Novell GROUPWISE 7 - DATABASES User manual

Databases
VIII
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371
VIII
Databases
Chapter 25, “Understanding GroupWise Databases,” on page 373
Chapter 26, “Maintaining Domain and Post Office Databases,” on page 377
Chapter 27, “Maintaining User/Resource and Message Databases,” on page 385
Chapter 28, “Maintaining Library Databases and Documents,” on page 391
Chapter 29, “Synchronizing Database Information,” on page 395
Chapter 30, “Managing Database Disk Space,” on page 399
Chapter 31, “Backing Up GroupWise Databases,” on page 407
Chapter 32, “Restoring GroupWise Databases from Backup,” on page 411
Chapter 33, “Retaining User Messages,” on page 419
Chapter 34, “Standalone Database Maintenance Programs,” on page 423

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Understanding GroupWise Databases
25
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25
Understanding GroupWise
Databases
Your GroupWise®system includes numerous databases where vital information is stored.
Section 25.1, “Domain Databases,” on page 373
Section 25.2, “Post Office Databases,” on page 373
Section 25.3, “User Databases,” on page 374
Section 25.4, “Message Databases,” on page 374
Section 25.5, “Library Databases,” on page 374
Section 25.6, “Guardian Databases,” on page 375
25.1 Domain Databases
The domain database (wpdomain.db) in each domain contains all administrative information for
the domain, including:
Address information about all GroupWise objects (such as users and resources), post offices,
and gateways in the domain
System configuration and linking information for the domain’s MTA
Address and message routing information to other domains
The first domain you create is the primary domain. In the primary domain, the wpdomain.db file
contains all administrative information for your entire GroupWise system (all domains, post offices,
users, and so on). Because the wpdomain.db file in the primary domain is so crucial, you should
back it up regularly and keep it secure. See Section 31.1, “Backing Up a Domain,” on page 407.
You can re-create your entire GroupWise system from the primary domain wpdomain.db file;
however, if the primary domain wpdomain.db file becomes unusable, you can no longer make
administrative updates to your GroupWise system.
Every domain you create after the primary domain is a secondary domain. The contents of
secondary domains are automatically synchronized with the primary domain.
For the location of the domain database, see “Domain Directory” in GroupWise 7 Troubleshooting
3: Message Flow and Directory Structure. For additional domain information, see Section 40.3,
“Information Stored in the Domain,” on page 606.
25.2 Post Office Databases
The post office database (wphost.db) in each post office contains all administrative information
for the post office, including a copy of the GroupWise Address Book. This information is necessary
for users to send messages to others in the GroupWise system.
For the location of the post office database, see “Post Office Directory” in GroupWise 7
Troubleshooting 3: Message Flow and Directory Structure. For more post office information, see
Section 35.3, “Information Stored in the Post Office,” on page 464.

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25.3 User Databases
Each member of the post office has a personal database (userxxx.db) that represents the user’s
mailbox. The user database contains the following:
Message header information
Pointers to messages
Personal groups
Personal address books
Rules
When a member of another post office shares a folder with one or more members of the local post
office, a “prime user” database (puxxxxx.db) is created to store the shared information. The
“prime user” is the owner of the shared information.
Local user databases and prime user databases are stored in the ofuser directory in the post office.
Because resources are addressable just like users, resources also have user databases.
For the location of user databases in the post office, see “Post Office Directory” in GroupWise 7
Troubleshooting 3: Message Flow and Directory Structure. For more post office information, see
Section 35.3, “Information Stored in the Post Office,” on page 464.
25.4 Message Databases
Each member of the post office is assigned to a message database (msgnnn.db) where the body
portions of messages are stored. Many users in a post office share a single message database. There
can be as many as 255 message databases in the post office (numbered from 0 to 254). Message
databases are stored in the ofmsg directory in the post office.
Outgoing messages from local senders are stored in the message database assigned to each sender.
Incoming messages from users in other post offices are stored in the message database with the same
name as the message database assigned to the sender in his or her own post office. In each case, only
one copy of the message is stored in the post office, no matter how many members of the post office
it is addressed to.
For the location of message databases in the post office, see “Post Office Directory” in GroupWise 7
Troubleshooting 3: Message Flow and Directory Structure. For more post office information, see
Section 35.3, “Information Stored in the Post Office,” on page 464.
25.5 Library Databases
A library is a collection of documents and document properties stored in a database system that can
be managed and searched. You do not need to set up libraries unless you are using GroupWise
Document Management Services (DMS). See Part VII, “Libraries and Documents,” on page 291.
The databases for managing libraries are stored in the gwdms directory and its subdirectories in the
post office.
The dmsh.db file is a database shared by all libraries in the post office. It contains information
about where each library in the post office is located.

