IBM Informix Server Administrator, Version 1.41

README

  1. About IBM Informix Server Administrator
  2. New Features in ISA 1.41
  3. What You Need to Install and Run ISA
  4. Installing ISA for the First Time
  5. Upgrading from Earlier Versions of ISA
  6. Running ISA after Installation
  7. Supported Servers and Operating System Platforms and Versions
  8. Contacting IBM
  9. Additional Information
  10. Uninstalling the Apache Service (Windows NT)
  11. Using Your Own Perl or HTTP Server
  12. Installing the Java Runtime Environment
  13. License Agreement

1. About IBM Informix Server Administrator

With IBM Informix Server Administrator (ISA), you can use a browser to perform these common database-server administration tasks: ISA includes its own Perl environment and Apache HTTP server and installs these in <isadir>. (ISA does not overwrite any existing Perl or Apache environments currently on your system.) If you do not want to use the ISA-supplied Perl and Apache, see "11. Using Your Own Perl or HTTP Server".

2. New Features in ISA 1.41

ISA 1.41 contains the following new features:

ISA 1.41 contains the following new or enhanced utilities:

Utility Name Function
dbschema -n Displays the number of rows in the database or a table within the database. This feature is available only for 8.4 servers.
dbschema -R Runs the dbschema utility in dirty read isolation level. Using this utility option prevents error messages, but may provide output that is not accurate.
onmode -q explain

Provides three options:

  1. Sets Explain ON
  2. Sets Explain ON with APPEND
  3. Sets Explain OFF

This feature is not available with XPS server versions prior to 8.32.

onmode -Z gtrid After a distributed transaction has been displayed, kills the distributed transaction.
onstat -G Accesses the gtrid for a distributed transaction.
onstat -g env Displays the values of server environmental variables. This feature is not available with XPS server versions prior to 8.32.
onstat -g env <session_id> Displays the settings used in a particular session, including the values set in the session and the values assigned by the engine in the first invocation.
onstat -g lap Displays the light append statistics for all active sessions. Variables which have not been explicitly set will not display. This feature is not available with XPS server versions prior to 8.32.
onstat -g ses <session_id> Displays table defaults information for permanent and temporary tables when table_type or temp table_type is set for the session. If table_type or temp table_type is not set, the table defaults information will not display.
onstat -g xmp <plan_id> Displays detailed information about query segments currently executing on a coserver.
onstat -x Displays distributed transaction information.

IMPORTANT: See 3. What You Need to Install and Run ISA for important information on using the Server Setup and Remote Monitoring features.

NOTE: ISA 1.41 has not been tested against the following Informix database servers:
  • IBM Informix Dynamic Server, Version 7.24
  • IBM Informix Dynamic Server, Version 7.23
  • IBM Informix Dynamic Server with Advanced Decision Support and Extended Parallel Options, Version 8.21.

For a list of known issues, see the Known Issues file.

3. What You Need to Install and Run ISA

IMPORTANT: You must install ISA 1.41 on each machine (ISA node) that hosts an Informix database server instance that you plan to manage.

For Informix XPS database servers, install ISA on the same node as coserver 1.

Basic Installation Requirements

To install and run ISA:

Remote Monitoring Requirements

To use the Remote Monitoring feature, you must:

  1. Install the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) or Java 2 SDK (JDK) version 1.2.2 or higher on the node where you install ISA 1.41. For more information, see "12. Installing the Java Runtime Environment".

  2. Install ISA 1.41 on all ISA nodes that you want to monitor.

  3. During ISA installation, you must specify that you want to use Java-enabled features (Remote Monitoring and Server Setup).

NOTE: The Remote Monitoring feature is not available on Fujitsu Siemens Reliant UNIX systems.

Server Setup Requirements

To use the Server Setup feature, you must:

  1. Install the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) or Java 2 SDK (JDK) version 1.2.2 or higher on the node where you install ISA 1.41. For more information, see "12. Installing the Java Runtime Environment".

  2. During ISA installation, you must specify that you want to use Java-enabled features (Remote Monitoring and Server Setup).
NOTE: Server Setup supports Informix database server versions 7.30, 7.31, 9.20, 9.21, and 9.30. Server Setup is not available on Fujitsu Siemens Reliant UNIX systems.

UNIX Installation Checklist

You need the following information to respond to prompts during ISA installation. For convenience, you can print out this checklist separately from this README file.

