Dbvisit Standby Version 11 Considerations

On this page we’ll try to clarify most common questions our customers have regarding upgrading Dbvisit Standby to version 11 (Multi Platform) from older versions or installing version 11 from the scratch.

Advantages of upgrading and using Dbvisit Standby version 11

There are several very good reasons and factors which make going to version 11 benefical:

• Version 11 has more mature concept than versions 8,9 or 10. It uses advanced NATS messaging system which results in much faster and hassle free task processing on database servers.

• StandbyMP has only two OS components: dbvagentmanager and dbvcontrol. You no longer need to manage separatedly dbvnet, dbvagent, daemon and dbvserver. In addition, both v11 components are easily integrated with Linux systemctl.

• The Observer component is integrated with the control center from V11 and automatically enabled once the standby database is created. However, this component must be separately installed and managed on V9 and V10.

• The new custom script execution option can run host scripts after switchover and failover. This option enables customers to run their scripts for validation or to perform other actions.

• The email notifications are centralized on the GUI. The global email settings have to be done only once. Custom email id’s can be enabled for individual configurations directly from GUI. V11 also has the option for slack notifications.

• Simplified and improved webserver UI including better flow of various processes such as create standby database. The UI requires some time getting used to, but the learning curve is very comfortable. The GUI provides a single pane of glass view instead of having to move to different option in different pages.

• Supports Microsoft SQL Server and PostgreSQL DR

• Older Dbvisit Standby versions will receive only critical updates while v11 will receive new features and improvements as well.

Compatibility Considerations when upgrading from older versions 8,9 and 10

In general, if you’re on any old version (8,9 or 10) you will be able to upgrade to v11 without any issues. But there are few things which you should be aware of when upgrading to v11:

• Using SSH for standby database synchronization isn’t supported in v11

You’ll find out if you’re using SSH for synchronization by looking at your DDC file on primary (/usr/dbvisit/standby/conf/dbv_prod.env) and checking your NETPORT parameter:

If your NETPORT is 22, it means you’re using SSH and you won’t be able to use SSH synchronization with v 11. Please contact Dbvisit support if this is your case, because usually it’s no problem to use default v11 synchronization method instead of SSH

• You’re using legacy OS versions or you’re on AIX/Solaris platform

V11 doesn’t support certain old OS versions, please check following page to determine compatibility with your environment:

System Requirements | 3. Supported Operating Systems

In addition to legacy OS versions, AIX and Solaris platforms are not supported by Dbvisit Standby v11.

• You’re not using dbvserver webserver component (and you don’t want to)

V11 is built around the dbvcontrol webserver component, which is necessary for NATS communication. Verions 8,9 and 10 had webserver (called dbvserver) as an optional installation component.

Dbvcontrol webserver in v11 is however not optional component and must be installed even though you intend to use command line interface only. In general there’s no reason to not install dbvcontrol webserver, but if you have strict requirement about this and can’t install dbvcontrol for whatever reason, then you can’t use v11.

• V11 uses a bit different ports than older versions

Please check following page to see the required open ports:

System Requirements | 2.3. Network Requirements

If you have firewall in your environment active, you will need to change the rules before upgrading to v11.

• V11 requires slightly more disk space than older versions

There are bit more tracefiles and metadata repositories, so we recommend to reserve 15GB of space.

• Crontab job synchronization isn’t supported by v11

Synchronization of standby database is fully managed by dbvagentmager process in v11. The interval is of course fully customizable.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is upgrade to v11 free of charge?

Yes, as long as you have active Dbvisit Support Contract downloading and using of any new versions is included with for no added cost

Can I use my old license key for v11?

No, you can’t. You will need to contact Dbvisit support and request new v11 license key:

https://support.dbvisit.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000362775-How-to-create-a-support-ticket

Please include following output from your primary database:

How to perform an upgrade?

Upgrade is described in our online documentation:

Upgrading Standby Multiplatform

Where do I download the v11 Installation files?

From our public webpage:

Download/Upgrade Dbvisit StandbyMP

I just need to quickly re-install my Dbvisit Standby old version 8/9/10 from the scratch, why should I bother with installing version 11 instead?

To perform any reinstallation of old Dbvisit version means lot of effort and there’s always risk of bumping into an issue or a known bug which is resolved in version 11. Some issues are resolved only in version 11 (fix is not available in versions 8,9 or 10).

The older version you run on may also retire very soon and won’t be supported any longer:

Dbvisit Standby Version Support Matrix

Installing newest version will save you a LOT of effort for the future and unless you have exceptionally good reason for staying on an old version, you should always go for installation of version 11.

We’re never trying to force anybody to go to new version, we just know from first-hand experience that it saves a lot problems for the future!

When will v11 be supported on AIX and Solaris?

Unfortunately at point such support isn’t on the product roadmap. For Solaris and AIX, you’ll need to use version 9.