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Each library has its own subdirectory in the gwdms directory. In each library directory, the
dmxxnn01-FF.db files contain information specific to that library, such as document properties
and what users have rights to access the library.
For the location of library databases in the post office, see “Post Office Directory” in GroupWise 7
Troubleshooting 3: Message Flow and Directory Structure. For more post office information, see
Section 35.3, “Information Stored in the Post Office,” on page 464.
The actual documents in a library are not kept in the library databases. They are kept in a document
storage area, which consists of a series of directories for storing documents. Documents are
encrypted and stored in BLOBs (binary large objects) to make document management easier. A
document, its versions, and related objects are stored together in the same BLOB.
A document storage area might be located in the post office itself, or in some other location where
more storage space is available. If it is located in the post office, the document storage area can
never be moved. Therefore, storing documents in the post office directory structure is not usually
recommended. If it is stored outside the post office, a document storage area can be moved when
additional disk space is required.
See Chapter 22, “Creating and Managing Libraries,” on page 299 and Chapter 23, “Creating and
Managing Documents,” on page 335 for more information about Document Management Services.
25.6 Guardian Databases
The guardian database (ngwguard.db) serves as the master copy of the data dictionary
information for the following subordinate databases in the post office:
User databases (userxxx.db)
Message databases (msgnnn.db)
Prime user databases (puxxxxx.db)
Library databases (dmsh.db and dmxxnn01-FF.db)
The guardian database is vital to GroupWise functioning. Therefore, the POA has an automated
back-up and roll-forward process to protect it. The POA keeps a known good copy of the guardian
database called ngwguard.fbk. Whenever it modifies the ngwguard.db file, the POA also
records the transaction in the roll-forward transaction log called ngwguard.rfl. If the POA
detects damage to the ngwguard.db file on startup or during a write transaction, it goes back to
the ngwguard.fbk file (the “fall back” copy) and applies the transactions recorded in the
ngwguard.rfl file to create a new, valid and up-to-date ngwguard.db.
In addition to the POA back-up and roll-forward process, you should still back up the
ngwguard.db, ngwguard.fbk, and ngwguard.rfl files regularly to protect against media
failure. Without a valid ngwguard.db file, you cannot access your e-mail. With current
ngwguard.fbk and ngwguard.rfl files, a valid ngwguard.db file can be rebuilt should the
need arise.
The ngwguard.dc file is the structural template for building the guardian database and its
subordinate databases. Also called a dictionary file, the ngwguard.dc file contains schema
information, such as data types and record indexes. If this dictionary file is missing, no additional
databases can be created in the post office.

