Chapter 11 - Managing STDA Services
This chapter describes how to create and manage STDA master and satellite services. The following topics are discussed:
Creating an STDA service Accessing the STDA configuration menu Setting the STDA service schedule Changing the download servers Invoking an unscheduled rebuild STDA disk space requirements
For information on planning STDA services, see Chapter 10.
STDA master and satellite services, like other services, are created with Banyan management tools and must be added to specific groups and servers. You may create as many STDA services as you need, but only one service, of either type, can exist on a given server.
As a rule, you should create master services before you create satellite services, but there is nothing to prevent you from adding additional services of either type, as the need arises.
If there is only one server on your network, the STDA service on it must be a master. To add an STDA master or satellite service to your network, you must belong to two AdminLists:
AdminList@servername@Servers - Lets you add the STDA service to the server on which the service will reside.
AdminList@exactgroup@organization - Lets you add the STDA service to the specific group that will own the service on the server.
When you create an STDA service, it includes a set of default service configuration parameters. The default settings direct an STDA master service to rebuild its database daily at 1 a.m., and an STDA satellite service to request its downloads daily at 4 a.m. By default, neither service filters its database with exclusion or exceptions parameters. The service can run with these default settings or you can change the configuration. If you do not want to use the default STDA service configuration, start the service only after you change the initial (default) configuration.
To Create an STDA Master Service
From StreetTalk Explorer:
1. Click the New Service icon or, from the File Menu, select New, Service.
2. Enter the service StreetTalk name and fill in the description field. Click Next.
3. Select Server Based Service and click Next.
4. Select the server on which the service will reside. Click Next.
5. Select StreetTalk Directory Assistance for the service type. Click Next.
6. Select the disk from the Drives drop-down list. Click Next.
7. Select Master Service. Click Next.
8. If you want the service to start immediately, click Start After Creation. Click Next.
9. The system creates the service. Click Done.
See Introduction to StreetTalk Explorer for a description of StreetTalk Explorer.
From the System Prompt:
1. Enter MSERVICE. The Manage Services menu appears.
2. Select ADD a server-based service. The Add A Service screen appears.
3. Enter the StreetTalk name and description that identifies the STDA service you want to create. The Select A Server screen appears.
If your network has only one server, the Select Type Of Service menu appears. Proceed to step 5.
4. Select the server on which the service will reside. The Select Type Of Service menu appears.
5. Select StreetTalk Directory Assistance service. You may have to press PGDN to see the selection on the list. The disk assignment menu appears.
6. Select the disk on which the service will reside. The Specify STDA Class screen appears.
7. Select STDA Master service. The Start Service Immediately screen appears.
8. If you want to retain the default settings, select YES at the Start Service Immediately screen. The default settings direct the STDA master service to rebuild its database daily at 1 a.m. without any inclusion, exclusion, or exception parameters.
If you want to reconfigure the STDA master service and change the default settings, do not start the service immediately after it is created on the network. Select NO at the Start Service Immediately screen.
Read the section "Configuring STDA" later in this chapter before you change the configuration or start the service.
9. The STDA master service has been created when the Service Added screen appears. Press ESC to proceed to the Manage A Service menu.
The STDA master service is now operating on your network.
Note: After a service is created, it must build its initial database. The service is unavailable to users until the database is completely built. The time required for this task depends on your network's size and various configuration parameters such as exclusions, exceptions, and so on.
After you add an STDA service to your network, monitor its performance with the service's log. The STDA log shows you how long a rebuild or download takes for each service.
The log helps you schedule the download times for satellite services that are dependent on other satellite services (or the master service) for an updated database.
Note: You cannot manually generate STDA logs on StreetTalk for Windows NT servers. These STDA logs are automatically generated in the \PROGRAM FILES\BANYAN\DATA\STDA directory. You can read the logs can with a text editor.
From StreetTalk Explorer:
1. If you know the service name, right-click the STDA service in the right pane and select Properties from the shortcut menu.
To locate the STDA service for a particular group, enter *@groupname@servers in the Browse field and press return, then click the services icon. Right-click the STDA service you want in the right pane and select Properties from the shortcut menu.
