Novell GROUPWISE 8 - DATABASES User manual

Databases
VIII
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VIII
Databases
Chapter 25, “Understanding GroupWise Databases,” on page 389
Chapter 26, “Maintaining Domain and Post Office Databases,” on page 393
Chapter 27, “Maintaining User/Resource and Message Databases,” on page 401
Chapter 28, “Maintaining Library Databases and Documents,” on page 407
Chapter 29, “Synchronizing Database Information,” on page 411
Chapter 30, “Managing Database Disk Space,” on page 415
Chapter 31, “Backing Up GroupWise Databases,” on page 423
Chapter 32, “Restoring GroupWise Databases from Backup,” on page 427
Chapter 33, “Retaining User Messages,” on page 435
Chapter 34, “Standalone Database Maintenance Programs,” on page 439

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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 389
Section 25.2, “Post Office Databases,” on page 389
Section 25.3, “User Databases,” on page 390
Section 25.4, “Message Databases,” on page 390
Section 25.5, “Library Databases,” on page 390
Section 25.6, “Guardian Databases,” on page 391
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 423.
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 8 Troubleshooting
3: Message Flow and Directory Structure. For additional domain information, see Section 40.3,
“Information Stored in the Domain,” on page 620.
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 8
Troubleshooting 3: Message Flow and Directory Structure. For more post office information, see
Section 35.3, “Information Stored in the Post Office,” on page 476.

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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 8
Troubleshooting 3: Message Flow and Directory Structure. For more post office information, see
Section 35.3, “Information Stored in the Post Office,” on page 476.
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 8
Troubleshooting 3: Message Flow and Directory Structure. For more post office information, see
Section 35.3, “Information Stored in the Post Office,” on page 476.
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 305.
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 8
Troubleshooting 3: Message Flow and Directory Structure. For more post office information, see
Section 35.3, “Information Stored in the Post Office,” on page 476.
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 313 and Chapter 23, “Creating and
Managing Documents,” on page 351 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 393
Section 26.2, “Recovering Domain or Post Office Databases,” on page 394
Section 26.3, “Rebuilding Domain or Post Office Databases,” on page 397
Section 26.4, “Rebuilding Database Indexes,” on page 399
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 423
Chapter 32, “Restoring GroupWise Databases from Backup,” on page 427
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 414
Section 29.4, “Synchronizing a Secondary Domain,” on page 413
Section 29.2, “Synchronizing a Post Office,” on page 412
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 394 and
Section 26.3, “Rebuilding Domain or Post Office Databases,” on page 397.
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
Database Automatically or Immediately” on page 670 and “Recovering the Post Office Database
Automatically or Immediately” on page 540.
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.
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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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 414.
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 413.
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 397.