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Maintaining Domain and Post Office Databases
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26
Maintaining Domain and Post
Office Databases
Occasionally, it is necessary to perform maintenance tasks on domain databases (wpdomain.db)
or post office databases (wphost.db). The frequency depends on the reliability of your network
and your own experience of how often problems are likely to occur. The following tasks help you
maintain the integrity of your domain and post office databases:
Section 26.1, “Validating Domain or Post Office Databases,” on page 377
Section 26.2, “Recovering Domain or Post Office Databases,” on page 378
Section 26.3, “Rebuilding Domain or Post Office Databases,” on page 381
Section 26.4, “Rebuilding Database Indexes,” on page 383
NOTE: Unfortunately, damage to databases cannot be prevented. A power outage can occur in the
middle of a write to a database. A hard drive can fail. However, the GroupWise®tools for repairing
damaged databases are very effective and should be able to resolve most damage to GroupWise
databases.
To further protect your GroupWise system against loss of domain and post office information, see
Chapter 31, “Backing Up GroupWise Databases,” on page 407 and Chapter 32, “Restoring
GroupWise Databases from Backup,” on page 411.
To ensure that the same information exists in all domain and post office databases throughout your
GroupWise system, see Section 29.5, “Synchronizing the Primary Domain from a Secondary
Domain,” on page 398, Section 29.4, “Synchronizing a Secondary Domain,” on page 397, and
Section 29.2, “Synchronizing a Post Office,” on page 396.
26.1 Validating Domain or Post Office Databases
You can validate the data in the domain and post office databases at any time without interrupting
normal GroupWise operation. The frequency can vary depending on the size of your system and the
number of changes you make to users, resources, and distribution lists.
1Make sure you have full administrative rights to the domain and post office database directories
you are validating.
2In ConsoleOne®, browse to and select the Domain object or Post Office object where you want
to validate the database.
3Click Tools > GroupWise Utilities > System Maintenance.

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4Click Validate Database > Run.
5When prompted, make sure the Path to Database is correct. If an incorrect path is displayed,
browse to and select the path to the database being validated. Click OK.
You are notified if there are any physical problems, so you can then recover or rebuild the
database.
See Section 26.2, “Recovering Domain or Post Office Databases,” on page 378 and
Section 26.3, “Rebuilding Domain or Post Office Databases,” on page 381.
26.2 Recovering Domain or Post Office
Databases
The database recover process corrects physical problems in the database structure, but does not
update incorrect information contained in the database.
If you receive an administrative message informing you that an internal database error has occurred,
or if you detect database damage and don’t want to take users out of GroupWise, you can recover the
database. If no errors are reported after the recover process, you do not need to take further action.
The recover process is run against a copy of the domain database (wpdomain.db) or post office
database (wphost.db). Therefore, while the recover process is running, you can continue to
access the database through ConsoleOne and you do not need to stop the MTA or the POA.
As the copy of the database is created, the recover process skips invalid records. If the number of
records in the original wpdomain.db file or wphost.db file is different from the number in the new,
valid copy, GroupWise sends an administrative message informing you that data has been lost.
When the recover process is completed, the backup database is deleted.

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Figure 26-1 The Database Recovery Process
For convenience, the agents are configured by default to automatically recover domain and post
office databases whenever a physical problem is encountered. See “Recovering the Domain
Successful?
creating.ddb
NO YES
creating.ddb
Read and copy records from
recover.ddb into creating.ddb. Skip
invalid records. Check the number of
records (Y) in creating.ddb.
Delete creating.ddb.
creating.ddb
wpdomain.db
Try rebuilding
wpdomain.db.
Notify the administrator
that wpdomain.db
could not be recovered.
Rename recover.ddb
to wpdomain.db.
Delete recover.ddb.
wpdomain.db
Rename creating.ddb
to wpdomain.db.
wpdomain.db has been
successfully recovered.
wpdomain.db
Check the number of
records (X) in wpdomain.db.
wpdomain.db
recover.ddb
Rename wpdomain.db
to recover.ddb.
recover.ddb
recover.ddb
wpdomain.db
X=Y?
NO YES
wpdomain.db
is useable.
Notify the administrator
that information has
been lost in the
recovery process.
wpdomain.db
wpdomain.db

