Log and Tracefile Management

1.  Introduction

This section will provide you with more information about how the Dbvisit Standby version 9 manages log and trace files.


2.  Temp Files

Dbvisit Standby produces temporary files in the TMPDIR directory (can be specified in the DDC file) every time Dbvisit Standby executes. 

The default location for the TMPDIR variable is in the DBVISIT_BASE/standby/tmp

The TMPDIR location is also used during the refresh one datafile operation.  The backup is created in this location (using compressed RMAN backups).  It is therefore recommended to make sure this location has sufficient space available.

2.1.  Default TMPDIR location on Linux

/usr/dbvisit/standby/tmp


2.2.  Default TMPDIR location on Windows

C:\Program Files\dbvisit\standby\tmp


The temporary files are automatically deleted when Dbvisit Standby finishes execution.


Do not set REMOVE_TEMP_FILE=N in the Dbvisit Configuration File (DDC) unless instructed by the Dbvisit support.

If this value is set all temporary files will be NOT be deleted when Dbvisit Standby has completed processing, which can interfere with the next scheduled run.

This setting does not apply to Dbvisit Standby trace files. 


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3.  Dbvisit Standby Trace Files

Dbvisit Standby trace files are files that are created every time Dbvisit Standby executes, these trace files contain a large amount of information about the execution of Dbvisit Standby and can be sent to Dbvisit support for fast issue resolution.

Trace files are created in the TRCDIR (trace) directory (can be specified in the DDC file). 

The default location for the TRCDIR variable is in the DBVISIT_BASE/standby/trace

3.1.  Default TRCDIR location on UNIX

/usr/dbvisit/standby/trace


3.2.  Default TRCDIR location on Windows

C:\Program Files\dbvisit\standby\trace


Dbvisit Standby trace files have the following format:  <pid>_dbvisit_<DDC>_<function>_<yyyymmddhhmi>.trc

The trace file starts with a number also known as the process number of the process that generated the trace file, it is followed by the name dbvisit, then the DDC name and then the timestamp with extension .trc.


Dbvisit Standby trace files are automatically deleted according to settings specified in the DDC file.  The following settings (located in the DDC file) can be used to manage the maintenance of the trace files:

  • NUM_TRACE_TO_KEEP
    • Default value: 100
    • Description: Number of Dbvisit trace files to keep, and Dbvisit Standby will delete trace files greater than this number.  Deletes oldest trace file first.
  • DAYS_TO_KEEP_TRACE
    • Default value: 10 (in days)
    • Description: Number of days to keep Dbvisit trace files, Dbvisit Standby will delete trace files that are older than the value specified for this variable.


Least restrictive setting applies between DAYS_TO_KEEP_TRACE and NUM_TRACE_TO_KEEP.  

To turn off these maintenance settings, set to 0.


4.  Dbvisit Standby log files

Dbvisit Standby produces two log dbvisit.hist and the Dbvisit Standby Archivelog Management Module (AMM) log file in the format <DDC>_arch_management.logfiles  

The default location for the LOGDIR variable is in the DBVISIT_BASE/standby/log

4.1.  Default LOGDIR location on Linux

/usr/dbvisit/standby/log


4.2.  Default LOGDIR location on Windows

C:\Program Files\dbvisit\standby\log
 

These log files will automatically be kept at a specific size based on the following settings specified in the Dbvisit Database Configuration File (DDC).

  • LOG_FILE_ROTATE_MAX
    • Default Value: 5

    • Indicates how many backups are made of the log files before it is overwritten.

  • LOG_FILE_SIZE_MAX_MB
    • Default Value: 5

    • Indicates the size of the log file before the log file is rotated as above. 


5.  Adjusting the LOG, TRACE and TMP Directory Locations

In some cases it might be required to move the default LOG, TRACE and TMP locations for the Dbvisit Standby log, trace and temp files.  

The default location should be sufficient for most environments, but if you do want to move these directories to a different location, you can use the LOGDIR, TRCDIR and TMPDIR directory parameters in the DDC file.  

There are also standby equivalent parameters with the _DR at the end (LOGDIR_DR, TRCDIR_DR and TMPDIR_DR).


The following parameters can be set in the DDC file to overwrite the default locations of these directories inside DBVISIT_BASE/standby:

LOGDIR=/your_primary_log_dir_location
TRCDIR=/your_primary_trace_dir_location
TMPDIR=/your_primary_temp_dir_location

LOGDIR_DR=/your_standby_server_log_location
TRCDIR_DR=/your_standby_server_trace_location
TMPDIR_DR=/your_standby_server_temp_location


6.  How to identify a trace file for a particular process

When you execute a Dbvisit Standby process, example the sending and applying of logs.  You will notice the header "banner" is displayed, which contains a process id see example below where it is (pid 1156) 

[oracle@dbv1 standby]$ ./dbvctl -d DEV -i
=============================================================
Dbvisit Standby Database Technology (9.0.0_1271_g4b00fb49) (pid 1156)
...
...
...


Now to identify the trace file for this process, review the trace directory under DBVISIT_BASE/standby/trace and search for the file that starts with this process id number - 1156