Release Notes

1.  Introduction

This section will provide you with an overview of the new release updates of Dbvisit Standby version 8.  

Dbvisit Standby as of version 8.0.18 caters for the following operating systems:

  • Linux
    • Oracle Linux 5, 6 and 7 (64 bit)
    • Red Hat 5, 6 and 7 (64 Bit)
    • SLES 11 and 12 (64bit) 
  • Windows (See known issues below)
    • Windows Server 2008 and above (64bit)
  • Solaris (See known issues below)
    • Solaris SPARC (10 and above)
    • Solaris x86 (10 and above)
  • AIX (See known issues below)
    • AIX 5.3 and above


Dbvisit Standby version 8 supports the following Oracle Database versions:

  • Oracle Database 10gR2 (10.2.0.5 recommended) - If using ASM 11gR2 version required for Graceful Switchover - Note support added in Dbvisit Standby 8.0.22
  • Oracle Database 11gR2
  • Oracle Database 12cR1 and R2
  • Oracle Database 18c (Supported as of Dbvisit Standby 8.0.24 - note this exclude Oracle 18c RAC)


1.1.  Important Notes

There is a number of changes being introduced with each update.  Some updates may come with specific requirements.

  • As of version 8.0.18, there has been a number of internal changes in Dbvnet, Dbvagent and Dbvserver which does require all components to be updated at the same time.  When upgrading from previous versions (8.0.16 and before) it is important to make sure that all environments managed by the Central Console (GUI) is updated to at least version which currently is 8.0.20.
  • Please note that Dbvserver (Central Console) will not be able to install on Solaris and AIX based systems.  The Central Console must be installed on a Linux or Windows based system (Linux recommended)


On this page:

2.  Known Issues

It is possible that some of the release updates will include known issues.  This section should be reviewed for any new release.  

8.0.18 Solaris and AIX 

Solaris and AIX support are now available as of the 8.0.18 release.  It is important to take note of the following:

  • Dbvisit Standby can be installed and used on Solaris based systems (Solaris 10+) with the exception that the Central Console (Dbvserver) must be installed and running on a Linux or Windows-based system.
  • Dbvserver (Central Console) will not be able to install on Solaris and AIX based systems
  • Using Dbvnet on Solaris and AIX is experimental and if used (in 8.0.18) COMPARE_CHECKSUM=Y must be enabled in the DDC files.
    • The known issue is that during file transfer there is a small possibility the file size will not match following transfer and a retransfer will be started.
    • Setting COMPARE_CHECKSUM=Y is recommended if testing Dbvnet on Solaris or Aix.
  • Using SSH on Solaris and AIX in 8.0.18 is recommended 

Windows

  • Dbvisit Standby currently only supports ipv4, not ipv6.
  • It was noted that on windows ipv6 may be favoured and if the hostname resolution is not ipv4, Dbvnet, Dbvserver and Dbvagent might listen on ipv6 when started.
  • It is recommended to make sure the hostnames used, resolve to an ipv4 address and not ipv6.
  • If Dbvnet, Dbvserver and Dbvagent are not able to listen on ipv4 due to name resolution favouring ipv6, you will have to make use of ipv4 IP addresses in the Dbvnet, Dbvagent, Dbvserver configuration files as well as your Dbvisit Standby DDC file (for the SOURCE and DESTINATION)
  • Using the following commands after starting Dbvnet, Dbvagent and Dbvserver, you will be able to identify if it is listening on ipv4 or ipv6:
    • Dbvnet:   netstat -an|findstr 7890
    • Dbvagent:  netstat -an|findstr 7891
    • Dbvserver: netstat -an|findstr 4433



3.  Change Log

Important Notes  

  • Dbvisit Standby download for SLES 11 and 12 now available as of 8.0.10
  • Windows 2016 supported - 8.0.14 or higher recommended
  • Oracle 12.2 supported as of 8.0.12 release
  • Oracle 10gR2 (10.2+) is now supported as of 8.0.22
    • IMPORTANT:
      • This excludes Oracle 10g RAC configurations which are not supported
      • If using Oracle ASM - the version of ASM must be 11.2 and above (Graceful Switchover will not be possible if ASM version of 10.2 is used)
  • Solaris and AIX support added as of 8.0.18 release
    • IMPORTANT:
      • Dbvisit Standby can be installed and used on Solaris based systems (Solaris 10+) with the exception that the Central Console must be installed and running on a Linux or Windows-based system.
      • Dbvserver (Central Console) will not be able to install on Solaris and AIX based systems
      • Using Dbvnet on Solaris and AIX is experimental and if used (in 8.0.18) COMPARE_CHECKSUM=Y must be enabled in the DDC files.
      • Using SSH on Solaris and AIX in 8.0.18 is recommended (SSH User Equivalence is required - passwordless authentication)
  • As of 8.0.24 Oracle 18c Database Standard Edition 2 is now supported, this excludes Oracle 18c RAC.
  • As of 8.0.24 the Linux downloads are combined into one download.  The installer download will be in the form of "dbvisit-standby8.0.24-linux.zip" There will only be one download which can be used for all the supported Linux versions (SLES, Red Hat and Oracle Linux):
    • Oracle Linux 5, 6 and 7 (64 bit)
    • Red Hat 5, 6 and 7 (64 Bit)
    • SLES 11 and 12 (64bit) 


8.0.30 (2 April 2020)

Changes:

  1. DS-1515: Support package improvements, including handling pre Create Standby Database (CSD) support package creation
  2. DS-1554: Improved handling of tempfiles during Graceful Switchover (GS) - especially offline tempfiles where size will become 0
  3. DS-1557: Fix issue with possible Graceful Switchover (GS) failure due to incorrect target destinations set for archivelogs to copy from ASM
  4. DS-1558: Add option to set custom environment variables in dbvctl. You can now set OS_ENV_VAR1, OS_ENV_VAR2, OS_ENV_VAR1_DR, OS_ENV_VAR2_DR in the DDC
  5. DS-1560: Implement fix to handle potential error when using a delay specified with APPLY_DELAY_LAG_MINUTES is larger than actual current standby database lag