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Database Automatically or Immediately” on page 654 and “Recovering the Post Office Database
Automatically or Immediately” on page 526.
To recover a specific database in ConsoleOne:
1Make sure you have network access to the domain or post office directory for the database you
are recovering.
If you have administration rights in the primary domain, you can recover the primary domain
database, the post office databases in the primary domain, and any secondary domain
databases.
From a secondary domain, you can recover the secondary domain database and the post office
databases in the secondary domain.
2Make sure you have sufficient disk space for the copy of the database that is created during
recovery.
3In ConsoleOne, browse to and select the Domain object or Post Office object where you want
to recover the database.
4Click Tools > GroupWise Utilities > System Maintenance.
5Click Recover Database > Run.
6When prompted, make sure the Path to Database is correct. If an incorrect path is displayed,
browse to and select the path to the database being validated. Click OK.
If recovery is successful, the backup database is deleted, and the new domain database is renamed to
wpdomain.db, or the new post office database is renamed to wphost.db.
If recovery fails for any reason, the backup database is copied back to wpdomain.db or
wphost.db. If any data was lost, you are notified by an administrative message.
You have several options for retrieving lost data from other sources:
If data has been lost from the primary domain, you can synchronize it with a secondary domain
that is known to contain current information. See Section 29.5, “Synchronizing the Primary
Domain from a Secondary Domain,” on page 398.
If data has been lost from a secondary domain, you can synchronize it with the primary domain.
See Section 29.4, “Synchronizing a Secondary Domain,” on page 397.

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You can also rebuild the database at a later time when you have exclusive access to the database
where the data has been lost. See Section 26.3, “Rebuilding Domain or Post Office Databases,”
on page 381.
26.3 Rebuilding Domain or Post Office
Databases
In addition to correcting the physical problems resolved by the database recover process, the rebuild
process updates user and object information in a domain database (wpdomain.db) or post office
database (wphost.db). However, the process requires that no users or GroupWise agents (MTA or
POA) have access to the database during the rebuild process.
You should rebuild a domain or post office database if you encounter any of the following
conditions:
Objects are not being replicated between domains.
The agent that writes to the database went down unexpectedly.
The server where the database resides went down unexpectedly.
You receive an administrative message informing you that an internal database error has
occurred or there is database damage and you think there might be data loss.
You ran the recover database process and received a notification of data loss.
When you rebuild a secondary domain database, information is retrieved from the primary domain.
When you rebuild a post office database, information is retrieved from the domain it belongs to.
During the rebuild process, a backup of the domain or post office database is created as well as a
new wpdomain.db or wphost.db. The records from the primary domain database are copied
into the new wpdomain.db. There should not be any data loss. When the rebuild process is
complete, the temporary database and the backup database are deleted.

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Figure 26-2 The Database Rebuilding Process
To rebuild a database:
1All GroupWise agents that might access the database must be stopped during the rebuild, as
described in “Stopping the MTA” on page 649 and “Stopping the POA” on page 520.
2If you are rebuilding a post office database, all users should exit and you should disable the post
office before the rebuild, as described in Section 12.7, “Disabling a Post Office,” on page 195.
3Make sure you have sufficient disk space for the copy of the database that is created during the
rebuild process.
4In ConsoleOne, browse to and select the Domain object or Post Office object where you want
to rebuild the database.
5Click Tools > GroupWise Utilities > System Maintenance.
Primary Domain
wpdomain.db wpdomain.db
Successful?
creating.ddb
NO YES
creating.ddb
Copy records from the primary
domain wpdomain.db
into creating.ddb.
Delete creating.ddb.
wpdomain.db
creating.ddb
wpdomain.db
wpdomain.db
Restore wpdomain.db
from backup.
Notify the administrator
that wpdomain.db
could not be rebuilt.
wpdomain.db remains
unchanged.
Delete wpdomain.db.
wpdomain.db
Rename creating.ddb
to wpdomain.db.
wpdomain.db has been
successfully rebuilt.

