System Administration Guide (Online Only)

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Chapter 1 Overview of System Administration

System Administration Guide (Online Only)

About This Book

This manual, the Sybase Adaptive Server System Administration Guide, describes how to administer and control Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise databases independent of any specific database application.

Audience

This manual is for Sybase System Administrators and Database Owners.

How to use this book

This manual contains the following chapters:

Chapter 1, "Overview of System Administration," describes the structure of the Sybase system.
Chapter 2, "System and Optional Databases," discusses the contents and function of the Adaptive Server system databases.
Chapter 3, "System Administration for Beginners," summarizes important tasks that new System Administrators need to perform.
Chapter 4, "Diagnosing System Problems," discusses Adaptive Server and Backup Server(TM) error handling and shows how to shut down servers and kill user processes.
Chapter 5, "Setting Configuration Parameters," summarizes the configuration parameters that you set with sp_configure, which control many aspects of Adaptive Server behavior.
Chapter 6, "Limiting Access to Server Resources," explains how to create and manage resource limits with Adaptive Server.
Chapter 7, "Configuring Character Sets, Sort Orders, and Languages," discusses international issues, such as the files included in the Language Modules and how to configure an Adaptive Server language, sort order, and character set.
Chapter 8, "Configuring Client/Server Character Set Conversions," discusses character set conversion between Adaptive Server and clients in a heterogeneous environment.
Chapter 9, "Security Administration," provides an overview of the security features available in Adaptive Server.
Chapter 10, "Managing Adaptive Server Logins and Database Users," describes methods for managing Adaptive Server login accounts and database users.
Chapter 11, "Managing User Permissions," describes the use and implementation of user permissions.
Chapter 12, "Auditing," describes how to set up auditing for your installation.
Chapter 13, "Managing Remote Servers," discusses the steps the System Administrator and System Security Officer of each Adaptive Server must execute to enable remote procedure calls (RPCs).
Chapter 14, "Using Kerberos, DCE, and Windows NT LAN Manager," describes the network-based security services that enable you to authenticate users and protect data transmitted among machines on a network.
Chapter 15, "Overview of Disk Resource Issues," provides an overview of Adaptive Server disk resource issues.
Chapter 16, "Initializing Database Devices," describes how to initialize and use database devices.
Chapter 17, "Mirroring Database Devices," describes how to mirror database devices for nonstop recovery from media failures.
Chapter 18, "Configuring Memory," explains how to configure Adaptive Server to use the available memory on your system.
Chapter 19, "Configuring Data Caches," discusses how to create named caches in memory and bind objects to those caches.
Chapter 20, "Managing Multiprocessor Servers," explains how to use multiple CPUs with Adaptive Server and discusses system administration issues that are unique to symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) environments.
Chapter 21, "Creating and Managing User Databases," discusses the physical placement of databases, tables, and indexes, and the allocation of space to them.
Chapter 22, "Setting Database Options," describes how to set database options.
Chapter 23, "Creating and Using Segments," describes how to use segments, which are named collections of database devices, in databases.
Chapter 24, "Using the reorg Command," describes how to use the reorg command.
Chapter 25, "Checking Database Consistency," describes how to use the database consistency checker, dbcc, to detect and fix database problems.
Chapter 26, "Developing a Backup and Recovery Plan," discusses the capabilities of the Backup Server and how to develop your backup strategy.
Chapter 27, "Backing Up and Restoring User Databases," discusses how to recover user databases.
Chapter 28, "Restoring the System Databases," discusses how to recover system databases.
Chapter 29, "Managing Free Space with Thresholds," discusses managing space with thresholds.

Other sources of information

Use the Sybase Technical Library CD and the Technical Library Product Manuals Web site to learn more about your product:

The Technical Library CD contains product manuals and is included with your software. The DynaText browser (downloadable from Product Manuals ) allows you to access technical information about your product in an easy-to-use format.
Refer to the Technical Library Installation Guide in your documentation package for instructions on installing and starting the Technical Library.
The Technical Library Product Manuals Web site is an HTML version of the Technical Library CD that you can access using a standard Web browser. In addition to product manuals, you will find links to the Technical Documents Web site (formerly known as Tech Info Library), the Solved Cases page, and Sybase/Powersoft newsgroups.
To access the Technical Library Product Manuals Web site, go to Product Manuals .

Sybase certifications on the Web

Technical documentation at the Sybase web site is updated frequently.

Finding the latest information on product certifications

Point your web browser to Technical Documents .
Select Products from the navigation bar on the left.
Select a product name from the product list and click Go.
Select the Certification Report filter, specify a time frame, and click Go.
Click a Certification Report title to display the report.

Creating a personalized view of the Sybase web site (including support pages)

Set up a MySybase profile. MySybase is a free service that allows you to create a personalized view of Sybase web pages.