2. Click the Logs tab.
3. In the Log message level field, select the log message level.
4. In the Event mask level field, select the event mask level.
5. Go to one of the sections below.
For Native VINES servers:
1. Select Show Log in Viewer if you want to view the log online.
2. Select Save to File and enter a file name if you want to save the report in a file.
3. Click Generate Log Report.
For StreetTalk For Windows NT Servers:
STDA services automatically generate two
log files, STDA01.LOG and STDA02.LOG in the
\Program Files\Banyan\Data\STDA directory. You also have the
option from StreetTalk Explorer to flush logs in memory to disk.
Log information is normally written to disk when a 1 KB buffer
is filled. Flushing the log writes whatever information is in
the buffer to disk.
From the System Prompt:
1. Type MSERVICE at the system prompt and press ENTER. The Manage a Service screen appears.
2. Select Control the Service and press ENTER. The Control A Service screen appears.
3. Choose the STDA service you want to monitor.
4. Select Manage Logs.
For more information on master and satellite services, see Chapter 10.
Servers polled by STDA master services can be edited from the Edit Server List screen to control the StreetTalk services from which a given master collects information. As an administrator, you can specify that certain servers be polled, or excluded from polling, for reasons of geography, data integrity, or security.
Unless otherwise specified, master services poll all StreetTalk services in the network by default, although under some circumstances two-part exclusions/exceptions patterns may effectively cause some StreetTalk services not to be polled. You must specify a list of servers for polling or excluding in the empty Edit Server List screen that appears when you edit a new server list. Otherwise, the service defaults to a wildcard search in which all servers on the network are polled.
Servers included or excluded from polling must appear together in a single list. This list can be edited either in:
StreetTalk Explorer MSERVICE or OPERATE A separate text file
You cannot edit the server list of any STDA service other than the one you are currently viewing within MSERVICE or OPERATE (DOS).
In addition, when creating the list of servers to be polled by the master STDA services on pre-5.5x servers, you can only add up to five servers using the wildcard pattern. If the limit of five is exceeded, the following message appears:
Too many server patterns, only 5 allowed.
On servers running Banyan software 5.5x and greater, you can enter up to 1KB of data before being notified by a message that the limit has been exceeded.
Unless you have compelling geographical, security, or data integrity issues, you should not include the same servers in the server lists of two active master services on the same network. While nothing prevents you from editing the server lists to include duplicate servers, doing so could mean that duplicate names will be downloaded to the same satellite.
Server lists are edited in the Server List dialog Box (StreetTalk Explorer) or Edit Server List screen (MSERVICE).
Lists consist of the names of servers you want to include or exclude from polling separated by the keywords SERVERS and NOSERVERS. StreetTalk services on servers listed under SERVERS are polled while servers listed under NOSERVERS are not.
Keywords and server names are entered in the following format:
SERVERS
[servername]
[servername]
[servername]NOSERVERS
[servername]
[servername]
Keywords and their lists are order independent. You can specify multiple keywords and lists in any order. SERVERS lists are always processed before the first NOSERVERS list, regardless of their order, when master services poll network StreetTalk services. This order ensures that all servers whose StreetTalk services you want polled are collected first. Only afterward are servers you want excluded are removed from the list.
You can also use wildcard asterisks (*) in server names. Wildcards are particularly useful if your network servers are systematically named.
Example Polling with Wildcards
The Chicago branch office of WCTUS has three servers, all of which include "Chicago" in their name. Using a wildcard, you can instruct the service to poll all servers with Chicago in their name.
By putting ChicagoIS and ChicagoHR in the NOSERVERS list, you exclude those servers from polling:
SERVERS
Chicago*
NOSERVERS
ChicagoIS
ChicagoHR
To Edit a Server List
From StreetTalk Explorer:
1. If you know the service name, right-click the STDA service in the right pane and select Properties from the shortcut menu.
To locate the STDA service for a particular group, enter *@groupname@servers in the Browse field and press ENTER, and then click the services icon. Right-click the STDA service you want in the right pane and select Properties from the shortcut menu.
2. If the service is running, click Stop.
3. Click the Server List tab.
4. Build the server list.
- In the Add To field, click the Server list radio button.
- To use wildcard patterns to represent multiple servers, select the Prompt for Pattern checkbox.
- In the Available Servers list, select a server and click Add. If you did not select Prompt for Pattern above, the server name appears in the SERVER list. If you selected Prompt for Pattern, a dialog box appears. Enter the wildcard pattern and click Add.
- Repeat this step for each server.
5. If you use wildcards in step 4 and want to exclude any servers included by the Server list, build the No servers list as well in the same manner.