UNIX Installation Checklist
1. ISA Apache HTTP server
  • yes
 If yes, ISA installs Apache in <isadir> and configures it automatically. ISA does not overwrite any existing Apache environments currently on your system.
  • no
 If no, see "Using Your Own Perl or HTTP Server".
2. ISA Perl environment
  • yes
 If yes, ISA installs Perl in <isadir> and configures it automatically. ISA does not overwrite any existing Perl environments currently on your system.
  • No
 If no, see "Using Your Own Perl or HTTP Server".
3. Hostname _________________________ This is the name of the computer (ISA node) on which you are installing ISA.
4. Port number for ISA server _________________________ ISA checks your services file for available port numbers and provides an available default port number.

If you do not use the default, make sure that port number is between 1025 and 65535 inclusive and is available for use on the machine on which you are installing ISA.

If your environment does not use the services file for port numbers, check with your system administrator.

Make sure that you add this port number to the services file.

5. Email address _________________________ This must be a valid email address.

ISA sends problem reports to this email address. We recommend that you create an alias isa-admin for this purpose.

ISA stores this information in the ServerAdmin parameter in the <isadir>/httpd/etc/httpd.conf file.

5a. Confirm email address
  • yes
 If yes, the installer tests the email address by sending the README file. You must verify that the email address received the test email.
  • no
 If no, the installer does not send a test message. You must use another method to verify that the email address is correct.
6. HTTP server password for user "informix" ****

(For security, do not write the password in the checklist.)

When a user accesses ISA through the web browser, the browser prompts for a username and password. The user logs in as user informix with the password that you supply here.
NOTE: The ISA HTTP server user informix is different than the database server user informix.

This password does not have to be the same as the system password for user informix. However, anyone who can access ISA with this username and password can do anything that user informix can do from the database server command line.

ISA stores the username and password in the file <isadir>/httpd/etc/passwd.

7. Read-only users
  • yes
    username: ___________________

    username: ___________________

Read-only users can monitor the server using ISA, but cannot perform administrative tasks, such as changing the mode of the server or adding storage spaces.

ISA user accounts are not related to operating system user accounts; they exist only in the ISA server.

  • no
8. Java-enabled features
  • yes
 To use the Java-enabled ISA features (Server Setup and Remote Monitoring), you must have a Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 1.2.2 or higher already installed.

If yes, fill out the steps 8a and 8b. The installation will configure ISA to use the JRE.

  • no
 If no, skip to step 9.

If you continue the installation without the JRE and later want to access the Remote Monitoring or Server Setup features, you must install the JRE, stop the Apache HTTP server, and reinstall ISA.

8a. JRE executable path _________________________ Specify the complete file path to the JRE executable (java). For example, /usr/java/bin.
8b. Port number for ISA servlet engine _________________________ ISA checks your services file for available port numbers and provides an available default port number.

If you do not use the default, make sure that port number is between 1025 and 65535 inclusive, different from the ISA Apache HTTP server port number, and is available for use on the machine on which you are installing ISA.

Make sure that you add this port number to the services file.

9. Update /etc/services file
  • yes
 We recommend that you update the /etc/services with the port numbers for the ISA server and the ISA servlet engine (if applicable) to prevent accidental reuse of these port numbers.
  • no
9a. Configure ISA to manage a database server instance
  • yes
 If your UNIX environment includes the following valid INFORMIX variables for a database server instance, the installer prompts you to configure ISA to manage that server:
  • INFORMIXSERVER
  • INFORMIXDIR
  • ONCONFIG

NOTE: This prompt only appears if all three environment variables are present.

If yes, the installer adds these values to the <isadir>/etc/isacfg file. If INFORMIXSQLHOSTS is also present in the environment, the installer adds it to <isadir>/etc/isacfg.

  • no
10. Start the ISA Apache HTTP Server
  • yes
 You must start the ISA Apache HTTP server before you can access ISA.

To start the server manually as user informix, run the <isadir>/sbin/isactl  start command.

  • no
11. Run ISA   To run ISA, open a web browser, access http://hostname:port_number/, and log in as user informix (or as a read-only user) using the password you provided during the installation.

Windows Installation Checklist

You need the following information to respond to prompts during ISA installation. For convenience, you can print out the checklist separately from this README file.

Windows Installation Checklist
1. Directory for ISA temporary files _________________________ Specify the location for the ISA temporary files.
2. Destination for ISA installation _________________________ Specify the location for the ISA installation.
3. Program Folder _________________________ Specify the Program Folder to which to add ISA.
4. Configure Apache and JServ Automatically
  • yes
 If yes, ISA installs Apache in the destination directory and configures it automatically. ISA does not overwrite any existing Apache environments currently on your system.
  • no
 If no, see "Using Your Own Perl or HTTP Server".
5. Specify Apache Port Number _________________________ Make sure that the port number you specify is between 1025 and 65535 inclusive and is available for use on the machine on which you are installing ISA.