8.0.28 (27 June 2019)

Changes:

  1. DS-1503: Support packages can now be created if dbvnet is not installed and SSH is used
  2. DS-1479: Archivelog Management Module (AMM) no longer attempts to delete files that do not match the archivelog format, e.g. lost+found
  3. DS-1477: Installer no longer crashes when an incorrect component parameter is set
  4. DS-1504: Added "env" command to the support package operating system commands
  5. DS-1506: OpenSSL updated to 1.1.1b
  6. DS-1502: "Next SCN required for recovery" information added to Activate Standby Database screen in Command Line Interface (CLI)
  7. DS-1510: Support packages can now be created from the Standby server even if the dbvisit repository is not present in standby/conf
  8. DS-1520: ARCHTMP location now always correctly handled, even if it matches the Oracle archive log destination location
  9. DS-1459: Central Console (GUI) user permissions now work as expected with regards to assigned hosts
  10. DS-1513: Updated certificate that is used to sign the Dbvisit Standby Windows installer
  11. DS-1509: Temp files are now correctly created even if invalid entries are set for ORACLE_HOME_ASM and ORACLE_HOME_ASM_DR

8.0.26 (18 March 2019)

Changes:

  1. DS-1487: Improve the copy of repository (standby/conf/dbname.db file) between primary and standby
  2. DS-1486: Update query used during Graceful Switchover to obtain temp files
  3. DS-1476: Update certificates supplied with installation
  4. DS-1473: Fix internal JSON related parsing causing dbvagent failure
  5. DS-1452: Internal improvement to logging
  6. DS-1485: Internal update to allow certain spfile parameter values to be carried over to standby database during Create Standby Database (CSD) - these were specific to values that was set to a 0 (zero) value.
  7. DS-1494: Update internal timeout value in Central Console and link to sessionTimout in configuration file
  8. DS-1495: Internal update to DDC template default values
  9. DS-1498: Resolve issue where tracefile were not attached to error email notification
  10. DS-1499: Update database disconnect at end of dbvctl run. This resolves potential "Segmentation fault" after a successful execution
  11. DS9-140: Internal updates to better cater for environments where standby database is created on ACFS based filesystems
  12. DS-1500: Resolve issue where "Error parsing config file" reported in dbvnet or dbvagent
  13. DS-1503: Internal fix to resolve error creating support package when dbvnet is not installed and ssh is used 

8.0.24 (12 October 2018)
Changes:

  1. DS-1068: Internal improvement to handle read-only agent repository
  2. DS-1181: Improvement of dbvctl daemon process to send email on termination of a long running process
  3. DS-1208: Handle option when dbvserver or dbvagent repositories are not accessible - improved handling and error messages
  4. DS-1252: Improved batch installer on Solaris to update dbvnet configuration
  5. DS-1278: Improved alignment of task history in the Central Console (GUI)
  6. DS-1303: Passphrases are not displayed in support package contents
  7. DS-1347: RECOVER_UNTIL_SCN_FILE and RECOVER_UNTIL_TIME_FILE can be specified in DDC with different location and filenames
  8. DS-1359: Internal update - Add additional information to support package and update structure
  9. DS-1375: dbvsmgr.exe reporting on Dbvnet instead of Daemon process dbvctl-<DDC>
  10. DS-1391: Change localtime to UTC in the internal sequence and transfer tables
  11. DS-1393: Adjust batch install process to have option for dbvserver public_address and dbvagent webserver_adress
  12. DS-1398: Improve support package dates to include time
  13. DS-1408: Fix missing "Oracle Restart registration" option both CLI and GUI in 8.0.22
  14. DS-1426: Various small internal updates to Central Console (GUI)
  15. DS-1431: Improved error handling for support package generation in Central Console (GUI)
  16. DS-1432: Create a backup of dbvserver and dbvagent repositories on reset
  17. DS-1439: Network transfer improvement on Windows 2008 based systems (Dbvnet)
  18. DS-1448: Multiple DDCs with the same name can cause incorrect API requests to be generated
  19. DS-1450: cmn_check4new_datafiles gives incorrect filename with French language setting, add the following DDC parameters DBV_LANG, DBV_LANG_DR
    DBV_NLS_LANG, DBV_NLS_LANG_DR which can be set to specific LANG or NLS_LANG environment variable, example DBV_LANG = en_NZ.UTF8
    DBV_NLS_LANG = American_America.UTF8
  20. DS-1467: Internal fix - Dbvagent reports "The system cannot find the path specified" errors with no apparent failure


8.0.22 (14 June 2018)

Changes:

  1. DS-977: Dbvnet now assume output filename from the input filename when -o is not specified
  2. DS-1162: Improved handling of ipv4 addresses and not using ipv6 (ipv6 not supported)
  3. DS-1232: Add option for multiple listener addresses (dbvserver,dbvnet,dbvserver)
  4. DS-1269: Internal improvement in logging (dbvnet, dbvagent, dbvserver)
  5. DS-1278: Visual improvements to task history (Central Console) - allow a wider window. Disable Create Standby Database (CSD) button after the first press to ensure no double execution is attempted
  6. DS-1286: Running dbvctl process to terminate with an error once RUNNING_MAX_TIMES_TRIED (default 3) attempts have been reached
  7. DS-1304: Dbvnet progress bar improvement when using the -v flag
  8. DS-1319: Improve exit code during pre/post processing jobs to ensure process exits with an error if pre/post processing exit with status 1
  9. DS-1326: SERVICE_USED/SERVICE_USED_DR options added to allow for -f (force) flag to be enabled for srvctl stop instance commands. The internal change included setting correct archsource location to look for subsequent archives during Graceful Switchover (GS)
  10. DS-1335: Add support for Oracle 10gR2 - excluding Oracle RAC, note that 11gR2 ASM required for Graceful Switchover
  11. DS-1355: Resolve issue where dbvnet did not return the correct exit code on error
  12. DS-1357: Improve "dbvctl -d <ddc> -o start --database" command when "srvctl" Oracle command is used
  13. DS-1358: Improve internal logging of FATAL and ERROR error messages (dbvnet,dbvagent,dbvserver)
  14. DS-1365: Remove passphrase content from support package configuration files
  15. DS-1368: Fix formatting issue with creating general support package while Create Standby Database (CSD) process is running