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6Click Rebuild Database > Run.
7When prompted, make sure the Path to Database is correct. If an incorrect path is displayed,
browse to and select the path to the database being rebuilt. Click OK.
26.4 Rebuilding Database Indexes
Each domain database (wpdomain.db) and post office database (wphost.db) contains three
indexes that are used to determine the order of the Address Book: the system index, the domain
index, and the post office index. When you display the system Address Book, the system index is
used. When you display a domain-level Address Book, the domain index is used, and when you
display the Address Book for a post office, the post office index is used.
The GroupWise client uses the post office database to list users. If you are in the GroupWise client
and the indexes for listing system, domain, and post office users are different than the domain
database indexes, you should rebuild the post office database indexes. The most common cause of
incorrect indexes in a post office is that the post office database was closed when you set up the list
information.
To rebuild a database index:
1Make sure you have administrative rights to the database whose indexes you are rebuilding.
2In ConsoleOne, browse to and select the Domain object or Post Office object where you want
to rebuild the database index.
3Click Tools > GroupWise Utilities > System Maintenance.

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4Select Rebuild Indexes for Listing, then click Run.
5When prompted, make sure the Path to Database is correct. If an incorrect path is displayed,
browse to and select the path to the database being whose indexes are being rebuilt. Click OK.

Maintaining User/Resource and Message Databases
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385
27
Maintaining User/Resource and
Message Databases
It is sometimes necessary to perform maintenance tasks on user and resource databases
(userxxx.db) and message databases (msgnnn.db). The frequency depends on the reliability of
your network and your own experience of how often problems are likely to occur. The following
tasks help you maintain the integrity of your user and message databases.
Section 27.1, “Analyzing and Fixing User and Message Databases,” on page 385
Section 27.2, “Performing a Structural Rebuild of a User Database,” on page 387
Section 27.3, “Re-creating a User Database,” on page 388
NOTE: Unfortunately, damage to databases cannot be prevented. A power outage can occur in the
middle of a write to a database. A hard drive can fail. However, the GroupWise®tools for repairing
damaged databases are very effective and should be able to resolve most damage to GroupWise
databases.
To further protect your GroupWise users against loss of mailbox contents, see Chapter 31, “Backing
Up GroupWise Databases,” on page 407 and Chapter 32, “Restoring GroupWise Databases from
Backup,” on page 411.
To ensure that the same information exists for users and messages throughout your GroupWise
system, see Section 29.1, “Synchronizing Individual Users or Resources,” on page 395.
27.1 Analyzing and Fixing User and Message
Databases
The Analyze/Fix option of Mailbox/Library Maintenance looks for problems and errors in user and
resource databases (userxxx.db) and/or message databases (msgnnn.db) and then fixes them if
you select the Fix Problems option. You can analyze databases individually or you can analyze all
user, resource, and/or message databases in one or more post offices.
To analyze and repair user, resource, and/or message databases:
1In ConsoleOne®, browse to and select one or more User or Resource objects to check
individual users or resources.
or
Browse to and select one or more Post Office objects to select all user and/or message
databases in the post office.
2Click Tools > GroupWise Utilities > Mailbox/Library Maintenance.

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3From the Action drop-down menu, select Analyze/Fix Databases.
4Select from the following options:
Structure: When a user experiences a problem that is related to the user, message, or library
databases, you should perform a structure check. The structure check verifies the integrity of
the databases and reports the amount of space that could be recovered. If there is a structural
problem, the databases are rebuilt with free space reclaimed.
Index Check: If you select Structure, you can also select Index Check. You should run an
index check if a user tries to open a message and gets a read error, or when sent items that show
a delivered status in the Properties window do not appear in the recipient’s mailbox. An index
check can be time-consuming.
Contents: The user databases (located in the ofuser directory) do not contain user messages.
Messages are contained in the message databases under the ofmsg directory. However, the
message databases do not contain the message attachments; these are located in the offiles
directory. A contents check analyzes references to other items. For example, in the user
database, Mailbox/Library Maintenance verifies that any referenced messages actually exist in
the message database. In the message database, it verifies that any attachments that are
referenced actually exist in the attachment directories.
Collect Statistics: If you selected Contents, the Collect Statistics option is available to collect
and display statistics about the post office, such as the number of messages and appointments in
the post office and the average number per user. In addition, you can display any user
mailboxes that have more than a specified number of items. This can help determine if some
users are using an excessive amount of disk space. If this is a problem, you might want to
encourage users to delete unneeded items or to use the Archive feature in the GroupWise client
to store messages on their local drives. You can also limit the amount of disk space each user
can have. See Section 12.3, “Managing Disk Space Usage in the Post Office,” on page 182.
Fix Problems: This option tells Mailbox/Library Maintenance to fix any problems it finds.
Otherwise, Mailbox/Library Maintenance just reports the problems.
Reset User Disk Space Totals: Recalculates the total disk space a GroupWise user is using by
reading the selected user mailboxes and updating the poll record used for disk space
management. Because disk space is user-specific, the program calculates the amount of disk

