License utilities
Description
Use the SharePlex license utilities to view and add license keys to hosts in the SharePlex replication environment. Each installation of SharePlex requires a valid license key. There are three types of SharePlex license keys:
- Temporary license keys (demonstration licenses)
- Permanent license keys
- Site license keys
SharePlex licensing information can be found in the Quest Software Product Guide. Please contact your account manager if you have questions.
If you do not have a valid license key, you may obtain one from Quest Technical Support or your Quest sales representative. Use the appropriate procedure in this documentation to obtain the necessary information to support your license request.
License utility
On Windows platforms, all licensing functions are performed through the SpUtils utility, including viewing the machine ID for a system. Launch the SpUtils utility from the shortcut on the Windows desktop.
Gather information to request a license
Select the Information tab to view information about the local host that is required for Quest to generate a license key. In a cluster, run SpUtils on each node.
Add a license key
Use SpUtils to add a license key to a machine during the installation of SharePlex or afterward to convert from one type of license to another. In a cluster, run SpUtils on the primary node.
- Log on to Windows as the SharePlex Administrator.
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If SharePlex is running, do the following:
- Select the SharePlex Services tab.
- Select the port number of the SharePlex instance for which you want to add a license key.
- Click Stop.
- Wait for Current State to display a message that the service stopped.
- Select the License Keys tab.
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Select the SharePlex port number from the Port list.
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Click Add License, then type or paste the information exactly as you received it from Quest, as follows:
- License Key: The license key, including any spaces. The key is case-sensitive.
- Customer Name: The text string that was included with the license. The name is case-sensitive.
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(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.
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Click OK to close the utility.
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To start SharePlex, do the following:
- Select the SharePlex Services tab.
- Select the port number of the SharePlex instance that you licensed.
- Click Start.
- Wait for Current State to display a message that the service started.
View a license key
Select the License Key tab, then select the port number (if running multiple SharePlex instances) for which you want to view license information.
- Under License Key, view the actual license key and SiteMessage text string.
- Under Status, view the type of SharePlex installation, the license type, and the expiration date.
In a cluster, run SpUtils on each node to view the local license.
ots
Description
Use the OTS utility (ODBC Test Suite) to test the ability of SharePlex to connect to an Open Target target database through a selected ODBC driver, and then post test data to different column types.
Notes:
- The OTS utility uses a generic ODBC connection and data type handling method to provide a preliminary test of ODBC databases that are not yet SharePlex Certified (see How a database is considered for support by SharePlex ). The OTS utility is not needed for databases that are certified. For a list of certified databases, see the SharePlex Release Notes.
- This utility should not be considered as definitive proof of the suitability of an ODBC datastore as a SharePlex target. Comprehensive testing of actual data in a replica of the proposed production environment must always be part of the certification process.
Supported databases
Open Target databases being considered for use with SharePlex.
Requirements
-
Install the ODBC driver that you want to test.
- OTS creates a table to test INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE operations. The table is created and owned by the user that connects to the database (see How to run OTS). This user must have sufficient permissions to create and own this table.
How to install a standalone OTS
OTS is available in the SharePlex build as well as a standalone version.
To install the standalone version, download the ots.exe file and place it in any directory.
How to run OTS
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Run OTS. If you are running it from within an installation of SharePlex run it from the util subdirectory. If you are running the Windows standalone version of OTS, run it from the installation directory.
- Type one of the following:
OTS requires connection information for the tested database.
Enter data source name (DSN) or connection string: mydsn
How it works
The OTS utility performs the following tests:
- Connect to the Open Target target with a name and password or a connection string provided by the person that is running the utility.
- Query the target database for a list of supported operations and data types, including allowed storage values and whether a column is nullable.
- Issue a full set of SharePlex-supported DML and DDL operations for each data type.
- Summarize the results on screen (see How to interpret the OTS results).
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Create a report, dump files, and logs to support debugging and support cases.
Note: The report file is only generated when OTS can connect to the database. If the connection fails, the file is empty.
How to interpret the OTS results
The OTS screen summary provides the following:
- A summary of the connection information that was used
- A summary list of data types that were tested
- Details of the test
The detail results are organized into tables, one per data type category, for example character data types or integer data types, as shown in the example.