8.0.20 (9 March 2018)

Changes:

  1. DS-1169: Improved ordering of task history (date column not wrapping)
  2. DS-1185: Fix alignment of configurations in Central Console (Configurations screen)
  3. DS-1214: Internal update to skip a check if a file is open if no fuser found on the server when UNIX is used
  4. DS-1220: Implement change to allow dbvctl Daemon process to re-establish shared database connection on failure
  5. DS-1226: Dbvnet improvements including logging, internal bug fixes as well as performance improvements
  6. DS-1228: Do not attempt to create a standby control file twice during Create Standby Database (CSD) when using ASM
  7. DS-1229: Add additional information to database status check
  8. DS-1230: Shut standby instance down during Graceful Switchover (GS) rollback, prior to removing old redo logs
  9. DS-1235: Add additional handling of "An existing connection was forcibly closed" during remote checksum execution when result was returned
  10. DS-1236: Improve dbvnet keep-alive frequency used for long running cosessions (connections)
  11. DS-1237: Fix default dbvctl calling exit() when no logs to transfer found
  12. DS-1243: Fix working directory in dbvsmgr which caused dbvserver service not to start, if only component installed (Windows Only)
  13. DS-1255: Fix issue in dbvnet where copy of files greater than 2GB on Windows based systems created 0 size file on secondary
  14. DS-1264: Improve checks of source database state when running default dbvctl taking into account CASCADE variable setting
  15. DS-1265: Resolve possible agent being stated as down, while in fact it is running (Solaris)
  16. DS-1270: Minor update on License key display details (DS-1271)
  17. DS-1273: Improve detection of Clusterware vs Oracle Restart and the options used for SRVCTL when adding (registering) the standby database during Create Standby Database (CSD)
  18. DS-1274: Internal improvement to better handle many agents (hosts) in Central Console - browser session my not load all components or disconnect (refresh)


8.0.18 (14 February 2018)

The 8.0.18 release now includes support for Solaris and AIX.  As part of this release, there is a number of new changes of which a summary is listed below. 

Other Notes:

  • Dbvnet, Dbvagent and Dbvserver now include the certificates in the conf subdirectory.  Users can use the default provided or substitute this with their own if so required.
  • The Dbvagent configuration file now has two extra options that can be set: webserver_address and webserver port.  These should only be set if the Central Console (Dbvserver) is located behind a firewall.  In these scenarios, the Agent will have to send data via the firewall to the Central Console.  The firewall IP address will be provided as the webserver_address and if port forwarding is used the webserver_port is set to the port that was selected on the firewall.  This might be due to the webserver sitting behind a company firewall in a private IP range.
  • For Solaris and AIX do not use Dbvnet for network communication, but rather use SSH 
  • For Solaris and AIX, the webserver (Central Console) must be installed on a separate Windows or Linux environment - Linux is recommended.


Changes:

  1. DS-703: Internal updates to Dbvnet, Dbvagent and Dbvserver to cater for Solaris and
  2. DS-761: IMPORTANT: Added support for Solaris (SPARC, x86) and AIX. As of 8.0.18 Dbvisit Standby can be installed and used on Solaris based systems (Solaris 10+) with the exception that the Central Console must be installed/running on a Linux or Windows-based system. Dbvserver (Central Console) will not be able to install on Solaris and AIX based systems Using Dbvnet on Solaris and AIX is experimental and if used, COMPARE_CHECKSUM=Y must be enabled in the DDC files. Using SSH on Solaris and AIX in 8.0.18 is recommended (SSH User Equivalence is required - passwordless authentication)
  3. DS-791: Implement new update repository functions for dbvagent and dbvserver
  4. DS-915: Improved error handling with new internal improved JSON library
  5. DS-959: Extend the pre/post-processing script to include Create Standby Database (CSD) post-processing
  6. DS-963: Adjust fields to consistent order across the Add and Edit host pages
  7. DS-964: Internal change - deleting parameters from the Create Standby Database (CSD) page table should now correctly remove them from the Inits parameter group
  8. DS-966: Create Configuration page is now correctly disabled if no Hosts are defined
  9. DS-979: (DS-980) Drop-down lists in Safari browsers now displaying correct formatting
  10. DS-984: Allow for the CASCADE variable to be editable via Central Console (GUI)
  11. DS-983: Add check to prevent deletion of active Hosts in Central Console (GUI)
  12. DS-989: Improved error handling when starting an already running daemon process (Central Console)
  13. DS-1010: Adjust syntax of SRVCTL command for RAC One Node
  14. DS-1015: Add new function to synchronize the primary and standby databases by transferring and applying logs as a final step of Create Standby Database (CSD) and Synchronize Standby Database (SYNC) operations
  15. DS-1028: Send one heartbeat email per dbvisit run rather than one per thread
  16. DS-1029: (DS-1052) Import DDC into Cental Console now always display correct information
  17. DS-1044: (DS-1047) Improve user add/remove in Cental Console with improved restrictions on removing logged in users
  18. DS-1046: Incorrect password validation criteria fixed in Central Console
  19. DS-1051: Disable resume button on using transportable media when starting second phase
  20. DS-1054: Add an optional parameter to refresh datafile function. The new parameters is to specify temp locations on the local and remote systems for backup and transfer locations of the datafile backup
  21. DS-1060: Update dbvisit software installation scripts to cater for upgrade from 8.0.16 to 8.0.18
  22. DS-1091: Create DDC, CSD and Sync pages "Submit" buttons are now disabled after the initial click to prevent double-click
  23. DS-1096: Use "which" command instead of "whereis" on Solaris to locate an executable
  24. DS-1102: Adjust "ps" command flags to cater for Solaris
  25. DS-1106: Set NOEDIT attribute in the Inits data structure if not defined by Central Console (GUI)
  26. DS-1114: Dbvisit installation script should not allow to install Dbvserver on Solaris and AIX based systems
  27. DS-1125: An attempt to apply license should be made only on successful creation of a DDC file
  28. DS-1129: Do not terminate the installer when the user chooses to install Dbvserver on Solaris and AIX, just display warning. Note: Dbvserver (Central Console/GUI) is not allowed on Solaris or AIX and must be installed on Linux or Windows
  29. DS-1133: Added support package generation to database action errors on the Manage Databases page (Central Console)
  30. DS-1170: Update support package - add dbvnet and dbvagent configurations (-g) to support package
  31. DS-1174: Resolve issue where Daemon does not reset internal settings if a long running process is killed
  32. DS-1175: Resolve issue where support package on Windows did not contain files from remote server
  33. DS-1178: Fixed a bug causing the installer not to accept components to install/uninstall
  34. DS-1179: Task "not receiving updates" error message timeout increased from 10 to 40 seconds
  35. DS-1183: Some notifications are missing in screen output of Graceful Switchover (GS)
  36. DS-1197: Internal change to fix incorrect syntax of SRVCTL command ADD INSTANCE missing -node flag
  37. DS-1199: Backup existing dbvnet, dbvserver, dbvagent config files with timestamp - when re-installing or upgrading dbvisit
  38. DS-1210: Resolve issue where creating new template during Create Standby Database (CSD) can cause standby instant to not be shutdown if only creating template
  39. DS-1211: Central Console - update sorting order of tasks based on completion time
  40. DS-1212: User session now only times out if there are no active Tasks, also Task History no longer auto-scrolls
  41. DS-1216: Resolve issue where defunct processes can be created if database is shutdown when daemon is running
  42. DS-1217: Internal updates to function sync_get_info


