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Status Functionality already exists
Workspace Db2
Created by Guest
Created on Jan 24, 2023

Change the "Pending Backup State" to NO when backup is done to /dev/null

There can be situations where customer wants to switch from circular logging to Archival logging and vice versa.

Currently, when a switch from Circular Logging to Archive Logging is requested, Db2 sets the database state in "Backup Pending" state and forces user to take a FULL offline backup.

That is totally fine for customers who want to keep the offline backup around. However, for customers who do not want to do it, the workaround is:

db2 "backup database <dbname> to /dev/null"

but the problem is that, even though the target is the bit bucket, Db2 does the normal processing for backup i.e. reading all the used pages of every tablespace to HWM, so larger a database longer it takes this command to complete, where the end goal is to just flip the status so that users are able to connect and from now on the customer will take backups (snapshot or otherwise).

It would be great to have a feature in Backup where if the destination is the bit bucket, just flip the state and come out immediately until and unless there's some data integrity being lost or something else under the hood.


It will greatly benefit the customers who want to flip between Circular Logging and Archival logging and vice versa easily and fast.

Needed By Quarter
  • Admin
    Michael Roecken
    Reply
    |
    Feb 21, 2023

    Hi. The db2dart message is confusing and I believe not the right one to be displayed. I will look to update this in a future release to match what I had mentioned before.


    Thanks.

  • Guest
    Reply
    |
    Feb 17, 2023

    I understand in the case of something goes wrong with business as usual and it is required to "revert" the data it is not going to be possible, because with db2dart or "/dev/null" it was improver way of handling backups. By the way I only use backup to "/dev/null" when I move data from production to test machines. I never ever take shortcuts when we are dealing with production. Some people must smarther then me have figure it out what should be proper procedure to not lose data and I always follow it.


    Neverless the db2dart command like I understand it, it is not warning of potential data loss if there is a need to revert transactions (like take restore of full offline backup + rollforward logs), but it is warning to DATA INTEGRITY in existing database and warning for REFERENTIAL INTEGRITY of data. Like I understand "referential integrity" is foreign keys integritiy between two tables of data.

  • Admin
    Michael Roecken
    Reply
    |
    Feb 17, 2023

    Yes, as a reminder that by-passing a database backup when one is being asked for can result in data loss, if anything were to go wrong with the database.

  • Guest
    Reply
    |
    Feb 17, 2023

    Correct command is:
    db2dart <dbname> /CHST /WHAT DBBP OFF

    Command returns:

    The requested DB2DART processing has completed successfully!


    But it returns very scary warning:

    IMPORTANT:

    After resetting the database backup pending state, IBM no longer

    guarantees data integrity or the referential integrity of the data.

    To ensure the referential integrity of the data, all user tables

    should be exported, the database dropped and recreated and all

    user tables imported back into the new database.

  • Admin
    Michael Roecken
    Reply
    |
    Feb 6, 2023
    You can already do this with:

    db2dart <dbname> /CHST /WHAT /DBBP OFF


    Yes, this is correct. We recommend to always have a database backup as a base for any database changing to recoverable. For those who want to by-pass this recommendation, the db2dart mechanism can be used.

  • Guest
    Reply
    |
    Feb 6, 2023

    You can already do this with:

    db2dart <dbname> /CHST /WHAT /DBBP OFF

  • Guest
    Reply
    |
    Jan 25, 2023

    This will provide a better customer experience.