Figure 1: Example detail table for character data types
Test: Character data types
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name Size Nullable Insert Insert Update Delete Add Drop Trunc Pass/Fail
Null Col Col
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
char 4096 Y P P P P P P P P
nchar 4096 Y P P P P P P P P
varchar 4096 Y P P P P P P P P
sysname 30 Y P P P P P P P P
nvarchar 4096 Y P P P P P P P P
The first three columns of each table (Name, Size, Nullable) are taken from a query to the ODBC driver. If the data type is allowed to contain NULL, the Nullable column shows a Y (yes). Otherwise, it shows an N (no).
Following the query columns are columns that represent the tests that were performed. There is a row for each data type that was tested. The SharePlex-supported operations that OTS tests are as follows:
- INSERT with NULL value
- INSERT
- UPDATE
- DELETE
- ALTER TABLE to ADD COLUMN
- ALTER TABLE to DROP COLUMN
- TRUNCATE TABLE
The results also show the maximum and minimum (where applicable) storage values that were used for CHAR and VARCHAR data types in each test:
- For a data type that has only a maximum value (VARCHAR and CHAR) OTS will insert a data length that is greater than the maximum size to determine whether the ODBC database driver returns an error or automatically truncates the data with no error.
- For a data type that has both minimum and maximum values (numerical data types) a series of operation tests are run for each value. Numbers less than the minimum value and greater than the maximum value are tested to see if the ODBC database driver returns an overflow error or automatically rounds off and truncates the value.
For each test of a data type and operation, a P (pass) or F (fail) result is given, indicating whether or not SharePlex was able to perform that specific DML or DDL operation with that specific data type.
The final column, Pass/Fail, shows at a glance whether the test passed or failed as a whole for a specific data type. An F for any given operation type across the row triggers an F in the Pass/Fail column, meaning an overall failure of testing for that data type.
How to use the results
The OTS utility is an initial screening tool for Open Target databases that are not yet Quest SharePlex Certified. Its purpose is to determine whether the types of operations that you want to replicate to a given target, with a given set of metadata, are likely to succeed, without requiring the installation or setup of SharePlex itself. For example, you could assume that SharePlex probably can post to a target if the outcome of the test is the following:
- All of the DML tests except one passed, but the failed data type is not defined in your data.
- All of the DDL failed, but you do not need to replicate DDL.
The OTS utility is only a first step. It is not a substitute for testing a full installation of SharePlex with your actual data, using actual operations that your source Oracle applications generate, and posting those replicated operations to your actual target tables in a test environment. Additionally, a successful test with OTS does not necessarily mean the database will be fully supported by SharePlex. See How to run OTS
How a database is considered for support by SharePlex
To determine whether SharePlex will support a given Open Target database, the following are considered:
- Can SharePlex, through OTS, run a full set of transactions through a given ODBC driver for the database?
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Does SharePlex Product Management approve the technical and market feasibility of supporting the database?
- Have the SharePlex QA labs verified in testing that SharePlex can support the database?
If the answer to questions 1 and 2 are yes, then the database is ODBC-approved. This means the database is then eligible for testing in the QA labs to answer question 3.
It is not realistic to test every possible edition, version, and platform of a given database. Based on market and technical factors, Product Management will determine which variants of a database will be tested. If those tests are successful, Product Management can then consider assigning the database a designation of SharePlex Certified.
provision
Description
Use the provision utility to change a host name or IP address in the SharePlex configuration.
The SharePlex processes rely on the host names or IP addresses of the source and target machines to route data properly. The provision utility enables you to change host names or IP addresses within an active SharePlex instance, without reactivating a new configuration.
Note: The provision utility does not change anything in the database. It only affects SharePlex internal objects.
Supported databases
All databases supported by SharePlex on all supported platforms
Guidelines for using provision
- provision is only valid for SharePlex version 6.1.1 and above.
- (SharePlex 7.0.2 only) If provision is being used because the host name of a machine changed, contact Quest Support to request a new license. Otherwise SharePlex will not start after the change.
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(SharePlex 7.0.2 only) Add the following parameter to the param-defaults file before you run provision:
SP_CFP_DEBUG I live int() 0x00000000
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If running SharePlex on an AIX machine, set EXTSHM before running provision.
export EXTSHM=ON
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Run provision on all of the machines in the SharePlex configuration. Each machine can reference the IP addresses of all the other machines.