8.0.16 (9 November 2017)
Changes:

  1. DS-460: Allow Synchronize Standby Database (SYNC) option to be restartable and able to use transportable media
  2. DS-859: Remove temp files created on the standby server by Dbvisit processes spawned by daemon
  3. DS-874: Provide optional post processing option to compress archives under ARCHDEST
  4. DS-883: Correct a typo in Dbvisit standby components uninstaller
  5. DS-891: Use release major version number only following a switch to GIT
  6. DS-893: Fix log gap report showing wrong instance name for threads other than one
  7. DS-894: Avoid archive logs being deleted from ARCHDEST until transferred to Cascade Standby
  8. DS-895: Use SRVCTL rather than SQLPLUS to open a Clusterware registered standby read only
  9. DS-896: Restart newly activated database on a database rather than instance level
  10. DS-901: Make sure log gap report fails unless the standby is mounted or read only
  11. DS-905: Generate support package when DBVISIT_DEBUG is set to 0
  12. DS-909: Implicitly set database parameter instance_mode to READ-WRITE on the standby during CSD
  13. DS-910: Make sure APPLY_DELAY_LAG_MINUTES and DMN_MONITOR_INTERVAL_DR are not both set
  14. DS-913: Fix daemon resetting AMM_CHECK_TRANSFERRED to N
  15. DS-914: Improve mechanism of switching the standby to recovery mode when APPLY_READ_ONLY set to Y
  16. DS-916: Make sure pre- and -post- processing scripts are called even when the database instance is down
  17. DS-917: Make sure installer sets correct dbvserver name and does not keep the 0.0.0.0 placeholder
  18. DS-918: Correct syntax error when starting a database read only using SRVCTL
  19. DS-919: Add --force option to "-o upgrade", for testing purposes
  20. DS-921: Make db_file_name_convert and log_file_name_convert case insensitive
  21. DS-922: Make sure PDBs get started on the new primary on completion of GS
  22. DS-923: Small improvement when restarting a database
  23. DS-924: Transfer a list of primary datafiles to the standby during CSD, to be potentially used for post-processing
  24. DS-925: Improve conversion of datafile names during CSD when conversion is set between two ASM diskgroups
  25. DS-927: Improve parsing db_file_name_convert when one "from" string is a substring of another "from" string
  26. DS-928: Improve logging generated by running log gap report when RUN_INSPECT set to Y
  27. DS-930: Use file mtime rather than ctime when picking up the latest compressed or uncompressed log to apply
  28. DS-931: Add DDC string to generic support package name
  29. DS-932: Check if restore points are set in the old primary prior to GS
  30. DS-934: Re-transfer a file if checksums do not match during file transfer
  31. DS-935: Add missing globals to a list of globals available to the user when editing a DDC via GUI
  32. DS-939: Display warning during CSD prechecks if primary is in NOLOGGING
  33. DS-948: Issue with db_create_online_log_dest_n being ignored affecting CSD and GS
  34. DS-952: Improve handling foreign language strings when parsing output during recovery
  35. DS-954: Improve handling tempfiles extended beyond max size, which could cause error during Graceful Switchover
  36. DS-956: Improve algorithm of applying convert parameter to a filename in mixed ASM and Windows environmentDS-957: Treat temp files that belong to SEED container as OMF during GS


8.0.14 (20 June 2017)
Changes:

  1. DS-636: Allow for entering license key on completion of creating a new DDC
  2. DS-727: Allow to use trace file name instead of process id (pid) when creating a Support Package
  3. DS-760: Introduce "Blackout Window" functionality when scheduling Dbvisit via daemon process
  4. DS-818: New functions to extract data from repository tables in text and json formats
  5. DS-819: New option to schedule repository maintenance when running default send/apply of logs
  6. DS-820: Improve algorithm of applying logs on the standby when both compressed and uncompressed copies present (DS-873)
  7. DS-828: Copy repository to the standby server once changes have been made to it on the primary server
  8. DS-829: Improve cleanup of trace files following default Dbvisit run
  9. DS-851: Improve Create Standby Database (CSD) options in Central Console when using Oracle RAC configurations and templates
  10. DS-853: Make sure database connections are kept open when using daemon
  11. DS-856: Handle a scenario when parameter db_unique_name is not set in the primary spfile during CSD
  12. DS-858: Remove misleading messages inserted in history log by daemon
  13. DS-859: Make sure temp files created by Dbvisit processes spawned by daemon are removed on completion
  14. DS-864: Central Console - when spfile is present and enforced during Create Standby Database (CSD), template option is disabled
  15. DS-865: Provide a meaningful error message when an attempt to use -l (license) option on the standby server is made
  16. DS-866: When applying logs using either SQLPLUS or RMAN, skip logs with names ending in ".part" as being in use
  17. DS-867: Automatically reestablish RMAN connection opened by daemon if the database is restarted
  18. DS-868: Update internal API call for activate sync and no-sync options
  19. DS-869: Improved timestamp display in Central Console under Task History table - tooltip added with timezone of webserver
  20. DS-871: When performing CSD and GS, check if daemon has not been stopped on both sides and terminate
  21. DS-875: Improved handling of ASM Oracle Managed File (OMF) primary password file during Create Standby Database (CSD)
  22. DS-882: Improvements to Graceful Switchover between primary RAC and single instance standby
  23. DS-885: Fix upgrade of Dbvisit Standby Configuration file (DDC) - does not set CONFDIR_DR when called from Central Console


8.0.12 (11 May 2017)

Changes:

  1. DS-306: Implement fix to resolve error when using TLS sending email notifications
  2. DS-522: Improved error handling for sending email failures
  3. DS-578: Add new option to Central Console to open standby database read-only
  4. DS-716: Implement change to accommodate default spfile location when Oracle Restart is used
  5. DS-729: Add option to Create Standby Database (CSD) to re-use an existing spfile
  6. DS-730: Allow Create Standby Database (CSD) of RAC standby from Single Instance (Multi threaded database that was originally a primary). Important that original RAC database spfile must still be in place and the option to use an existing spfile must be used when detected during the CSD process
  7. DS-739: Display error message when running Create Standby Database (CSD) from Central Console, when the agent is not contactable
  8. DS-740: The Central Console parameters for the DDC or the database parameters are now sorted alphabetically
  9. DS-747: Allow for the option to register the standby database with Oracle Restart or Clusterware - if detected
  10. DS-748: Internal change to set DB_UNIQUE_NAME to DB_UNIQUE_NAME_DR on the standby when setting environment
  11. DS-750: Resolve issue where standby database does not recover when apply_delay_lag_minutes is set when running the dbvctl in daemon mode
  12. DS-751: Improve the way the Central Console display the source and destination following a Failover/Activation
  13. DS-752: Improve error handling during the DDC creation if one of the hosts (source or destination) is not available
  14. DS-753: Internal improvement to reduce amount of calls to standby server during Create Standby Database (CSD) process
  15. DS-756: Fix wrong status being displayed during Database Status checks using the Central Console
  16. DS-758: Internal change to repository to include use_existing_spfile_yn and srvctl_register_yn
  17. DS-763: Remove some logging of functions to the trace file
  18. DS-765: Add additional information to the support package - srvctl config database
  19. DS-766: Fix wrong license information being displayed in the central console - 2099
  20. DS-768: Add correct example of send_heartbeat_time24 to DDC file (should be ":" not "," as delimiter between times)
  21. DS-769: Fix issue where TLS/STARTTLS email notifications did not work
  22. DS-773: Improve handling of closed thread (when Oracle RAC is used) on standby when looking for next required SCN
  23. DS-780: Ensure all Create Standby Database (CSD) and DDC creation errors in the Central Console display the create support package option
  24. DS-781: Enable management of the repository in batch mode (--mode BATCH --action uninstall|install)
  25. DS-783: Fix wrong default port 4493 being displayed for dbvserver (should be 4433) in ./install-dbvisit -h
  26. DS-784: New options added to Central Console to allow for Registration of standby with Oracle Restart or Clusterware or the use of an existing spfile - during the Create Standby Database (CSD) process
  27. DS-787: Improved handling of Dbvctl daemon monitoring and applying logs on standby when Oracle RAC configurations are used where one thread is not as active as another
  28. DS-790: Improve support package to include dbvnet, dbvagent, dbvctl daemon and history log information
  29. DS-795: Fix send_heartbeat function to allow sending of emails
  30. DS-802: Improved support for Oracle 12.2 ASM configurations
  31. DS-803: Add additional use of srvctl for Oracle Restart and Oracle Clusterware environments
  32. DS-804: Add status and status description to json output of -o status when --mode GUI is used
  33. DS-805: Use correct spfile when starting standby database during Create Standby Database (CSD) when central console is used
  34. DS-806: Improve "dbvctl -h -f" to display help output regarding functions
  35. DS-808: Improved handling or Oracle Database 12.2 when password file is stored in ASM when Oracle RAC is used
  36. DS-809: Ensure correct error is reported when extract of a file from ASM failed
  37. DS-810: Fix issue where dbvctl incorrectly removed a lock file for an existing running process
  38. DS-811: Internal improvement on repository used by dbvagent and dbvserver
  39. DS-812: Improve function used to search for archive logs - especially where old logs were removed and later restored
  40. DS-813: Internal improvement in dbvagent on handling larger data packets during launch-updates
  41. DS-815: Add additional columns START_EPOCH and EPOCH to dbv_transfer_log and dbv_sequence_log
  42. DS-823: Remove direct copy method option when running Create Standby Database during a creation of a cascade database process. When using cascading standby databases, the direct copy method is not supported and this option is now removed
  43. DS-825: Support for Oracle Database 12.2
  44. DS-827: Create Standby Database (CSD) ignored USE_EXISTING_SPFILE_YN when set to Y - fixed
  45. DS-831: Internal change in preparation for upcoming reporting screens in later release
  46. DS-832: A number of AMM module variables do not get reset on each run of dbvctl Daemon run, but get appended to - Fixed
  47. DS-833: Fix issue where the resume Create Standby Database option did not work in certain scenarios when using the Central Console
  48. DS-836: Create the dbvisit standby repository if it does not exist during a failover/activation of a standby database
  49. DS-841: Copy dbvisit repository to the standby on successful application of a license key
  50. DS-846: Fix batch installation on Unix based systems where host names were not set correct for dbvnet, dbvagent and dbvserver
  51. DS-848: Internal change to improve handling of OracleService<SID> services on Windows for shutdown, startup, restart functions
  52. DS-850: Improve Synchronize Standby Database (SYNC) function to better handle newly added datafiles
  53. DS-854: Skip compressed archived logs when applying to standby using RMAN and Dbvisit Standby compression is disabled
  54. DS-855: Fix status check of Dbvserver and Dbvnet wrongly reporting as Dbvagent