From the System Prompt:
1. Enter MSERVICE at the command line. The Manage Services menu appears.
2. Select an STDA master service. The Manage A Service menu appears.
3. Select CONTROL the service. The service name and the server it is located on appear in the Control A Service menu.
4. Select CONFIGURE service. The Configure STDA Service screen appears.
5. Select EDIT Server List. If you are editing a server list for the first time, the Edit Server List screen is empty.
6. To edit an exiting server list, follow these steps:
- To enter a set of servers you want a particular service to poll, enter the keyword SERVERS on a line by itself. Keyword syntax is not case sensitive, so you may enter any combination of upper- or lower-case letters.
- List servers you want polled, one server per line, in upper- or lower-case letters.
- To enter a set of servers you want a particular service to exclude from polling, enter the keyword NOSERVERS on a line by itself.
7. List servers you do not want polled, one server per line. If you are editing an existing server list, use the formatting rules discussed in step 6.
8. Press F10 to save your edits. Press ESC repeatedly to exit the previous menus.
Writing a Server List to a File
If you want to use an established server list on a different STDA service, you can write the server list to a file, then import the file into the configuration screens of the other service. This section shows how to write the server list to a file. "To Replace a Server List with a File," which follows, shows how to import the file into the configuration screens.
To Write the Contents of the Edit Server List to a File
From StreetTalk Explorer:
1. If you know the service name, right-click the STDA service in the right pane and select Properties from the shortcut menu.
To locate the STDA service for a particular group, enter *@groupname@servers in the Browse field and press ENTER, and then click the services icon. Right-click the STDA service in the right pane and select Properties from the shortcut menu.
2. If the service is running, click Stop.
3. Click the Server List tab.
4. Click Write to File, and specify a file location.
From the System Prompt:
1. At the Edit Server List screen, press F2. The Write STDA Server To A File screen appears.
2. Enter the name of the target file to which the contents of the Edit Server List screen will be written. If you do not specify a full pathname, the program assumes that the target file is in the current directory. If the file already exists, you are prompted to confirm overwriting it.
After the contents are written to the file, you receive confirmation and return to the Edit Server List screen.
To Replace a Server List with a File
From StreetTalk Explorer:
1. If you know the service name, right-click the STDA service in the right pane and select Properties from the shortcut menu.
To locate the STDA service for a particular group, enter *@groupname@servers in the Browse field and press ENTER, and then click the services icon. Right-click the STDA service in the right pane and select Properties from the shortcut menu.
2. If the service is running, click Stop.
3. Click the Server List tab.
4. Click Read from File, and specify the file location.
From the System Prompt:
1. At the Edit Server List screen, press F4. The Replace STDA Server List With A File screen appears.
2. Enter the name of the file with which you want to replace the current server list. The program assumes that the file specified is in the current directory unless you specify the field's full pathname:
- If the file or pathname is incorrect or the file does not exist, an error message appears and you can re-enter the name.
- If the file or pathname is correct, the contents of the file overwrites the current list on the Edit Server List screen.
3. Press F10 to save the new list. To cancel overwriting the current list, press ESC.
Creating STDA Satellite Services
Procedures to create STDA satellite services are similar to those used to create master services. Before you begin, decide which server(s) on your network will be the download servers for the satellite service you are creating and what type of information you want to download and present to users. More information about planning STDA services in networks is available in Chapter 10.
Downloading Namespace Information
As an administrator, you can configure satellite services to download StreetTalk and inclusions data, referred to together as namespace information, from master or satellite services.
A list of satellite services is displayed in
Satellite Downloads folder (StreetTalk Explorer) Download Server Namespaces menu available from MSERVICE (DOS).
Downloads occur according to the requesting satellite service's schedule. The target download server may be either an STDA master service or another satellite service on the network.
You can choose to download either StreetTalk or inclusions information. The following guidelines apply:
You can specify any combination of StreetTalk or inclusion data up to a limit of nine namespace choices in any single configuration session from a satellite. Of these nine choices: - Up to eight choices can be downloaded from other services. For example, you can download all of the StreetTalk information available from eight servers, the StreetTalk and inclusions data from four servers, all of the inclusion information from eight servers, and so on.
- The ninth namespace is reserved for inclusions submitted to the downloading satellite.
