Basic operational tasks


Certain PATROL KM administration commands are provided in the SETUP menu to enable you to control the product's operation. Use these commands to perform basic tasks such as blacking out the KM, shutting down and starting up the KM, and configuring the maximum amount of time that the KM will wait for a channel access.

To black out the KM

Use this task to establish a blackout period which is a temporary period of time during which the KM does not collect information about your DB2 instances. You can establish a blackout period during backup or maintenance of your DB2 database.

Warning

Note

Alternatively, you can specify a file that will trigger the KM to shut down. See To shut down the KM using a file for details.

When the KM is in a blackout period, the DB2BlackoutStarted icon is displayed and all instances associated with the KM are dimmed to indicate that the instances are offline. DB2BlackoutStarted has one text parameter, CommandInfo, that contains information about when the blackout period started and how long it will be in effect. The DB2BlackoutStarted icon is deleted when the KM is no longer in a blackout period.

Warning

Note

The actual start time and end time of the blackout period can vary by a few minutes from the settings that you configure depending on the KM cycles and the level of activity.

  1. Right-click the setup icon to open the SETUP menu and select Configuration > Configure KM Blackout Period.
  2. In the submenu, select one of the following commands:
    • Add Blackout Periods
    • Delete Blackout Periods
  3. To add a blackout period, in the Add Blackout Periods window either select the days or enter the date, the time, and the blackout interval. Then click Update.
  4. To delete a blackout period, in the Delete Blackout Periods window highlight the blackout name in the selection list and click Update.

    Warning

    Note

    The blackout period is not affected by Daylight Saving Time (DST), because it is based on duration and not on time of day. For example, if the blackout period is set at 1:55 A.M. on March 14, 2012, for 15 minutes, the KM will be blacked out at 1:55 A. M., and when DST goes into effect at 2:00 A.M. and the clock moves forward from 2:00 A.M. to 3:00 A.M., the KM is in the blackout period. The blackout period ends when the 15 minutes end at 3:10 A.M.

To shut down the KM using a file

For more control over shutting down the Knowledge Module, you can specify a file that will trigger the KM to shut down discovery of all DB2 instances. (To suspend discovery and not collect information about a specific DB2 instance, see Customizing-discovery-options.) This feature is useful for DBAs who want to shut down the KM to perform maintenance procedures without directly accessing the console to shut down the KM. If you are using a shell script, the script can create an empty file to indicate that the KM should shut down operations. The script should sleep approximately 60 seconds to ensure that the KM detects the file and shuts itself down. To resume the KM operations, the file should be removed as a final step in the script.

  1. From the SETUP menu, select Configuration > Configure KM Defaults > DB2 Global Settings.
  2. Enter the name of the file in the Shutdown KM if following file exists text box. As long as the PATROL KM detects the file's existence, the KM will remain shut down.

To shut down or start up the KM

From the SETUP menu, select the applicable command:


    • Shutdown Knowledge Module
    • Startup Knowledge Module

To configure the maximum channel wait time

From the SETUP menu, select Configuration > Configure Max Channel Wait and use the slider bar to indicate the number of seconds for the wait time. Then, click OK.

When a channel has not completed the return of data, the channel will remain to be blocked. PATROL for DB2 UDB provides the capability to create an additional channel that can be used as an alternative channel for continued operations.

Database-level blackout period

PATROL for DB2 UDB enables you to add or delete a blackout period for the database. A database blackout period is a user-specified period of time during which the KM will not collect information about the database.

To add database blackout period

From the SETUP menu, select Configuration > Configure Database Blackout > Add Database Blackout, and then click OK.

To delete database blackout period

From the SETUP menu, select  Configuration > Configure Database Blackout > Delete Database Blackout, and then click OK.

 

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BMC PATROL for DB2 Universal Database 9.0