StarQuest: keeping data in motion

StarQuest Product Release Notes

StarQuest Data Replicator Plus for DB2 UDB v3.73 Release Notes

September 2011

Introduction

StarQuest Data Replicator (SQDR) is a replication software product that allows you to copy data between IBM DB2, Oracle, MySQL, Informix, and Microsoft SQL Server database environments.

The base StarQuest Data Replicator software runs on Windows and provides full refresh replication, which copies all the source data that you specify for replication, regardless of when that data was last replicated. This provides a “snapshot” of the specified source data at the time of replication.

SQDR Plus for DB2 UDB is a separately licensed component that provides incremental replication support for SQDR users. Incremental replications copy only the data that has changed, reducing the amount of data that is transferred and allowing the replication to occur more frequently.

SQDR Plus for DB2 UDB also provides the following advanced features:

  • Comprehensive statistics and easy-to-use graphical interface and Wizards.
  • Enterprise-level security, allowing only operations that are permitted by the operating system, database system, and network.
  • Ability to replicate what you want, when you want, with horizontal and vertical partitioning and flexible subscription scheduling.
  • Ability to "mirror" the source database. In addition to configuring how frequently SQDR Plus polls for changes to the source database you can configure subscriptions to be notified when change data is available and reduce the latency such that updates occur at the target database almost instantaneously after they are committed on the source database.
  • Ability to restrict which database tables can be subscribed to for replication. SQDR Plus provides centralized control for publishing and unpublishing database tables. If you enable the publishing feature, SQDR users can create replication subscriptions only to tables that have been published for replication.

The following topics are addressed in these Release Notes. Refer to the appropriate SQDR Plus Quick Start Guide at http://www.starquest.com/Supportdocs/browseQuickStarts.shtml for detailed information about installing StarQuest Data Replicator Plus for DB2 UDB for the first time. The SQDR Plus Quick Start Guides include instructions for installing both SQDR and SQDR Plus. Refer to the SQDR Plus for DB2 UDB Users Guide for detailed information about using the StarQuest Data Replicator Plus for DB2 UDB software.

  • What's New in this Release
  • Upgrade Considerations
  • System Requirements
  • FixPak and PTF Notes
  • Installing and Using the StarQuest Data Replicator Plus for DB2 UDB Software
  • Known Issues
  • Release History
  • Contacting StarQuest

What's New in this Release

This release of the StarQuest Data Replicator Plus for DB2 UDB introduces the following new features and improvements:

  • Configurable inactivity timer - the default behavior of SQDR Plus is to check for inactive clients every twenty four hours (1440 minutes). You can change this interval by setting the clientMonitoringInterval in sqagent.properties; the value is specified in minutes.
  • Support for XML and DECFLOAT datatypes
  • Configurable congestion thresholds: Two new configuration properties, specified in minutes, can be configured in sqagent.properties: congestedThreshold (default 5 minutes) and uncongestedThreshold (default 1 minute). A log reader inside the capture agent is considered "congested" when the lag-time between when the log records were created and when they are processed by the reader exceeds the value configured for "congestedThreshold". The log is considered uncongested when this lag-time reaches the value configured for "uncongestedThreshold". Both events are logged as INFO, and may result in email notifications. When the capture agent is started, the congestedThreshold configuration setting is used as a grace period during which a congested condition is not reported; the grace period does not affect the collection of lag-time statistics.

Upgrade Considerations

This section describes issues of interest for users who are upgrading from a prior version of StarQuest Data Replicator Plus for DB2 UDB.

  • When upgrading or uninstalling the SQDR Plus for DB2 UDB software , the installer will need to connect to the database with the same DB2 UDB user that was used during the original installation. The DB2 Connection Parameters dialog will display that user ID, but you should be prepared to supply the password.

System Requirements

You can install and run the StarQuest Data Replicator Plus for DB2 UDB on computers running the following software:

  • DB2 UDB for Linux, UNIX and Windows v8.2 with FixPak10 or later, or v9.1 or later.

  • Java Virtual Machine (JVM) installed and specified in the PATH. JVM 1.4.2 or later is required during installation, and recommended for use by the Capture Agent and Java stored procedures. See Known Issues below for other JVM considerations.

  • A Linux, UNIX, or Windows operating system version that meets the system requirements for the version of DB2 UDB that you are running. See the IBM Web site http://www.software.ibm.com/software/data/db2/udb/sysreqs.html for detailed system requirements for DB2 UDB and to obtain the latest DB2 UDB fixes.