You cannot select the StreetTalk namespace on the server where the satellite service resides, but you can and should select the inclusions option of the server. If you do not, inclusions submitted to the satellite service are not included when the service rebuilds. Making this selection does not affect the eight namespace download limit imposed on satellite services. You can still select any combination of eight namespaces.
The satellite service stores only the number of configurations specified above. To make changes beyond that limit, you must quit and initiate a new configuration session. For instance, if you configure eight download servers for both StreetTalk and inclusions information and want to make a change, you must exit the session and re-apply the configuration. To reconfigure the download servers, choose:
Satellite Downloads Window (StreetTalk Explorer) CHANGE download servers option from the Configure STDA Service menu (DOS). Note: Nothing prevents you from specifying a download server on which no STDA service exists, or on which a service exists but is not running. While you may have good reason to specify servers in this way, it is not recommended because no data will be downloaded.
Databases downloaded by satellite services are passed on unchanged to those services below them. Exclusions and exceptions specified on satellite services are applied to the front-end display database that the satellite builds.
Namespace filtering criteria applied to an intervening satellite can affect data available to services downloading from the service. Satellites that do not collect StreetTalk data or inclusions files from masters or satellites above them cannot download them to those below. Planning your STDA master configuration should minimize any problems of this kind.
To Create an STDA Satellite Service
From StreetTalk Explorer:
1. Click the New Service icon or, from the File Menu, select New, Service.
2. Enter the service StreetTalk name and fill in the description field. Click Next.
3. Select Server Based Service and click Next.
4. Select the server on which the service will reside. Click Next.
5. Select StreetTalk Directory Assistance for the service type. Click Next.
6. Select the disk from the Drives drop down list. Click Next.
7. Select Satellite Service. Click Next.
8. If you want the service to start immediately, click Start After Creation. Click Next.
9. The system creates the service. Click Done.
From the System Prompt:
1. Enter MSERVICE at the command line. The Manage Services menu appears.
2. Select ADD a server-based service. The Add A Service screen appears.
3. At the appropriate prompts, enter the StreetTalk name and description that identifies the STDA service.
If your network has only one server, the Select Type Of Service menu appears. Proceed to step 5.
4. If your network has multiple servers, select the server on which the service will reside from the Select A Server screen. The Select Type Of Service menu appears.
5. Select StreetTalk Directory Assistance Service. You may have to press PGDN to see the selection on the list. The disk assignment menu appears.
6. Select the disk on which the service will reside. The Specify STDA Class screen appears.
7. Select STDA Satellite service. The Download Server Name Spaces screen appears.
8. Specify the namespaces you want downloaded. By default, the server list begins at the first download server specified. Use the arrow keys to scroll up and down the list of servers.
Toggle between the StreetTalk and inclusions columns with the right and left arrow keys. An asterisk appears next to your selection. To select a namespace, press RETURN. To deselect a namespace choice, position the cursor next to it and press RETURN again.
The Start Service Immediately screen appears.
9. If you want to retain the default settings, select YES at the Start Service Immediately screen. The default settings direct the STDA satellite service to download its database daily at 4 a.m., without any inclusion, exclusion, or exception parameters to filter the database.
If you want to reconfigure the STDA satellite service and change the default settings, do not start the service immediately after it is created on the network. Select NO from the Start Service Immediately screen. Read "Configuring STDA," which follows, before you change the configuration or start the service.
10. The STDA satellite service is created when the Service Added screen appears. Press ESC to return to the Manage A Service menu. The STDA satellite service is now operating on your network.
Use StreetTalk Explorer or Configure STDA Service menu in MSERVICE or OPERATE (DOS) to configure an STDA master or satellite service. You must belong to the AdminList of the group to which an STDA service belongs to change the service's configuration.
STDA stores its configuration data as attributes rather than as associated records (AR). Storing configuration data as ARs limits the amount of information users can specify because an AR is limited to 1024 bytes. Attributes are not size limited so storing STDA configuration data as attributes removes this limitation.
Attributes affect the way you can configure and manage STDA with the Banyan management tools. To take full advantage of attributes, use StreetTalk Explorer to configure and manage an STDA service. MSERVICE can write data only to ARs and not to attributes.
If you configure an STDA service using or MSERVICE, STDA writes the AR data to the corresponding STDA attributes. You can use StreetTalk Explorer to reconfigure the STDA service, and STDA uses the configuration attributes.