If your environment does not use the services file for port numbers, check with your system administrator.

Make sure that you add this port number to the services file.

6. Specify ISA Administrator Email _________________________ This must be a valid email address.

ISA sends problem reports to this email address. We recommend that you create an alias isa-admin for this purpose.

ISA stores this information in the ServerAdmin parameter in the <isadir>\httpd\Apache\conf\httpd.conf file.

7. Java-enabled features
  • yes
 To use the Java-enabled ISA features (Server Setup and Remote Monitoring), you must have a Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 1.2.2 or higher already installed.

If yes, fill out the steps 7a and 7b. The installation will configure ISA to use the JRE.

  • no
 If no, skip to step 8.

If you continue the installation without the JRE and later want to access the Remote Monitoring or Server Setup features, you must install the JRE, stop the Apache HTTP server, and reinstall ISA.

7a. Specify Apache JServ Port Number _________________________

Make sure that port number you choose is between 1025 and 65535 inclusive, different from the ISA Apache HTTP server port number, and is available for use on the machine on which you are installing ISA.

Make sure that you add this port number to the services file.

7b. Specify Location of JVM _________________________ Specify the complete file path to the JRE executable (java). For example, C:\Informix\ISA\java\bin.
8. Run ISA   To run ISA, open a web browser, access http://hostname:port_number/, and log in as user informix.

Before you can run ISA, you must complete step 4 in 4. Installing ISA for the First Time.

4. Installing ISA for the First Time

To install ISA for the first time:

5. Upgrading from Earlier Versions of ISA

6. Running ISA after Installation

To run ISA:
  1. Start your web browser and type the URL for the ISA server port on the database server node. For example, you might type:
            http://mymachine.test-company.com:1234
    where 1234 is the port number that you assigned to ISA when you installed it on the mymachine node.

  2. When the ISA HTTP server prompts for a username and password, enter the username and password that you specified when you installed ISA.

    IMPORTANT: To perform administrative tasks, you must use the informix username and password.
    NOTE: The ISA HTTP server user informix is different than the database server user informix. If you set environment variables for user informix at the command line, this environment is not set for the ISA HTTP server user informix. To set up the environment for the ISA HTTP server user informix, add the environment variables when you set up ISA.

    The browser displays the Informix Servers page.

If this is the first time that you have run ISA for this database server, the database server-selection page that appears might not contain information for your database server.

To set up ISA, from the database server-selection page:

  1. Click Specify Local Informix Servers... to add local Informix servers.

    NOTE: Add any environment variables that apply to each database server instance that you manage with ISA.

  2. Click Specify Remote ISA Servers... to configure ISA to recognize servers on remote ISA nodes (systems with ISA installed).
Use the template information as a guide and add the information that allows ISA to discover your servers, as instructed in the online help.

7. Supported Servers and Operating System Platforms and Versions

ISA 1.41 is supported with the following Informix server versions: ISA 1.41 is supported on the following platforms:

NOTE: ISA 1.41 is not supported on the following platforms:
  • HP HP-UX 10.22
  • IBM AIX 4.3.2

NOTE: The Server Setup and Remote Monitoring features are only supported on platforms which support the JRE version 1.2.2 or 1.3. For more information, see "12. Installing the Java Runtime Environment".

8. Contacting IBM

Send suggestions and comments regarding ISA improvement to smtools@us.ibm.com.

9. Additional Information

Context-sensitive help
For context-sensitive information about ISA, see the online help. To view the online help, click Help in the banner at the top of ISA pages, or use a browser to access the files in <isadir>/html/help directly.
Administrator's Guide
The ISA Administrator's Guide, available from the Overview page in the ISA online help as well as from the Informix Servers page, contains additional information about installation, configuration, security, and related matters.
Known Issues
For a list of known issues, see the Known Issues file.
Tutorial for Server Setup
The Tutorial for Server Setup helps you through the process of configuring a new IBM Informix Database server. View the Tutorial for Server Setup.

10. Uninstalling the Apache Service (Windows NT)

If you previously installed the Apache HTTP server on your Windows NT system, you must manually uninstall the Apache Service before installing ISA 1.41.

To uninstall the Apache service:

  1. First, stop the Apache service:
    1. Depending on your operating system:
      Windows 2000 Select the Services item from Computer Management.
      Windows NT Open the Services item in the Control Panel.
    2. Select the Apache service.
    3. Depending on your operating system:
      Windows 2000 Click the Log On tab.
      Windows NT Skip to step d.
    4. Click Stop.

