combination of SharePlex and Oracle in the same package allows the cluster software to start and stop SharePlex and Oracle in the proper sequence if any component of the package fails. Configure Oracle to start before SharePlex.

• Assistance for creating startup and cluster scripts is available through SharePlex Professional (PSO) Services.

System maintenance

Make certain your systems administrators understand that any changes or upgrades they perform to the operating system on any node in the cluster must be implemented on all nodes in the cluster so that SharePlex fails over to an identical environment.

Installation and setup for remote capture

SharePlex can capture from an Oracle database that is running on a system other than the system where SharePlex is running.

This support covers Oracle databases running Windows. This support applies only when SharePlex and the remote capture database are running on the same operating system type (i.e., if SharePlex is on Windows, the remote database must be on Windows). For more information about the supported Oracle database versions, see SharePlex Release Notes.

SharePlex does not support remote capture from Oracle on RAC unless the database is running on ASM.

Note: These instructions apply to on-premises installations. If configuring SharePlex to capture from a remote database that is on Amazon AWS, see the SharePlex Installation and Setup Guide for Oracle on RDS.

Note:Remote capture using more than one SharePlex instance to the same Oracle instance is not supported.

To set up SharePlex for remote capture

1. Install an Oracle client on the system where SharePlex is running. No database is required on this system.
2. Set the ORACLE_HOME system variable on the SharePlex system to the Oracle client installation folder.
3. Set the ORACLE_SID to a dummy value, as a placeholder for the non-existent local database.
4. Create a tnsnames.ora file on the SharePlex system and make an entry for the remote source database. Place the file in the path specified in the TNS_ADMIN environment variable.
5. Install SharePlex on the remote system in the normal manner.

6. Run Oracle Setup on the SharePlex system according to the directions in Database Setup for Oracle.

   • Reply NO to "Will SharePlex install be using a BEQUEATH connection?"
   • Reply NO to "Are you setting up SharePlex for an RDS database?"
   • Reply YES to "Will the current setup for sid: SID be used as a source (including cases as source for failover or primary-primary setups)?"
7. Complete all other installation and setup tasks according to the this document.
8. After setup is complete, start sp_cop and sp_ctrl.
9. Set the SP_OCT_OLOG_USE_OCI parameter to 1 to enable it. When capturing from a remote database, Capture must read the redo logs through OCI calls because it does not have access to the log files on disk.
10. See the SharePlex Administration Guide for help with configuring and starting replication.

Install SharePlex on Windows

Contents

Install SharePlex on Windows

Read this before you begin:

• These instructions assume that you understand and satisfied all requirements in the SharePlex SharePlex preinstallation checklist.
• Perform the installation steps on all Windows machines involved in SharePlex replication. On Windows, install SharePlex on all nodes of each cluster, on the same port number, with identical path names. This is required to make the binaries and the required MKS Toolkit components available to all nodes, and to establish Registry entries.

To run the installer

1. Log in to Windows as the SharePlex Administrator.

2. (Reinstallation only)

   1. Run SpUtils from the shortcut on the Windows desktop. If the system is running Windows 2008 or higher, run SpUtils as an Administrator.
   2. Select the SharePlex Services tab.
   3. Select the correct port, and then stop the SharePlex service.
   4. Close the utility.

3. Run the sp_setup installation program and follow the prompts:

   Prompt	Input
   Destination folder	SharePlex installation directory (known as the product directory). Specify an empty existing directory or a new one to be created.
   Port number	The port number on which this instance of SharePlex will run. The default is 2100. Do not use port 2101. That port is reserved for the SpRemote utility.
   Variable Data directory	The directory where SharePlex stores its working files and data. Specify an empty existing directory or a new one to be created. To avoid permissions errors during runtime, do not install the variable-data directory in the Program Files directory.
   Program Manager group	The folder in the Programs menu where SharePlex programs will be launched.
   MKS Platform Components	Appears if SharePlex was never installed on the system or if this is a reinstallation. Accept the default Program Files location or specify a different one. If prompted to restart your system, you can postpone the restart until after you finish this installation.
   Confirm installation	Confirm the installation information.
   SharePlex license	Click Add License. Type or paste the following exactly as received from Quest Software, including any spaces: License Key: The license key, which is case sensitive. Customer Name: The Site Message text that was included with the license. The name is case-sensitive. Click OK. If you do not have a license, click Cancel. The installation succeeds without a license, but SharePlex cannot be started. You can add the license later from the License Key tab of the SpUtils utility, which is installed on the Windows desktop.
   Finish	If you were prompted to restart the system after you installed the MKS Toolkit files, you may do so after exiting the installer. Proceed to Next Steps.

Next steps:

The following setup tasks must be finished before you start up replication.