After Image Autostart?

[JLovegren]

Maybe not the smartest question - I should already know the answer but, here goes.

Version 12.8; Workgroup Database; Windows Server 2025 Std.
I have AI settings configured in the OE Explorer. Also, my database is set to start in multi-user mode by default.
When the server restarts, I check and see that AI is not enabled.
I run:
rfutil xxxxx -C aimage truncate aiblocksize 16
I see this: ** The database xxxxxx is in use in multi-user mode. (276).
So, I stop the database server, run the same command, mark as backed up (already backed up before the restart), etc.

rfutil xxxx -C aimage truncate -aiblocksize 16
rfutil xxxx -C mark backedup
rfutil xxxx -C aimage begin
rfutil xxxx -C aiarchiver enable

Then, I start the database server.

I would like to automate this process then start the database automatically -- after a server restart.
I suppose I could run a startup command but is there a way to do this within the normal settings - like in the OE Explorer.

My concern is that while I am away from the office, riding my motorcycle, across the beautiful countryside, there could be some kind of power loss at the facility, coupled by an earthquake, causing the natural gas generator to stop supplying power. Then when all is up, the system will restart but after imaging will not be running. It may be a few days before I am back in the office to check on things and schedule a database shutdown.

I am wondering what you guys would do. In this kind of scenario, I would actually run a backup and name it differently than my normal backups so I know that it is a special one.

I would like to consider the "Best Practice" rather than do my own thing as I believe that nearly all OE DBAs are smarter/more experienced than me.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Rob Fitzpatrick]

Generally speaking, enabling AI should be something you do once, not on a regular basis.

Stop the database, set the AI block size, enable AI, enable the AI archiver, set the appropriate parameters for the AIMD (-aiarcinterval and -aiarcdir), and then you're done. If there is power loss, etc., the database may shut down but you still have AI enabled. You should not be disabling AI on a whim, or on some scheduled basis. A shutdown, whether planned or not, does not disable AI.

Start from your business requirement (RPO), and then determine what the technical requirements are to fulfill that. For example, if you can tolerate up to 15 minutes of data loss in the event of a disaster, make your -aiarcinterval 900. Ensure that you have robust automation for your database backups, and for copying database backup files and archived AI extents from the production server to a DR server. Ensure that you understand and automate the procedures for creating a database from those assets, e.g. prorest, roll forward, etc. Ensure that you monitor your backups, your AI extent switches, and the amount of free space in your -aiarcdir partition.

If your RPO is less than 10 to 15 minutes then you should consider licensing OpenEdge Replication instead of relying on AI log shipping. If you have a business need to connect read-only clients to the replication target (e.g. for BI clients, reporting, etc.) then use OpenEdge Replication Plus rather than OpenEdge Replication.