  2. From the Start menu, go to the Apache menu (by default, Informix->ISA->Apache) and choose Uninstall Apache Service (NT only).

11. Using Your Own Perl Environment or HTTP Server

ISA includes its own Perl environment and Apache HTTP server and installs these in <isadir>. The installation program configures ISA to use these bundled components. However, you can adapt ISA to use your own Perl or HTTP server. For information, refer to the HTTPD-CONFIG and PERL-CONFIG files located in the ISA installation directory.

NOTE: This file does not include instructions for configuring your HTTP server to use the Server Setup module, which requires a Java servlet engine.

ISA on Windows has also been tested with Microsoft Internet Information Server, Version 4.0, and manual configuration instructions are included in the file Config.txt. By default, this file is accessible from Informix->ISA->HTTP Server Configuration Guide.

NOTE: The Server Setup module has not been tested on IIS and configuration instructions are not provided.

12. Installing the Java Runtime Environment

To use the Java-enabled features of ISA 1.41 (Server Setup and Remote Monitoring), you must install the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) or Java 2 SDK (JDK) version 1.2.2 or higher on the same nodes where you install ISA 1.41.
NOTE: The JRE is included with the JDK (also known as Java 2 SDK).

For those platforms which support the JRE, ISA 1.41 is certified to work with JRE versions 1.2.2 and 1.3. ISA 1.41 does not work with JRE version 1.1.8 or previous. Later versions of the JRE may or may not work with ISA 1.41.

If you do not already have the JRE 1.2.2 or 1.3 installed on the ISA node, We recommend that you download the latest 1.2.2 or 1.3 JRE from your platform vendor's website:

Platform Location
Compaq Digital http://www.compaq.com/java/alpha/index.html
Fujitsu Siemens Reliant UNIX Java-enabled ISA features not available for this platform.
HP-UX http://www.hp.com/products1/unix/java/
IBM AIX http://www.ibm.com/
IBM Dynix/PTX http://www.ibm.com/
Microsoft Windows http://www.java.sun.com/products/
Red Hat Linux http://www.java.sun.com/products/
SGI IRIX http://www.sgi.com/products/evaluation/
Sun Solaris (SPARC) http://www.java.sun.com/products/

You can also use the version included with your ISA distribution.

Installing the bundled JRE

The ISA distribution for the following platforms includes a JRE appropriate to the platform:

For the following platforms, the ISA distribution does not include a JRE; the JRE is included with the operating system:

Because the Java-enabled features are not supported, the ISA distribution for the following platform does not include a JRE:

NOTE: You can install the JRE required by ISA 1.41 regardless of any other versions of the JRE already installed. For example, you might want to install this JRE in <isadir>/etc/jre.

Installing the JRE on UNIX and Linux Platforms

To install the JRE included in the ISA distribution, follow these steps:
  1. Follow step 1 and step 2 in 4. Installing ISA for the First Time.

  2. Change to the <isadir>/jre directory.

  3. Depending on your platform:

    Compaq Digital UNIX:
    1. As root, run:
              tar xvf javajre122-8.tar
    2. Follow the instructions in the readme.html file in the extracted directory.

    Hewlett-Packard HP-UX:
    1. As root, run:
              /usr/sbin/swinstall&
    2. From the Options menu:
      • Select "Reinstall filesets".
      • Unselect "Mount filesystems".
      • Change Source Depot Type to "Local Directory".
      • Change Source Depot Path to:
                <isadir>/jre/rte_12207os11.depot

    Red Hat Linux:
    As root, run:
            tar xvf jre-1_2_2_008-linux-i386.tar

    SGI IRIX:
    1. Run:
              tar xvf 6.x_java2_eoe_1.2.2.tardist
    2. As root, run one of the following commands:
              inst -f <isadir>/jre
              swmgr -f <isadir>/jre

    Sun Solaris:
    As root, run:
            ./j2re-1_3_1-solsparc.sh

  4. Continue with step 3 to install ISA.

Installing the JRE on Microsoft Windows Platforms

To install the JRE included in the ISA distribution, follow these steps:
  1. Follow step 2a in 4. Installing ISA for the First Time.

  2. Change to the <isadir>\jre directory.

  3. Double-click j2re-1_3_1-win.exe to install the JRE.

  4. Continue with step 2b to install ISA.

IMPORTANT: Although IBM makes every effort to ensure a high quality release, IBM is not responsible for problems or bugs associated with the JRE. For technical support on the JRE, contact the appropriate platform vendor.

13. License Agreement

Click <isadir>/html/license.txt to view the License Agreement.

© Copyright International Business Machines Corporation 2002.