If you use StreetTalk Explorer to configure an STDA service, and the configuration data is less than 1 KB, the STDA service writes the attribute data to the corresponding ARs. You can then use MSERVICE to reconfigure the STDA service, and STDA uses the ARs.
If you use StreetTalk Explorer to configure an STDA service and exceed the amount of data that can be stored in an AR, a message appears if you later run MSERVICE indicating that you can no longer use these management tools to configure the STDA service. The message appears in the screens for user pattern, exclusions/exceptions, servers/noservers, and download servers. In addition, the daily build schedule times do not appear in the SET Schedule screen. If you continue to configure STDA with MSERVICE, STDA ignores the new configuration and reminds you that you cannot use MSERVICE to manage the STDA service.
If you use MSERVICE to create an STDA service, you must start the service before you can use StreetTalk Explorer to manage or configure the service. STDA creates the attributes for StreetTalk Explorer to access when you start the service.
Conversely, if you use StreetTalk Explorer to create an STDA service, you must start the STDA service before you can use MSERVICE to manage or configure the service. STDA copies the attributes to the ARs for MSERVICE to access when you start the service if the attributes do not exceed the AR limitation.
From StreetTalk Explorer:
1. From the right pane, right-click the master or satellite STDA service you want to configure.
2. Select Properties the shortcut menu.
From the System Prompt:
1. Enter MSERVICE at the command line. The Manage Services menu appears.
2. From the list of services displayed in the Manage Services menu, select the STDA master or satellite service you want to configure. The Manage A Service menu appears.
3. Select CONTROL the service. The Control A Service menu appears.
4. Select CONFIGURE service. The Configure STDA Service screen appears.
When you finish making changes to the service's configuration, press ESC to return to the Control A Service menu.
Scheduled and Unscheduled Rebuilds
The internal timer for the STDA scheduler keeps track of scheduled database rebuilds. Scheduled rebuilds occur no more than once in any 24-hour period. Unscheduled rebuilds occur when you invoke them with the Rebuild Database option of the Configure STDA Service menu or when the service restarts.
When it is time for a scheduled database rebuild, the STDA service attempts to rebuild. The following rules apply:
Satellite Services - If for any reason a satellite service cannot begin the scheduled rebuild, it makes an attempt every 15 minutes for the duration of the hour. After an hour it gives up until the next rebuild, which is scheduled in the 24-hour period following the current one.
Master Services - Master services are continually polling StreetTalk services on the network. For this reason, if it cannot begin the scheduled rebuild, it continues with its polling until the next scheduled rebuild.
Invoking an unscheduled rebuild shortly before a scheduled rebuild may cancel the scheduled rebuild. If an unscheduled rebuild is already in progress when a scheduled rebuild is due to begin, the STDA service attempts to perform the scheduled rebuild throughout the assigned hour. It is prevented from starting while the unscheduled rebuild is still running.
If the unscheduled rebuild ends before the hour is past, the scheduled rebuild begins, even though it is no longer necessary. Avoid conflicts between scheduled and unscheduled rebuilds of the database. Having two rebuilds occur for the same service, one right after the other, wastes time and resources.
Setting the STDA Service Schedule
If you run StreetTalk Explorer and select a service, the Schedule folder is diplayed. If you run MSERVICE and select Set Schedule from the Configure STDA Service menu, the Specify Schedule screen is displayed.
Eight check boxes or fields on the dialog box (StreetTalk Explorer) or screen (MSERVICE) allow a master or satellite service to rebuild or update its database at any time during the week. You must specify a minimum of one rebuild each week. The maximum you may specify is one rebuild for each day.
If you do not schedule at least one rebuild per week, the service rebuilds using the default schedule settings. The default settings are 1 a.m. daily for a master service and 4 a.m. daily for a satellite service.
The Daily field schedules the update for the same hour each day. The Daily setting applies to any day for which no hour is specified. You can override the Daily setting for any particular day by specifying a different hour in that day's field.
Specify an hour to rebuild using the numeric range 0 through 23. For example, 0 is midnight, 6 is 6 a.m., 15 is 3 p.m., and 21 is 9 p.m. You cannot specify minutes in addition to the hour.
In the sample Schedule dialog box shown in Figure 11-3, the satellite service rebuilds its database on Tuesday and Thursday at 1 a.m. and at midnight on all other days.
