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Configuring Adaptive Server for UNIX Platforms

Chapter 1 Introduction

Chapter 1

Introduction

This chapter provides an overview of Adaptive Server configuration and the steps you need to take to customize it for your use.

About Adaptive Server

Adaptive Server performs data management and transaction functions, independent of client applications and user interface functions. It also:

• Manages multiple databases and multiple users

• Keeps track of the data's location on disks

• Maintains the mapping of logical data description to physical data storage

• Maintains data and procedure caches in memory

Adaptive Server uses these auxiliary programs to perform dedicated tasks:

• Backup Server - manages database load, dump, backup, and restoration activities.

• Adaptive Server Enterprise Monitor Historical Server - obtains performance data from Monitor Server and saves the data in files for use at a later time.

• XP Server - stores the extended stored procedure s (ESPs) that allow Adaptive Server to run operating-system level commands.

The instructions in this book assume that Adaptive Server is installed and running unless noted otherwise.

System-specific issues

Adaptive Server runs on a variety of hardware and operating system platforms. System-specific issues do not affect the basic functionality of Adaptive Server, but there are differences among platform implementations. These differences may include:

• Changes to the operating system that enable or enhance Adaptive Server performance

• Operating system commands or utilities that simplify or automate routine system administration tasks

• Options for selecting database devices

• The structure of entries in the interfaces file

• Adaptive Server configuration

For more information about system-specific issues, see the installation documentation and release bulletin for your platform.

Definition of terms

The following terms are used in this book:

• Unload - to copy Adaptive Server products from the distribution media to your machine, using the Studio Installer.

• Install - to make the Adaptive Server products fully functional by configuring various attributes.

• Upgrade - to configure an existing Adaptive Server to a more recent Adaptive Server version level.

• Server - provides a service in client/server computing. Examples include Adaptive Server, Backup Server, Historical Server, Monitor Server, and XP Server.

• Client - requests a service in client/server computing. Sybase Central(TM), PowerDynamo(TM), PowerDesignerŪ, SQL Modeler(TM), and end-user applications are clients.

User roles

The Adaptive Server installation and setup process defines various user roles. Different user roles have different responsibilities and privileges. These user roles clarify the way Adaptive Server is to be integrated into your system:

• Operating System Administrator - the individual who maintains the operating system. This individual has superuser or "root" privileges.

• System Administrator - the individual in charge of Adaptive Server system administration, creating user accounts, assigning permissions on databases, and creating new databases. At installation time, the System Administrator's login name is "sa". The "sa" login is not a UNIX login. The "sa" login is specific to Adaptive Server and is used to log in to Adaptive Server using the isql command.

• Sybase Login - the "sybase" login is a UNIX login that owns all the Sybase installation directories and files, sets permissions on those directories and files, and performs the installation and upgrading of Adaptive Server.

Environment variables

It is crucial to the operation of Sybase products that the system environment variables be set correctly.

Environment variables are set in the user's environment either interactively or by including them in the user's .login and .cshrc files (for C shell) or .profile file (for Bourne shell). The installation instructions in this guide explain when to set these variables:

• DSLISTEN - defines the name Adaptive Server uses to listen for client connections if no name is given during the Adaptive Server start-up. If DSLISTEN is not set, and no name is given during the Adaptive Server start-up, the Adaptive Server name defaults to the server name given at installation.

• DSQUERY - defines the Adaptive Server name that client programs try to connect to if no Adaptive Server is specified with a command-line option. If DSQUERY is not set, and you do not supply the Adaptive Server name with a command-line option, clients attempt to connect to the server name given at installation.

• SYBASE - defines the path of the Sybase installation directory. The installation program sets up the variable SYBASE to point to the release directory specified during installation.

• SYBASE_ASE - defines the subdirectory directory of the Adaptive Server components.

• SYBASE_OCS - defines the subdirectory to which the Open Client(TM) is set.

• SYBASE_ FTS - defines the subdirectory for the full-text search components.

• SYBASE_SYSAM - points to the license-management software directory.

• LM_LICENSE_FILE - points to the license.dat file in the SYBASE_SYSAM/licenses/ directory.

• PATH - specifies which directory path to search for executables. The Sybase executables are located in the installed components /bin directory. When using the source files SYBASE.csh or SYBASE.sh, the following paths are prepended to PATH:

  $SYBASE/$SYBASE_ASE/bin:$SYBASE/$SYBASE_OCS/bin

• LD_LIBRARY_PATH - on Digital UNIX, HP-UX, and Sun Solaris platforms, this variable specifies which directory to search for executables. The Sybase executables are located in the installed component's /bin directory.

  When using the source files: SYBASE.csh or SYBASE.sh, the following paths are prepended to the LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable:

  $SYBASE/$SYBASE_ASE/lib:$SYBASE/$SYBASE_OCS/lib:$SYBASE/SYBASE_FTS/lib, etc.

• LIBPATH - on the IBM RS/6000 platform, this variable specifies which directory to search for executables. The Sybase executables are located in the installed component's /bin directory.

  When using the source files: SYBASE.csh or SYBASE.sh, the following paths are prepended to the LIBPATH environment variable:

  $SYBASE/$SYBASE_ASE/lib:$SYBASE/$SYBASE_OCS/lib: $SYBASE/SYBASE_FTS/lib,  etc.

Sybase installation directory

The Sybase installation directory structure is created by the installation process. Adaptive Server is placed in the directory you indicate when you run the Studio Installer. Table 1-1 illustrates part of the Adaptive Server installation directory structure.