    StarQuest supports the following platforms. Please contact StarQuest at contact@starquest.com if you wish to run SQDR Plus on a platform other than one of the following:

    • Windows 7, Server 2008, Vista, Server 2003, Windows XP, Windows 2000
    • Linux x86
    • Linux x86-64 (AMD64 & Intel EM64T)
    • Linux for System z (s390x)
    • Solaris SPARC 10 & later
    • HP-UX PA-RISC 11.11i & later
    • AIX 5.3 & later

FixPak and PTF Notes

This section describes specific IBM issues and the FixPak and PTFs that may be necessary for StarQuest Data Replicator Plus for DB2 UDB to function properly.

  • There is a known IBM bug (APAR JR24668) in UDB 8.2 fixpak 13 that causes incorrect operation if you select "Allow SQDR to Manage Logs". If you plan to use SQDR-managed logs, upgrade to fixpak 14 or later.

Installing and Using the StarQuest Data Replicator Plus for DB2 UDB Software

Known Issues

  • The installer prompts for a tablespace to be used for the SQDR control tables. This value is not currently used.
  • Option 6 - Start Capture Agent" of the Capture Agent Maintenance Utility (CAMAINT) does not start the Capture Agent service.

On Windows, use the Services control panel (in Administrative Tools) to start the Capture Agent.

On UNIX, use the appropriate rc script - e.g.
# /etc/init.d/sqdr-MYRDB start

  • If you select "Allow SQDR to Manage Logs" during installation, which installs an exit program in the database, and later uninstall the SQDR Plus product, you must change the logging of your database to an appropriate setting (e.g. circular or archive logging); the exit program will not function after removing SQDR Plus.
  • We highly recommend that the DBM parameter KEEPFENCED be set to YES; changing this value requires a restart of the DB2 instance. If KEEPFENCED=NO, you may notice a large number of db2fmp processes accumulating over time. See IBM APARs IC70077 (UDB 9.5) and IC70081 (UDB 9.7) for details.
  • Shortcuts on UNIX may not function. There are alternate methods of performing the same functions; refer to the SQDR Plus for UDB Users Guide.
  • On AIX, you must use a 32 bit JVM during installation when using the GUI installer.
  • On Linux for x86-64, we recommend the use of a 64 bit JVM during installation.
  • If you are using DB2 9.1 or later on Linux for x86-64, and choose managedLogs, you must use a 64 bit JVM during installation. If you run the installer with a 32 bit JVM, the wrong exit program will be installed.

To verify that the correct exit program was installed, run the following command:

# file ~<instance-owner>/sqllib/adm/db2uext2

The result should be:
db2uext2: ELF 64-bit LSB executable, AMD x86-64

  • On Windows for x86-64, we recommend the use of a 32 bit JVM during installation. The Capture Agent uses a 32 bit JVM during operation, and it is important that the same bitwidth JVM be used during uninstall or upgrades as that used during the original installation.
  • If the Program group shortcut for "Capture Agent Maintenance" does not function, examine the properties of the shortcut (right click on the shortcut and select Properties). If java.exe is not located in the directory listed in the shortcut, change the shortcut to use a directory that does contain a JVM. For example, on Windows Server 2003 x64, the shortcut may be trying to invoke "C:\Windows\java.exe"; change this to "C:\Program Files\IBM\SQLLIB\java\jdk\bin\java.exe". Note that this issue has been noticed only on Windows Server 2003 x64.

 

Release History

This section provides information about problems or enhancements that are made available as "point releases" and major releases of the StarQuest Data Replicator Plus for DB2 UDB software.