Point your web browser to Technical Documents .
Click MySybase and create a MySybase profile.

Sybase EBFs and software updates

Finding the latest information on EBFs and software updates

Point your web browser to the Sybase Support Page .
Select EBFs/Updates. Enter user name and password information, if prompted (for existing web accounts) or create a new account (a free service).
Select a product.
Specify a time frame and click Go.
Click the Info icon to display the EBF/Update report, or click the product description to download the software.

Conventions used in this manual

This section describes the style conventions used in this manual.

Formatting SQL statements

SQL is a free-form language: there are no rules about the number of words you can put on a line or where you must break a line. However, for readability, all examples and syntax statements in this manual are formatted so that each clause of a statement begins on a new line. Clauses that have more than one part extend to additional lines, which are indented.

SQL syntax conventions

Table 1 lists the conventions for syntax statements in this manual:

Syntax statement conventions
Key	Definition
command	Command names, command option names, utility names, utility flags, and other keywords are in bold Courier in syntax statements, and in bold Helvetica in paragraph text.
*variable*	Variables, or words that stand for values that you fill in, are in italics.
{ }	Curly braces indicate that you choose at least one of the enclosed options. Do not include braces in your option.
[ ]	Square brackets mean choosing one or more of the enclosed options is optional. Do not include brackets in your option.
( )	Type parentheses as part of the command.
\|	The vertical bar means you may select only one of the options shown.
,	The comma means you may choose as many of the options shown as you like, separating your choices with commas.

Syntax statements (displaying the syntax and all options for a command) are printed like this:
```
sp_dropdevice [device_name]
```
or, for a command with more options:
```
select column_name 
    from table_name 
    where search_conditions 
```
In syntax statements, keywords (commands) are in normal font and identifiers are in lowercase: normal font for keywords, italics for user-supplied words.
Examples showing the use of Transact-SQL commands are printed like this:
```
select * from publishers
```

Examples of output from the computer are printed like this:

pub_id  pub_name                 city        state 
------- -------------------      ----------- -----
0736    New Age Books            Boston      MA 
0877    Binnet & Hardley         Washington  DC 
1389    Algodata Infosystems     Berkeley    CA 
 
(3 rows affected)

Case

You can disregard case when you type keywords:

SELECT is the same as Select is the same as select.

Obligatory options {you must choose at least one}

Curly braces and vertical bars: Choose one and only one option.
```
{die_on_your_feet | live_on_your_knees | live_on_your_feet}
```
Curly braces and commas: Choose one or more options. If you choose more than one, separate your choices with commas.
```
{cash, check, credit}
```

Optional options

One item in square brackets: You don't have to choose it.
```
[anchovies]
```
Square brackets and vertical bars: Choose none or only one.
```
[beans | rice | sweet_potatoes]
```
Square brackets and commas: Choose none, one, or more than one option. If you choose more than one, separate your choices with commas.
```
[extra_cheese, avocados, sour_cream]
```

Ellipsis

An ellipsis (. . .) means that you can repeat the last unit as many times as you like. In this syntax statement, buy is a required keyword:

buy thing = price [cash | check | credit] 
    [, thing = price [cash | check | credit] ]...

You must buy at least one thing and give its price. You may choose a method of payment: one of the items enclosed in square brackets. You may also choose to buy additional things: as many of them as you like. For each thing you buy, give its name, its price, and (optionally) a method of payment.

An ellipsis can also be used inline to signify portions of a command that are left out of a text example. The following syntax statement represents the complete create database command, even though required keywords and other options are missing:

create database...for load

Expressions

Several different types of expressions are used in Adaptive Server syntax statements.

Types of expressions used in syntax statements
Usage	Definition
expression	Can include constants, literals, functions, column identifiers, variables, or parameters
logical_expression	An expression that returns TRUE, FALSE, or UNKNOWN
constant_expression	An expression that always returns the same value, such as "5+3" or "ABCDE"
float_expr	Any floating-point expression or expression that implicitly converts to a floating value
integer_expr	Any integer expression or an expression that implicitly converts to an integer value
numeric_expr	Any numeric expression that returns a single value
char_expr	An expression that returns a single character-type value
binary_expression	An expression that returns a single binary or varbinary value

If you need help

Each Sybase installation that has purchased a support contract has one or more designated people who are authorized to contact Sybase Technical Support. If you cannot resolve a problem using the manuals or online help, please have the designated person contact Sybase Technical Support or the Sybase subsidiary in your area.


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System Administration Guide (Online Only)

About This Book

Audience

How to use this book

Related Documents

Other sources of information

Sybase certifications on the Web

Sybase EBFs and software updates

Conventions used in this manual

Formatting SQL statements

SQL syntax conventions

If you need help

If you need help