Rebuilds should occur during a period of low or no usage of the system. Do not schedule rebuilds at 3 a.m., when the Intelligent Messaging service empties the Wastebasket mailboxes of all network mail users.
How often an STDA service's database should be updated depends on the size of the database and how often your StreetTalk information changes. Any time a system administrator adds, deletes, or changes the names or descriptions, of network users and services, the changes affect the rebuild of every STDA database on the network. In general, rebuilds on most networks should occur once a day, preferably at night.
After you add an STDA service to your network, monitor its performance with the service log. The service log shows you how long a rebuild or download takes for each service. The log can help you schedule the download times for satellite services that are dependent on other satellite services or the master service for an updated database.
The first rebuild for either type of STDA service does not occur until you start the service. As soon as you start the STDA master service for the first time, it immediately begins to build a database. After the first database is created, rebuilds occur according to the schedule you set.
As soon as you start a satellite service, it immediately attempts to download its database from its download servers. The satellite service repeats its request to the download server periodically until the server honors the request. Thereafter, downloads occur according to the service's schedule.
There may be a situation where you want to stop a rebuild from occurring after it has been scheduled. For example, Suppose your weekly schedule calls for STDA rebuilds on Tuesday at 8 p.m. and Friday at 8 p.m. You have a rebuild scheduled for 8 p.m. on a Tuesday. It is now 5 p.m., and you realize that you do not want the 8 p.m. rebuild to occur.
An STDA service rebuilds its databases at start-up time if these conditions are met:
No rebuild has occurred today A rebuild is scheduled for today The current time is equal to or later than the time of the scheduled rebuild
Therefore, in this example, if you stop the service, reset your rebuild schedule, and restart the service, the STDA service automatically rebuilds. This is because your service has not rebuilt its database since the previous Thursday, so starting the service initiates the rebuild.
Note: If you schedule an STDA service rebuild every day at the same time, stopping and starting the service does not start a rebuild.
The correct procedure for stopping an unwanted rebuild is to delete the scheduled rebuild through MSERVICE, or another client program. If you reset your schedule, removing the scheduled rebuild, your service does not rebuild its database. This works even with a large service whose monitor cycle would extend past the time of the next rebuild, because the STDA service checks for service configuration changes before it checks to see if it needs to rebuild its database. The sequence is as follows:
1. You delete the 8 p.m. Tuesday rebuild from the STDA service configuration.
2. The STDA service completes its monitor and sleep cycles.
3. The service downloads new service configuration data from StreetTalk.
4. Your updated rebuild schedule goes into effect.
5. The service checks to see if it is time to rebuild. It finds that the next scheduled rebuild is Friday at 8 p.m.
6. The service begins its service monitor cycle.
To Reset the Schedule for Rebuilding a Database
From StreetTalk Explorer:
1. If you know the STDA name, right-click the STDA service in the right pane and select Properties from the shortcut menu.
To locate the STDA service for a particular group, enter *@groupname@servers in the Browse field and press ENTER, then click the services icon. Right-click the STDA service you want in the right pane and select Properties from the shortcut menu.
2. Click the Schedule tab.
3 Enter a time into the Daily box to schedule the rebuild for the same hour every day.
Note: Use military time (1700 = 5:00 p.m.).
4 To override the Daily setting for any particular day, type a different hour in that day's box.
5 Click Apply. Or if you want to immediately rebuild, click Rebuild Now.
From the System Prompt:
1. Run MSERVICE and select the STDA service.
2. From the Configure STDA Service menu, select Set Schedule. The Specify Schedule screen appears.
3. Enter the hours at the appropriate fields. You can use the arrow keys to move to any field.
4. When you finish entering your selections, press F10 to save your changes. Otherwise, press ESC to retain the previous settings.
5. To exit the Configure STDA Service menu, press ESC.
Error Messages
If you enter an incorrect hour (such as 24), the cursor is placed at the invalid entry and an error message appears.
If the STDA service is not currently running, you may see the following error message:
STDA service did not get new configuration: service is not available.
When the service rebuilds, any schedule changes made while it was off line are applied.
If the service is unable to receive notice that the rebuild schedule has changed, or does not respond, you may see this error message:
STDA service did not get new configuration: service is not responding.
This message may mean that the service is busy with some other task. Wait for at least an hour. If the service still does not respond, stop and start the service. This procedure forces a rebuild. Any schedule changes made while the service was off line are applied.