Run provision
- Stop sp_cop. If sp_cop is running, provision will fail. Note: provision prevents sp_cop from being started while it is running.
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Using the command line of the operating system, run provision from the SharePlex util sub-directory of productdir with the following syntax:
provision -f old_name[:old_ipaddress] -t new_name[:new_ipaddress] [-p port] [-n]
provision -h <new hostid> [
-p <port>]
-n
| -f old_hostname[:old_ipaddress] |
- -f is required and represents "from."
- old_hostname is the old (current) host name.
- old_IPaddress is the old IP address. Use if the IP address cannot be obtained from the network.
|
| -t new_hostname[:new_ipaddress] |
- -t is required and represents "to."
- new_hostname is the new host name.
- new_IPaddress is the new IP address. Use if the IP address cannot be obtained from the network.
|
| -p port |
For Windows systems, specifies the port of the SharePlex instance for which provision is being run.
(You can run the "-p" port provision only on the Windows system.) |
| -n |
Runs provision without actually making any changes. Generates a report on the changes that provision will make.
Important! The best practice is to run provision with -n first, to make certain you agree with the potential changes, then run it without -n to make the changes. |
| -h new_hostID |
- -h is required and represents changing host ID or replacing host ID
- new_hostid is the new IP address
|
| -i |
-i is required and represents host information |
Example:
provision -f oldname -t newname -n
provision -h newid -n
provision -i
- View the event log to view every change that was made. If the provision run fails or you do not agree with the changes that were made, you can undo them by running the undo_provision script. See Undo changes made by provision .
Undo changes made by provision
The provision utility creates an undo_provision script that can be used to restore the host names and IP addresses to their previous state. Run the undo_provision script from the util subdirectory of the SharePlex product directory. There are no input arguments to this script.
Known issues
The following may occur but do not affect the integrity of the replication environment:
- The provision utility does not change the active configuration file. This means that the configuration file no longer represents the current state of replication after provision is run. If you need to run the compare config command, or if you decide to reactivate the configuration, update the host name or IP address in the configuration file first.
- If an Export or Import error occurred when SharePlex connected to a machine before the name or address was changed, the error status persists and cannot be cleared.
- If the new or changed machine is a source machine, provision generates new routing information, but the Read process may still have the old routing in its cache. When you start sp_cop, Read might generate a warning that the stored IP address does not match the one for the machine. You can ignore this error.
- After provision is run for a source host, it might not update the "hostname" column in SHAREPLEX_ACTID table with the new host name details. If that column is not correctly updated, you must update the SHAREPLEX_ACTID table manually to specify the new host name. This is only required if the name change affected a source machine.
qview
Description
Through the qview utility, you can view queue names and remove old queue files. The qview tools described here do not deactivate the configuration.
IMPORTANT!Do not use qview for the first time without the assistance of Quest Technical Support. If this utility is not used properly, it can damage the replication environment and require resynchronization and reactivation.
Supported databases
All SharePlex-supported databases on all supported platforms
Run qview
Log on to the system as a SharePlex Administrator, and use the command line of the operating system to run qview from the bin sub-directory of the SharePlex product directory. The utility is an interactive command session.
To run qview on the Windows platform, log onto the system as a member of the Administrators group. Run qview from a command prompt or powershell which was run by right clicking on its icon and selecting run as administrator.
On Windows, run qview with the -p option to specify the port number of the SharePlex instance for which you want to view queues.
qview -pport list
Overview of qview commands
The qview utility provides the following commands:
| list |
Lists all queues for all active configurations on a system. |
| trim |
Clean up obsolete subqueue files. |
| fullrb |
Create a full rollback message. |
| otrans |
Scans for a specified number of messages in the Capture queue. |
List queues
Use the list command to list all queues for all active configurations on a system.
Description
The qview list command lists each queue, the replication process that writes to it, and the replication process that reads it. For example, for the capture queue, it lists the Capture process and the Read process. The queues are designated as follows:
- A capture queue is designated with a +C.
- An export queue is designated with a +X.
- A post queue is designated with a +P.
