SharePlex 8.6.6 - Administration Guide

How to create a configuration file

To configure SharePlex to replicate data, you create a configuration file. This is an ASCII text file in which you specify:

• The data that you want SharePlex to replicate, including any filtering or partitioning of rows or columns
• The target name and type
• The system (and database if applicable) to which the data must be delivered.

Only a SharePlex Administrator or operator has the authority to create a configuration file.

When your configuration file is completed and the SharePlex environment is set up to support your replication objectives, you activate the configuration with the activate config command to begin replication. For more information, see Activate replication in your production environment.

Create a configuration file

You can create a configuration file by hand or, if your data structure supports it, you can automate the creation of a configuration file. For more information, see Build a configuration file using a script.

Create the configuration file on the system from which data is to be replicated, typically the source system, but strategies such as active-active replication require configuration files on more than one system.

To create a configuration file

1. Run sp_ctrl from the bin sub-directory of the SharePlex product directory.

2. In sp_ctrl, issue the create config command.

   sp_ctrl> create config config_name

   This command opens a file in the default text editor that is set for the operating system. Note: You can change the default editor that sp_ctrl uses. For more information, see Set a default editor for sp_ctrl.

3. Complete the configuration file. For more information, see Structure of a configuration file.

   Important! All configurations must reside in the config sub-directory of the SharePlex variable-data directory. Configuration files outside this directory cannot be activated. SharePlex places configurations in this directory by default when you create them through the sp_ctrl interface with the create config command. If you create the configuration directly through a text editor, make certain to save it to the config sub-directory.

Structure of a configuration file

A basic configuration file looks like the following:

The basic components of a configuration file are as follows. For advanced configuration options, see Additional configuration options

Additional configuration options

The following are additional configuration options that can be added to the configuration file:

Database specifications in a configuration file

A database specification is required in the following components of the configuration file:

• the datasource (source data store) specification
• routing map (target data store and location) specification

* Note: The dot is required.

Target specifications in a configuration file

The following table shows how to specify a target table or non-table target in a configuration file.

Routing specifications in a configuration file

The following instructions show you how to build a routing map. A routing map sends replicated data to the correct target on the correct target system.

Replicate to one target

A simple routing map sends replicated data from one source object to one target object.

Replicate to multiple targets

A compound routing map sends replicated data from one source object to multiple target objects. It enables you to specify the source and target objects once for all routes, rather than type a separate configuration entry for each route. Only one target specification can be used in a compound routing map, so all of the target objects must be identical as follows:

• All one type: All the same database object type or all a JMS queue or all a JMS topic or all a Kafka topic, or all a file (but no combination of these).
• All with the same fully qualified name, including any table specifications in a JMS, Kafka, or file target specification.
• All having identical column or key mappings, if used (see Define a unique key and Map source and target columns).

NoteS:

Replicate between objects on the same system

You can replicate between objects that are in the same database or in different databases on the same system. You can replicate between objects that have the same name, so long as their owners are different.

When SharePlex replicates between objects on the same system, it does not create Import and Export processes. You can force SharePlex to create Import and Export processes by using the following routing map. If you do not need the Import or Export processes, omit the host* portion of the routing map.

Configuration with replication to objects in the same or different database on the same system

Routing Limitations

• By default, SharePlex supports replication to a maximum of 19 direct target systems. That is the maximum number of processes that can read the export queue. To replicate to more than 19 targets, use named export queues. With each additional queue that you add, you can replicate to 19 additional targets. See Configure named export queues.
• Each instance of sp_cop on a system permits a maximum of 1024 different routes. This limitation includes each route that uses a different named post queue (see Configure named post queues.) If your replication strategy requires more than 1024 routes, consider using one or more intermediary systems to divide the routes among multiple sp_cop instances. See Configure replication to share or distribute data).
• By default, each sp_cop instance allows a total of 25 queues on a system. There will always be one capture queue on a source system and one post queue on a target. Therefore, you can have as many as 24 named export queues on a source system and 24 named post queues on a target system. If a system serves as both a source and target, you will have both a capture queue and a post queue. That allows you to create up to 23 named queues of either type (or a mix of both). If system memory permits, you can change the number of allowed queues by setting the SP_QUE_MAX_QUEUES parameter. See the SharePlex Reference Guide for more information about this parameter.