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space in use by the user in the user databases, in any of the message databases, and in the
attachment directory. Disk space limitations do not take into account the disk space used in
document libraries. This option is usually run if the user totals are not being reflected correctly.
5Using the tabs at the bottom of the Mailbox/Library Maintenance dialog box, set the following
options:
“Databases” on page 429
“Logging” on page 429
“Results” on page 430
“Misc” on page 430
“Exclude” on page 430
Selected options can be saved for repeated use. See “Saving Mailbox/Library Maintenance
Options” on page 431.
6Click Run to perform the Analyze/Fix operation.
Analyze/Fix can also be run using the standalone GroupWise Check program. See Section 34.1,
“GroupWise Check,” on page 423. It can also be scheduled to run on a regular basis by properly
configuring the POA. See Section 36.4.1, “Scheduling Database Maintenance,” on page 507.
27.2 Performing a Structural Rebuild of a User
Database
The Structural Rebuild option of Mailbox/Library Maintenance rebuilds the structure of a user or
resource database (userxxx.db) and reclaims any free space. It does not re-create the contents of
the database. If you need to recover database contents as well as structure, see Section 27.3, “Re-
creating a User Database,” on page 388.
To rebuild a user database:
1In ConsoleOne, browse to and select one or more User or Resource objects whose database
needs to be rebuilt.
2Click Tools > GroupWise Utilities > Mailbox/Library Maintenance.

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3From the Action drop-down list, select Structural Rebuild.
4Using the tabs at the bottom of the Mailbox/Library Maintenance dialog box, set the following
options:
“Databases” on page 429
“Logging” on page 429
“Results” on page 430
“Misc” on page 430
Selected options can be saved for repeated use. See “Saving Mailbox/Library Maintenance
Options” on page 431.
5Click Run to perform a structural rebuild of the user database.
27.3 Re-creating a User Database
The Re-create User Database option of Mailbox/Library Maintenance rebuilds a user or resource
database (userxxx.db) and recovers any information it can. Some information is lost, such as the
folder assignments.
You should never need to select this option for regular database maintenance. It is designed for
severe problems, such as replacing a user database that has been accidentally deleted and for which
you have no backup copy. A substantial amount of information is lost in the re-creation process, as
listed in “User Databases” on page 465. Because folder assignments are lost, all items are placed
into the Cabinet folder. The user must then reorganize all the items in his or her mailbox. Using
filters and searching can facilitate this process, but it is not a desirable experience. It is, however,
preferable to losing everything.
To re-create a user database:
1In ConsoleOne, browse to and select one or more User or Resource objects that need the user
database re-created.
2Click Tools > GroupWise Utilities > Mailbox/Library Maintenance.

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3From the Action drop-down list, select Re-create User Database.
4Using the tabs at the bottom of the Mailbox/Library Maintenance dialog box, set the following
options:
“Databases” on page 429
“Logging” on page 429
“Results” on page 430
“Misc” on page 430
Selected options can be saved for repeated use. See “Saving Mailbox/Library Maintenance
Options” on page 431.
5Click Run to re-create the user database.

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