You can change an STDA satellite service's download servers at any time. For instance, if a server from which a satellite service downloads a database unexpectedly goes off line and cannot download at the next scheduled rebuild, you can switch to a different database source. Similarly, if your STDA structure includes redundant services for purposes of data integrity or security, you can switch to a backup service. See Chapter 2 for issues involved in ensuring data integrity.
From StreetTalk Explorer:
1. If you know the STDA name, right-click the STDA service in the right pane and select Properties from the shortcut menu.
To locate the STDA service for a particular group, enter *@groupname@servers in the Browse field and press ENTER, then click the Services icon. Right-click the STDA service you want in the right pane and select Properties from the shortcut menu.
2. If the service is running, click Stop.
3. Click the Satellite Downloads tab to display the Download property sheet. Select one of the following options:
- To add a server, in the Server list at the bottom, select the server you want to add. Select StreetTalk Name and/or Inclusions if you want to include them in the STDA database. Click Add.
- To remove or modify a server select the server in the Server list at the top. To modify the setting, change the StreetTalk Names and Inclusions checkboxes and click Modify.
- To remove the server from the list, click Remove.
From the System Prompt:
1. To change download servers, select the Change download servers option from the Configure STDA Service menu. The Download Server Name Spaces menu appears.
2. Download servers are changed by selecting or de-selecting namespace designators in the columns to the left of the service name in the Download server name spaces menu. All Banyan servers known on the network at the time you select this option are included in the menu.
3. To select a namespace use the arrow keys to position the cursor next to the appropriate designator and press ENTER. Pressing ENTER again de-selects the designator.
You must stop the STDA service before you either add or delete entries from the Download Server Name Spaces menu. Then restart the service to re-initialize STDA with the new settings.
If you want to select a server that is not currently on the list because it is not operational, you must wait until the server is added to the network.
Guidelines
When selecting a different download server from the list, use these guidelines:
The selected server should be running either an STDA master or satellite service. Be careful not to change the download server to one that does not contain an STDA service. Currently no error message is generated when you do this and all active servers appear in the list whether they have STDA services or not. For better performance, position the server in the network topology as closely as possible to the current STDA service.
If the STDA service is not currently running, you may see the following error message:
STDA service did not get new configuration: service is not available.
When the service rebuilds, any schedule changes made while it was off line are applied.
If the service is unable to receive notice that the rebuild schedule has changed, or does not respond, you may see this error message:
STDA service did not get new configuration: service is not responding.
This message may mean that the service is busy with some other task. Wait for at least an hour. If the service still does not respond, stop and start the service. This procedure forces a rebuild. Any schedule changes made while the service was off line are applied.
Invoking an Unscheduled Rebuild
If you want a master or satellite service to rebuild its database immediately instead of at the scheduled time, follow these steps:
From StreetTalk Explorer:
1. If you know the STDA name, right-click the STDA service in the right pane and select Properties from the shortcut menu.
To locate the STDA service for a particular group, enter *@groupname@servers in the Browse field and press ENTER, then click the Services icon. Right-click the STDA service you want in the right pane and select Properties from the shortcut menu.
2. Click the Schedule tab.
3. Click Rebuild Now and click OK to confirm the operation.
From the System Prompt:
1. Select REBUILD database from the Configure STDA Service menu. The Confirmation of STDA Database Rebuild screen appears.
2. Select YES from the Configure STDA Service menu.
During a rebuild, an STDA service retains its old database while it generates a new one. When the new database is completed, the service discards the old database.
Depending on the size of your network and the type of STDA service, exercising this option could take a considerable amount of time, especially with a master service. While the rebuild is in progress, it may slow the system's performance. If you decide to rebuild a service's database immediately, try to do so during off-peak usage of the network.
Note: You can also use an STDA administrative attribute from Table 16-2 to cause STDA to rebuild its database. See Chapter 16 for more information.
STDA databases dynamically adjust their disk space requirements based on a number of factors such as the size and number of attributes and the distribution of entries. As a rule, the database of each STDA service requires the following amounts of disk space:
If no attributes are defined for an object, reserve 800 bytes of disk space to store each database entry (name). For each attribute you establish for a user, allocate an additional 180 bytes of disk space and add to it the size of the value you are giving to the attribute.
These figures are approximate, representing maximum rather than average requirements. Use them to calculate rough disk space requirements based on the number of users and the average number of attributes for each user.
