CONTROL is the convenient database operation tool of ADABAS which can basically be used to carry out the following tasks:
- Initialization and configuration of a SERVERDB
- Restart/Shutdown
- Backup and recovery functions
- Operation monitoring and control
- Performance monitoring and control
The installation and configuration of a SERVERDB requires only a few parameters. Apart from the definition of a few special users, basically only the disk areas allocated to the SERVERDB have to be specified.
For backing up the database contents, ADABAS provides the option of making a backup copy of the entire database while the database is in operation. This forms the basis for any necessary recovery operations if media failures occur.
The changes in the database contents since the last complete backup can be recorded in one or several log backups. These log backups can also be done in parallel to database operation. ADABAS supports log segmentation and the backup of completed log segments independently of database operation.
As an alternative to log backups, ADABAS also offers an incremental database backup which covers only the pages modified since the last complete or incremental backup. This is of interest when the database modifications affect only parts of the database.
In addition to the automatic backup of completed log segments to tape, CONTROL supports the definition of weekly schedules which ensure that the whole database or log is backed up in regular intervals. For this purpose, the number of desired backup generations must be determined and the number of required backup media must be identified and administered.
For large databases, CONTROL provides parallel backup and recovery by allowing simultaneous writing to or reading from several tape devices. The recovery time for large databases then depends only on the capacity of the largest disk and the number of used tape devices, and no longer on the total size of the database.
CONTROL facilitates performance and operation monitoring by automatically displaying information about the utilization levels of database and log, the number of database sessions, the hit rate in the data cache, and the collisions in the lock management.