8.0.10 (27 January 2017)
Changes:

  1. DS-719: Add new sample Linux startup scripts to DBVISIT_BASE/standby/doc folder
  2. DS-732: Internal change to address internal repository error "Error: file is encrypted or is not a database" 
  3. DS-733: Adjust order of creating new Redo Logs during Graceful Switchover (GS) to remove risk of Redo being left in a temporary location in case of an error during GS
  4. DS-734: Improve upgrade script executed during "dbvctl -d DDC -o upgrade" including improved handling of ORACLE_SID_ASM and ORACLE_SID_ASM_DR and ensuring that ORACLE_SID and ORACLE_SID_DR is not set if Oracle RAC is used and Dbvisit Standby version is 8 and above 
  5. DS-735: Resolve incorrect reporting of dbvctl Daemon/Backround process status as well as improved handling of PID files 
  6. DS-736: Add changes to allow Oracle RAC configurations where Dbvisit Standby is not using shared storage. For more detail see the Online Documentation (Advanced - Oracle RAC Configurations - https://goo.gl/ydzVkJ)
  7. DS-738: Internal change - skip tracing a directory listing of a missing archive log if the log is ASM
  8. DS-741: Improved handling of single tenant database - PDB state when running "dbvctl -d DDC -o restart" on standby server
  9. DS-744: Error being reported when using delay lag - Cannot open file: Media recovery complete (No such file or directory) - fixed


8.0.08 (18 January 2017)
Changes:

  1. DS-692: Check for dbvctl daemon running when performing CSD, GS or SYNC
  2. DS-701: Add additional dbvnet network testing options
  3. DS-710: Improved socket closing - dbvnet
  4. DS-711: Trace files were not always removed
  5. DS-712: Add new global CHECK_ARCHTMP (default value Y). If ARCHTMP in any Oracle Archive destiniations an error will be raised. Set to N to only have a warning message displayed
  6. DS-714: Resolve issue where running dbvctl as daemon/background process when ASM is used did not ship logs
  7. DS-717: Resolve upgrade issue seen when upgrading from 8.0.04 to later versions "Error Code: 2000"
  8. DS-718: Dbvisit Archivelog Management Module (AMM) did not remove archive logs that met criteria - fixed
  9. DS-720: When using Oracle RAC primary with single instance standby on Filesystem, an attempt to connect to ASM on standby is performed when not needed - fixed
  10. DS-721: During Create Standby Database (CSD) it failed on renaming standby redo to ASM diskgroup names - fixed
  11. DS-725: During the creation of a new DDC, changing the Source Host after initial selection caused problems
  12. DS-728: Error Code 2000 during Windows database status check - fixed


8.0.06 (22 December 2016)
Changes:

  1. DS-593: Internal change - adding additional logging information when performing local file copy
  2. DS-630: Introduce new feature to Windows systems to allow for Windows service to be created for each DDC on the primary and standby servers to be used for automated log shipping and applying without using a Windows Scheduler. Users can now use either the Windows scheduler or this new option.
  3. DS-631: Add additional check to ensure file id is provided when refreshing only one datafile
  4. DS-633: Add function to copy repository from primary to standby: dbvctl -f ship_repo -d <ddc>
  5. DS-643: Add additional information to the support package
  6. DS-655: Enhance DDC upgrade process when using the Central Console
  7. DS-664: Add additional checks to Edit Configuration (DDC) screen to resolve strings to be added to DDC
  8. DS-665: Improve logging of expected ORA-01034 error messages
  9. DS-667: Add additional tracing of database parameters during Graceful Switchover (GS) 
  10. DS-668: Fix misleading notification about log switch being performed 
  11. DS-669: Improve logging mechanism for Dbvnet, Dbvserver and Dbvagent
  12. DS-670: Central Console - Improve page transition and error formatting on Graceful Switchover page
  13. DS-671: Improve pattern search when removing trace files during tracefile maintenance
  14. DS-672: Central Console - Internal improvements on page loading and DDC/dbvctl version handling
  15. DS-673: Improved internal error handling - error code 2000
  16. DS-674: Use the same method to obtain archive log names when shipping to standby and during Graceful Switchover
  17. DS-676: Display a meaningful message when no databases is detected on a server during DDC creation
  18. DS-577: Show additional PDB status informaiton when checking database status
  19. DS-680: Incorrect description in DDC file for DMN* variables (min vs sec)
  20. DS-682: Update Windows Installer to handle new dbvsmgr utility. The new dbvsmgr utility is only used and available on Windows based installations and is used to manage Dbvisit Standby services for Dbvnet, Dbvagent, Dbvserver as well as the new dbvctl background processes (deamon) - one per DDC per server - if enabled 
  21. DS-683: Handle scenario where variable is declared more than once in DDC file
  22. DS-685: Implement new improved logging module for Dbvnet, Dbvagent and Dbvserver - clearing all old log files when upgrading from earlier version is recommended
  23. DS-686: Remove internal error message during upgrade error messages
  24. DS-687: Add additional check to ensure ARCHSOURCE and ARCHDEST is not the same as any of the database archive log destinations or the database recovery area. These locations (ARCHSOURCE and ARCHDEST) are specific to Dbvisit Standby and should never be located in the database archive log or recovery area destinations
  25. DS-688: Fix Dbvisit Archivelog Management Module (AMM) error where archive logs are not removed (managed) on primary - if enabled 
  26. DS-690: Central Console - Minor style corrections
  27. DS-693: Do not error when license check is perfomed and no licese key provided
  28. DS-694: Internal improvements on Create Standby Database (CSD) batch process
  29. DS-696: Improve message when license key expired
  30. DS-698: Fix issue where Graceful Switchover (GS) in an Oracle RAC to single instace database fail in final steps during redo log recreation
  31. DS-699: Resolve issue where DDC is upgraded from CLI and Central Console does not detect this, selecting the upgrade option from the Central Console will now recognise that the CLI performed the upgrade 
  32. DS-702: Add new feature to handle network problems where tasks are successfully executed from Central Console, but incoming updates from Agents are not detected (example possible firewall blocking of port 4433)
  33. DS-703: Central Console - Replace various dual-selection components with improved single-click elements. Currently the database action page is affected, in particular the Database and Daemon group action buttons
  34. DS-705: Update installer to cater for various new upgrade functions 
  35. DS-707: Central Console - resolve issue where deleted Hosts from the hosts repository table can cause unexpected results - example displaying incorrect connection statuses next to incorrect Hosts
  36. DS-708: It is no longer possible to delete hosts that are currently part of a known DDC. You can still attempt it, however a red error message will be displayed
  37. DS-709: Central Console update - When a DDC is upgraded to a newer version, only that particular DDC table row record is refreshed, instead of the entire configurations table.