Version Number Release Date Significant Changes
3.73.0922 Sep 2011 11801 Externalize congestion Delay threshold. Implement minimum reset property
11823 Limit email notication of data errors
3.72.0831 Aug 2011 11469 Message for deletion of non-existent subscriber should be Informational, not Severe
11717 Provide for configurable client activity monitor interval/inactivity timer resolution in minutes
11719 provide backlog information in terms of time not transaction
11720 Permit VRYSUB to suceed even if Capture is not running
11743 Support for XML and DECFLOAT
11770 NotificationMonitor causes Java heap error when DB2 is quiesced
11784 Capture sleeps prematurely when large (>300 subscriptions) and receiver "clogged"
11798 Avoid SEVERE messages while waiting for DBMS to become available
11799 Report touch-up records as INFO rather than WARNING
3.69.0314 Mar 2011 11467 "CCSID 13488 not valid" error (DBCLOB)
11487 UDB Text Installer: problem installing on 32bit instance (UDB9.x Linux)
11488 UDB Text installer: passwords with special characters like ! cause problems
11490 UDB Text Installer: exitpgm.properties needs to be in /var/sqdrplus/<RDB>/conf
11562 Null Pointer Exception raised, when Client notifies Agent of subscriber pausing
11628 Force synchronization of readers current postion when Quiesce operation concludes
3.68.0923 Sep 2010 11088 CAMAINT: Option 8 - Publish menu - add "press enter to continue"
11151 Publish: confusing error when trying to publish table that is already published
11153 Remote CAMAINT annotates ftp upload using workstation name - not SQDR Plus hostname
11268 Remote CAMAINT: Support sending SQDRPlus logs from SQDR Plus for UDB
11297 CAMAINT: Need "display" offline subscription
11335 Include "SQ_" control tables when sending logs using CAMAINT for UDB
11328 Remote CAMAINT displays "SQDR Plus for iSeries" when connecting to a UDB agent
11362 Incorporate timestamps for last state transitions and provide display of same (partial)
11347 UDB text installer: stty issue on HP-UX
11363 Misleading error returned when subscription is OFFLINE
11371 Provide log message when target is taken offline/online
11372 log when a source table is published/unpublished
11380 UDB text installer: check for CAMAINT & other files in use
11381 Enhance RESETTABPOS2
11391 Provide Notification when Congestion detected
11396 Reject RESETTABPOS if Subscription is not current of Target
11397 COPYDONE not returning non-zero return code/error text under some failure conditions
11398 Provide option to use RESETTABPOS2(option=0x01) "restarting"
11399 Avoid [SEVERE] message if a client calls GetChanges SP before the capture agent is fully started
11405 UDB text Installer: changes for 11335 Include "SQ_" control tables
11406 UDB GUI Installer: changes for 11335 Include "SQ_" control tables
11413 UDB GUI Installer: installation issues on non-English system
11415 UDB GUI Installer: improve backup of database
11417 Reduce connection pool contention and avoid delays in returning connections
11419 UDB GUI installer: read values from sqagent.properties during an upgrade
11427 Provide message choke/reset for email notifications
11429 Delete subscription not subscriber when grace period exceeded
11430 UDB: Missing "before" record can cause target inconsistency when using "criteria"
11431 Monitor table space for near capacity warning/backpressure on reader
11432 UDB: Incorrect data staged when previously expanded row is expanded again
11443 Taking Published subscription Offline/Online disables pruning
11446 Use of stale metadata can cause incorrect data in SQ_TARGETS table
11457 Text installer: add "update_procs" script
11461 Validate UDB Java method signatures on SP creation
11464 Notification Monitor can exit prematurely (disabling UDP notifications)
3.67.0622 Jun 2010 11307 UDB installer: RunAsUser problems on Solaris
11364 Gracefully handle truncated log record image
11365 Text-based installer: avoid "in-use" error for exit pgm & logreader library
11370 Deletes may be ignored when using "criteria" to limit incremental subscription
3.66.0610 Jun 2010 11257 Implement text-based installer for UDB UNIX platforms
11329 Decouple delete target from delete subscription
11324 Support ATTACH PARTITION for UDB 9.1 and 9.5
11325 Support DETACH PARTITION for UDB 9.1 and 9.5
11330 parameterize pruning operation to detect maxRows/maxTransactions to limit UOW
11331 Detect and cleanup orphaned "target" rows periodically
11336 Flag, then delete inactive subscribers subscriptions
11348 Reduce retry frequency when DB2 is unavailable
11355 Expand "logclean" support beyond 4byte LSN
11356 Log errors caused by bad criteria as INFO (or less), not SEVERE
11357 Subscription can be left not collecting changes after DB2 failure
3.65.0524 May 2010 11247 Notify clients upon startup
11258 Provide support for Transaction Sequencing in CaptureAgent