Example output:
In this example, the writer to the capture queue o.ora11+C is the Capture process, as indicated by the sp_ocap in its name string. The reader is the Read process, as indicated by the sp_ord in its name string. The same naming logic applies to the other queues shown in the output (export queue expdsg+X and post queue expdsg+P).
The following queues exist:
o.ora11+C
WRITER +PA+o.ora11+sp_ocap+o.ora11
READER +PR+o.ora11+sp_ordr+o.ora11
elliot+X
WRITER +PR+o.ora11+sp_ordr+o.ora11
READER +PX+elliot+sp_xport+0x0a01014e (11.1.1.78)
elliot+P+o.ora11-o.ora11
subqueues range from 2 to 6
WRITER +PI+elliot+sp_mport+0x0a01014e (11.1.1.78)
READER +PP+elliot+sp_opst_mt+o.ora11-o.ora11
Syntax
list
Trim obsolete subqueues
Use the trim command to clean up obsolete subqueue files on the source system.
Description
The SharePlex post queue actually consists of a number of subqueues, each approximately corresponding to a user session on the source system. The Post process uses the subqueues to establish Oracle sessions for the target instance. The number of subqueues that exist at a given time on a target system reflects the peak activity on the source system since replication started.
SharePlex routinely writes replicated data from the subqueues to associated datafiles on disk as part of its checkpoint recovery system. Each subqueue can have one or more datafiles associated with it, each with a default size of 8 MB. If the entire 8 MB file size is not consumed, a datafile remains on the system even though the data was posted and read/released. Consequently, the higher the activity level on the source system, the more datafiles on disk. The size in megabytes (MB) for the post queue in a qstatus display is the actual disk space that the datafiles occupy.
For example, suppose there were 100 concurrent sessions on the source system, creating 100 subqueues in the post queue on the target system. And, suppose the datafiles were only partially full when the activity level dropped—half full, for example, or 4 MB of 8 MB used—and thus were not deleted. The post queue on that system would consist of 100 datafiles at 4 MB each, totalling 400 MB of disk space.
Using the trim command in qview, you can routinely eliminate obsolete subqueue files that were read-released, while preserving the ones containing data not yet committed to the target database. The trim command does not eliminate queue files for subqueues 0 or 1, because those are the most heavily used subqueues.
How to run this command
Run this command on the target system only.
Stop Import and Post before running qview to issue this command. You can leave sp_cop running.
Note: If one or both of those processes is not stopped, qview returns this error message: que_INUSE: Que is already open.
You can only trim one queue at a time. If there are more than one post queue, you are prompted to select the one you want the command to affect:
Queue zac+P+o.ora920-o.ora920 (y/n) <n>? n
Queue elliot+P+o.ora920-o.ora920 (y/n) <n>? y
Note: If you do not select a queue, qview returns this error message: que_NOEXIST: Queue does not exist.
Syntax
trim
Execute a full rollback
Use the otrans and fullrb commands to create a full rollback message.
Description
Use the otrans command to scan a specified number of messages in the Capture queue, starting at the read release point. The qview utility then prints the transaction id, the number of operations (records), the DML type operation (if there is only one) and the object id modified (if there is only one).
Use the transaction id obtained from otrans to execute fullrb. The qview utility opens the Capture queue, writes an out-of-band full rollback message to the Capture queue, and then writes a commit.
How to run this command
- Stop Capture.
- Run qview.
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Issue the otrans command.
vqiew> otrans 500000
The output is similar to the following:
Full rollback 8(7).752562-3(139) --- 99999 Update operations on object id 466857
Open transaction 8(23).752700-2(14162) --- 2001 Update operations (1000 backward operations)
on object id 466857
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Issue the fullrb command using the transaction ID from the otrans output.
vqiew> fullrb 8(7).752562-3(139)
The output is similar to the following:
Current queue o.ora920+C user +PA+o.ora920+sp_ocap+o.ora920
Full rollback record written to capture queue at 378744, id 1102
odr_magic 0x4f445235
odr_op ODR_FULL_ROLLBACK (50)
odr_trans 8(7).752562-3(139)
odr_time 01/01/88 00:00:00 (0)
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Start Capture.
sp_ctrl> start capture
Syntax
otrans number
where: number is the number of messages to scan in the queue.
fullrb transaction_ID
where: transaction_ID is the transaction ID that was returned from otrans.