Note: When upgrading from 8.0.0x to 8.0.06 and above, we recommend you stop Dbvserver, Dbvnet and Dbvagent and remove all old log files located in their respective "log" subdirectories (dbvisit/dbvserver/log/, dbvisit/dbvnet/log/, dbvisit/dbvagent/log/)


8.0.04 (14 November 2016)
Changes:

  1. DS-634: Internal update to resolve corrupt support package trace file on Windows based systems
  2. DS-638: Incorrect handling of log_archive_dest_n parameters during CSD - fixed
  3. DS-639: Add additional internal tracing
  4. DS-640: Minor Central Console style changes - import button on Configuration Page
  5. DS-641: Do not use HOSTNAME_CMD if not set - can happen when upgrading from version 7 to version 8
  6. DS-642: Add support for case-insensitive hostnames in Central Console that was affecting Windows based systems
  7. DS-643: Add additional information to support packages - listing of latest 50 files in ARCSOURCE and log locations
  8. DS-644: Email - add trace file name in success emails
  9. DS-645: Email messages when using Daemon on linux appended old details - now fixed
  10. DS-646: Add maximum number of attempts to send email on failure - configurable with DMN_MAX_FAIL_NOTIFICATIONS
  11. DS-647: Do not send email notification if Daemon is stopped with USR1 signal
  12. DS-648: Improved query on v$archived_log when archive logs detected on filesystem (due to RMAN catalog) and ASM
  13. DS-649: Central Console - improved error handling when adding new host and agent cannot be contacted or passphrase is wrong
  14. DS-650: Improved insert into internal repository table (TRANSFER) to better handle multiple standby databases for same primary 
  15. DS-651: Improved naming of trace files for Daemon process
  16. DS-652: Dbvnet internal change to better handle closing connections on server side when multiple connections received at exact same time
  17. DS-653: Fix upgrade of 8.0.0x where NETPORT was mistakenly set to 22 ignoring already set NETPORT
  18. DS-654: Improve handling of DDC Version and dbvctl version and performing upgrade of DDC files - upgrade of DDC files must be executed following a software upgrade
  19. DS-656: Log Gap report in Central Console showed thread numbers as n-1 - fixed
  20. DS-657: Clear local and remote trace file listing in memory during Daemon/Background execution 
  21. DS-658: Ensure Support Packages can include Daemon background process trace files
  22. DS-659: Execute HOSTNAME_CMD if enabled and upgrading an existing DDC file
  23. DS-660: Do not send mail when INT or TERM signals received (CTL-C)


8.0.02 (8 November 2016)
Key New Features & Enhancements:

  1. New directory structure
  2. New enhanced network communication - Dbvnet
    - All communication is encrypted by default
    - New compression option introduced
  3. New Dbvisit agent (dbvagent) and web server (dbvserver)
  4. A new web-based user interface (GUI) - Dbvserver
    - Manage one or more Primary/Standby configurations from one web-based console
    - Dbvisit Standby Core components (Dbvnet, Dbvagnet and CLI) must be installed on primary/standby servers
    - Communication between Central Console and Agents are encrypted
    - Central Console cater for more than one user (two roles - Administrator and User)
    - Core tasks can be performed by Central Console including:
     - Create Standby Database
     - Manage Dbvisit Standby Configuration (DDC) file
     - Manage Licensing
     - Send and Apply logs
     - Re-synchronize the Standby Database due to unrecoverable archive log gap or nologging operations
     - Graceful Switchover
     - Activation (Failover)
     - Reporting - Log Gap Report
  5. Graceful Switchover (GS):
    - Run only from one node (primary or standby)
    - Improved performance
    - Better handling of redo logs
    - No requirement for unique keys during execution
  6. Enhanced Create Standby Database (CSD)
  7. Dbvisit Standby repository stored outside the Oracle database
  8. Dbvisit Standby Command Line Interface - CLI, is now one executable "dbvctl"
  9. New API interface (see dbvctl -h)
  10. Various new functions. Most functions are exposed see "dbvctl -f -h"
  11. Enhanced error handling
  12. New Support Package option is introduced
  13. Enhanced trace file management
  14. New Oracle RAC management
    - New option to create Oracle RAC enabled Standby Database (conditions apply)
    - Dbvisit Standby components are now more RAC Aware and cluster resources can be created
    - Dbvisit Standby is now run from only one node in the cluster
    - Upgrading from version 7 to version 8 when using Oracle RAC will require new DDC files to be created
  15. Support for creating Cascading Standby Databases (conditions apply)
  16. Support for Oracle 12c Multitenant option in Oracle 12c SE2 (Single Tenant for Oracle Standard Edition Two)
  17. Various internal improvements and fixes

Note: Operating System support in 8.0.02 limited to the following:

  • Microsoft Windows 2008 and above (64bit)
  • Oracle Linux 5,6 and 7 (64bit)
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5,6 and 7 (64bit)


----------------------------------------
Beta and Release Candidate Changes
----------------------------------------

8.0.01 (07 November 2016) RC 1

  1. Various internal enhancements
  2. Include Windows Version
  3. Updated documentation
  4. Enhance access authorization in Central Console
  5. Remove SSH option if using Windows in Central Console - Dbvnet must be used.
  6. Various style and multi-select input enhancements in Central Console
  7. Improve handling of Hostnames in Central Console
  8. Various updates to installer script
  9. Add task complete or task error messages to the bottom of lightboxes in Central Console
  10. Lower debug level for Dbvnet, Dbvserver, Dbvagent to a value of 1
  11. Update "Task log unavailable" message to "Retrieving task progress" to indicate the process
  12. Add new import DDC option in the Central Console Configurations Screen

8.0.01 (21 October 2016) Beta 3

 1. Central Console updates:
  - Database Actions are now grouped into logical groups
  - Add new option to start the Dbvisit Standby Background (Daemon) process (Start/Stop/Status)
  - Add new option to ship only one archive log to standby - similar to the -r option in CLI
  - New confirmation option (Continue/Cancel) was added to remove/delete option for DDC, HOSTS and USERS
  - Various Enhancements to DDC Upgrade process
  - Added new progress indicators in various areas where actions are performed
  - Add new option to update an existing license
  - Improve error handling when a DDC is imported where primary or standby host is not yet defined in Central Console
  - Create a new configuration option is disabled if there are no hosts (agents) configured
  - Resolve "in-progress" symbol spinning when viewing the Central Console via an RDP connection
  - Add new "About" and "Documentation" links to the bottom right of the screen
  - Activate new option to handle USER/HOST security - a user can be assigned to specific hosts. If a user does not have access to a host, it will not have access to do anything with a DDC referencing that host
  - Admin role - does not have any restrictions. It is important to note that only users with the admin user role can add new hosts
  - Add support for creating an Oracle RAC to Single Instance standby DDC
  - Add support for creating an Oracle RAC primary to Oracle RAC standby (node count must match primary) DDC
  - IMPORTANT: Note that the cluster on the standby must already be configured (GI and Database software must be installed and diskgroups configured). It is recommended in this configuration that the standby Oracle RAC matches the primary Oracle RAC as much as possible (disk groups, file locations). Using shared storage for the Dbvisit Standby installation is required with a new Virtual IP (VIP) that is allocated with a hostname alias. This is used to identify the node that will be running the Dbvisit  Standby processes. Using ACFS is recommended for the shared filesystem.
  2. Add option to handle PDB states - especially when a PDB had a saved OPEN state - this resolved GS failure if saved OPEN state was used on the primary
  3. Improved error message output in various areas
  4. Improved handling of the HOSTNAME_CMD command option - used by default in version 8. Not used if upgrading a DDC from v7 where HOSTNAME_CMD was not configured.
  5. Various updates and enhancements to prepare for Windows version release
  6. Various Installer enhancements
  7. Update to internal libraries

8.0.01 (3 October 2016) Beta 2

  1. Add support for Transportable Media during the CSD process (Central Console)
  2. Add option to run Dbvisit Standby as background process - ./dbvctl -d <DDC> -D start|stop|status
  3. Various internal bug fixes since beta 1
  4. Rename central console "MANAGE DATABASES" to "DATABASE ACTIONS"
  5. Fix certificates used causing certain browsers to not function correctly
  6. Browsers support includes Safari, Chrome, Firefox. Initial IE support experimental
  7. Delete DDC files from Central Console now deletes DDC files from disk - backup will be made
  8. Disable compression by default for Dbvisit Standby archive log shipping and management. This is to allow the use of the new Dbvnet compression to be used. COMPRESS=N and UNCOMPRESS=N is now the default.
  9. Installer Enhancements
  10. The default HOSTNAME_CMD file will now be of format dbvhost_<ddc>.sh
  11. Sending archive logs to standby now shows the thread# and sequence# for the log being transferred
  12. Update Oracle Instant Client from 11.2.0.4 to 12.1.0.2
  13. Update OpenSSL libraries to 1.0.2j
  14. Update help output to display correct syntax for resending just one log: dbvctl -d <ddc> -r sequence# -t thread#
  15. The enhanced format of error messages - both CLI and GUI
  16. Add option -o read: dbvctl -d <ddc> -o open|read
  17. Fix display of license expiry warning to round days remaining
  18. Add a header to Task History table listing in Central Console


8.0.01 (15 September 2016) Beta 1

  1. New Features & Enhancements:
  2. New directory structure
  3. New enhanced network layer - Dbvnet
  4. New Dbvisit agent and web server component
  5. New web-based interface (GUI) - Dbvserver
  6. Enhanced Graceful Switchover (GS) (various enhancements, including performance improvement)
  7. Enhanced Create Standby Database (CSD)
  8. Repository outside the Oracle database
  9. Dbvisit Standby core (command line interface) is now one executable "dbvctl"
  10. New API interface
  11. Various new functions. Most functions are exposed see "dbvctl -f -h"
  12. Enhanced error handling
  13. New Support Package option is introduced
  14. Enhanced trace file management
  15. New and enhanced Oracle RAC management
  16. New option to create Oracle RAC enabled Standby Database (conditions apply)
  17. Support for creating Cascading Standby Databases (conditions apply)
  18. Support for Oracle 12c Multitenant option - Single Tenant for Oracle Standard Edition
  19. Various internal improvements and fixes


Notes:
------

  • The first Beta 1 release of Dbvisit Standby version 8 does have certain features disabled. These are expected
  • to be enabled in Beta 2 release.
  • For Beta 1 there will be a number of updates being released on a regular basis - Beta testers will be notified
  • The Beta program is considered private - please do not share or distribute the installation package or license keys provided
  • All bug fixes and changes up until Dbvisit Standby version 7.0.62 are also included in version 8 - if relevant