11271 Add useTxSequence keyword to sqagent.properties file
11273 UDB: store install_history.log in DBCONFDIR/logs; add DB2 version info
11308 UDB Installer: some VPD parameters not persisted, affecting express update
11309 UDB Installer: error msgs at end of install
11310 TABLEINFO SP not returning UDB partitioned tables
11311 UDB: IR replication not working with partitioned tables
11313 Incorrect Java SP signature on some UDB 9.7 systems
11314 UDB Installer: UDB9 change to db2ilist affects instance bitwidth determination
11317 Add new getChange3 SP for sequenced transactions
3.64.0409 Apr 2010 11056 UDB Installer: improve guess of location of DB2 UDB on UNIX
11237 Provide UserID filter property to bypass staging transactions for specific USER
11238 Provide capture option to maintain a relaxed open Window state, indefinitely
11241 log record handling while the SQDRPlus service is stopped
11252 Support "Ignore Delete" captureOptions
3.63.0318 Mar 2010 11098 AIX binaries refreshed
11096 Installer: Tab order on installer dialogs is not correct
11144 Installer: cursor focus should start on the first field of a dialog
3.60.1320 Jan 2010 10831 Implement "MoveSubscription" SP
9685 Support customer support product error email notification
10961 Installer: Support customer support product error email notification
10735 Review reset of TOTAL for RecordsProcessed
10836 Connectivity check slows down startup
10840 Define monitors for lagtime conditions
10842 Support dynamic maxROW setting - add counters to transaction table
10909 Failure to delete subscription should be considered a WARNING not SEVERE
9895 Do not allow publish of SQDR Plus control tables
10642 display startup information in capture log before accessing sqagent.properties
10863 emphasize case sensitivity when publishing files
10704 CAMAINT: Highlight subscription status if associated "target" is no longer "current"
11031 Provide Option for CAMAINT to save zip file locally
11032 Remote CAMAINT: Publish doesn't detect table when full name used
10739 Provide programmatic mechanism to render "target(s)" offline/online on source system
11014 Provide Capture startup option to support "Fail-over"/"Fall-back" scenarios
9593 UDB: Add Subscriber Existence Check on Host when polling for Changes
10739 Provide programmatic mechanism to render "target(s)" offline/online on source system
11014 Provide Capture startup option to support "Fail-over"/"Fall-back" scenarios
10275 UDB Installer: check for existence of function\jar directory
10696 SQDRPlus/StarAdmin - Release Notes update icon to iExplorer
11076 Provide command to invoke offline/online operations
11062 Accumulate number of staged rows in SQ_STATISTICS
11063 Reject resetTablePosition SP call if table is offline
11067 Recovery menu options
11044 add UDB 9.7 support to LogReader
11045 problem creating control tables on UDB 9.7
3.44.0504 May 2009 10671 Enhance Publish to support lenient mode of operation
10677 Failures in Journal reader when using mis-matched metadata
10678 Contention/Error during subscription/deletion can cause getChanges error
10680 Rare condition causes leftover staging tables
10689 Replace traceback text with meaningful error message
10683 SQDR Plus/UDB: convert readme to HTML
3.43.0319 March 2009 9758 GetChanges (UDB) should report Agent status (if not running return error)
9933 Improve rollback performance
10589 Error when retrieving INTEGER using getShort method
10407 update default password for sqdrdrop to latest value
10410 change CAMAINT to persist ftp, mail address for "support" functions
10448 provide mechanism to delivery "zip" logs etc to new client application
10174 DNS/TCP checking code should not throw SEVERE message unless the issue prevents connectivity.
10170 send email notification to starquest if "support" files are posted
10366 Treat Duplicate Subscription as warning not error
10378 flag subscription as altered if journal option is not acceptable
3.37.1030 October 2007 10204 dump journal/receiver sequence number information when unexpected log records
10232 add uninstaller JRE resolution for JRE 1.6 & 1.7
3.36.0813 August 2007 9670 need option to FTP/email relevant product files to customer support
10100 Remove "unnecessary" dependency on local TCP/DNS configuration
10110 Provide a more robust verification of the local communication channel
10111 Unknown log format causing tables to be flagged
10027 UDB Installer: change backslash to double backslash for qualified userID
10126 UDB Installer: camaint changes for ftp option
3.35.0402 April 2007 10005 support SP access to log via RMI
10006 log UDB GetChanges return information
10018 provide status of subscriber/subscription acknowledgment via AgentUtil
10028 UDB Installer: need mechanism to change DB2 userID

Contacting Stelo

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