The Adaptive Server installation directory contains executable files and administrative tools, which are added as each product is installed.

Adaptive Server devices and system databases

Devices are files or portions of a disk that are used to store databases and database objects. You can initialize devices, using raw disk partitions (for production systems) or operating system files (for nonproduction uses).

Adaptive Server requires the following devices:

• master - to store system databases.

• sysprocsdev - to store system procedures.

The master and sysprocsdev devices are created when you create a new Adaptive Server.

The master device

The master device contains the following databases:

• master - controls the operation of Adaptive Server as a whole and stores information about all users, user databases, devices, objects, and system table entries. The master database is contained entirely on the master device and cannot be expanded onto any other device.

• model - provides a template for new user databases. The model database contains required system tables, which are copied into a new user database with the create database command.

• tempdb - the work area for Adaptive Server. Each time Adaptive Server is started the tempdb database is cleared and rebuilt from the model database.

• The sample databases are stored on the master device at installation, but should be moved to a user-defined device after installation. For more information, see "The sample databases" .

  For recovery purposes, Sybase recommends that you do not create other system or user databases or user objects on the master device.

The sybsystemdb device

The sybsystemdb device stores the sybsystemdb database, which stores information about transactions in progress, and which is also used during recovery.

For instructions about creating the sybsystemdb device and database for Data Transfer Management (two-phase commit), see Chapter 9, "Upgrading Sybase Servers" in the Adaptive Server installation documentation for your platform.

The sysprocsdev device

The sybprocsdev devices stores the sybsystemprocs database, which contains most of the Sybase-supplied system procedures. System procedures are a collection of SQL statements and flow-of-control statements that perform system tasks, for example, sp_configure.

The system procedures that are needed during recovery situations are stored in the master database.

sysprocsdev is the default system name for this device. However, it is frequently referred to as the sybsystemprocs device, since it stores the sybsystemprocs database.

Optional devices and databases

The devices and databases described in the following sections are optional.

The sample databases

The sample databases are:

• pubs2 and pubs3 are provided as learning tools for Adaptive Server. pubs2 is used for most of the examples in the Adaptive Server documentation; other examples use the pubs3 database. Both are available in U.S. English versions of Adaptive Server.

• interpubs database contain French and German data.

• jpubs contains Japanese data.

For information about installing the sample databases, see Chapter 7, "Adding Optional Functionality to Adaptive Server" .

For information about the contents of the sample databases, see the Transact-SQL User's Guide.

The sybsecurity device and database

The sybsecurity device is created as part of the auditing installation process. The sybsecurity device stores the sybsecurity database and the auditing system procedures with which you can configure auditing for your system.

The auditing system records system security information in an Adaptive Server audit trail. You can use this audit trail to monitor the use of Adaptive Server or system resources.

For instructions on configuring Adaptive Server for auditing, see Chapter 7, "Adding Optional Functionality to Adaptive Server" . For information about installing and using the auditing system, see Chapter 8, "Auditing," in the System Administration Guide.

dbccdb database

The database consistency checker (dbcc) provides commands for checking the logical and physical consistency of a database. The dbccdb database stores the results of dbcc when dbcc checkstorage or dbcc check verifying are used.

dbcc checkstorage records configuration information for the target database, operation activity, and the results of the operation in the dbccdb database. Stored in the database are dbcc stored procedures for creating and maintaining dbccdb and for generating reports on the results of dbcc checkstorage operations.

For information on installing and using dbccdb, see Chapter 25, "Checking Database Consistency," in the System Administration Guide.

Client/server communication (the interfaces file)

Adaptive Server communicates with other Adaptive Servers, Open Server(TM) applications (such as Backup Server), and client software on your network. Clients can talk to one or more servers, and servers can communicate with other servers by remote procedure calls.

For Sybase products to interact with one another, each product needs to know where the others reside on the network. This information is stored in an interfaces file, named interfaces on UNIX platforms, located in the $SYBASE installation directory. After your Adaptive Server or client software is installed, it can connect with any server on the network that is listed in the interfaces file.

The interfaces file is like an address book. It lists the name and address of every known server. When you are using a client program, and you want to connect with a particular server, the client program looks up the server name in the interfaces file and connects to that server, as shown in Figure 1-1 . You can supply the name of the server by using the DSQUERY environment variable.

On TCP/IP networks, the port number gives clients a way to identify the Adaptive Server to which they want to connect. It also tells Adaptive Server where to listen for incoming connection attempts from clients. Adaptive Server uses a single port for these two services (referred to as query service and listener service).

On SPX networks, the socket number gives clients and servers a way to identify each other.

During installation, you use the srvbuild utility to create a new server. The srvbuild process adds entries to the interfaces file for your new Adaptive Server, Backup Server, Monitor Server, and XP Server.

For instructions on using dsedit or dscp to modify interfaces file entries or to create new interfaces file entries for existing servers, see Chapter 3, "Configuring the Operating System for Adaptive Server."

Changing Adaptive Server configuration

On UNIX platforms, you use sp_configure to change the configuration of Adaptive Server. To change the configuration of several servers, enter the sp_configure information in a script. For details on using sp_configure, see the System Administration Guide and the Adaptive Server Reference Manual.

For information about configuring languages, character sets, and sort orders, see Chapter 5, "Customizing Localization for Adaptive Server."

For information about configuring Adaptive Server to use high availability features, see Using Sybase Failover in a High Availability Environment.

For information about configuring Adaptive Server for distributed transaction management (two-phase commit), see the Distributed Transaction Management User's Guide.