Recital

Login Register

When you start the loadbalancer.org appliance you will see the following:

Default login:
Username: root
Password: loadbalancer

Access to webclient from an external client is:
http://192.168.1.129:9080
http://192.168.1.129:9443

You can access the web administrator using the IP and ports described onscreen.

For the sri lanka porject we are looking for performance and the network diagram indicates we are happy to have the cluster on the same subnet as the rest of the network.

Direct routing is the fasted performance possible, it has the advantage over NAT that the Loadbalancer does not become a bottleneck for incoming and outgoing packets. With DR the loadbalancer simply examines incoming packets and the servers to route the packets directly back to the requesting user.

The web interfaceis the only way to fully configure the loadbalancer vm. The console tool lbwizard will get it initiallised and any further configurations can then be done via the webinterface.

Using lbwizard for the Sri lanka configuration follow these steps.

On the first Loadbalancer:

//Start

Is this unit part for a HA Pair?
YES

Have you already setup the Slave?
NO

Is this a one-armed configuration?
YES

Enter the IP Address for the interface eth0?
Enter IP address you wish to be assigned to the SLAVE loadbalancer.

Enter the netmask for interface eth0?
Enter netmask for the subnet.

Enter the Floating IP adrress?
Enter the IP address that will be IP assosiacted the the HA-pair of loadbalancers.

//Finish

On the 2nd loadbalancer VM, run the lbwizard.

//Start

Is this unit part of an HA-Pair?
YES

Have you already set up the Slave?
YES

What is the slave units UP address?
Enter the IP which you entered when configuring the other loadbalancer VM.

Is this a one-armed configuration?
YES

Enter the IP Address for the interface eth0?
Enter the IP that will be assigned to the MASTER loadbalancer

Enter the netmask for interface eth0?
Enter the subnet netmask.

Enter the Floating IP address?
Enter the IP address that will be IP assosiacted the the HA-pair of loadbalancers.

Enter the address of the default gateway?
Enter the deafult gateway for the subnet.

Enter the IP of the nameserver?
Enter the dns server.

Enter the port for the first Virtual server?
Enter 22 for ssh

Enter the IP address of the first real server?
Enter the real IP of the first appserver

//Finish

Now this is complete we need to go to the web admin interface to configure the 2nd Real Server. As the lbwizard program will only allow you to configure 1 real server.

Now login to the web admin using the default password:

username: loadbalancer
password: loadbalancer

Note: Connect to the IP you have now set for your master loadbalancer

Goto the edit configuration tab

Now click add a real server:

Enter a label
IP address of the server plus the port of the service i.e. 192.168.1.125:22


Edit Configuration -> Virtual Servers

persistancte -> NO

Scheduler-> LC
LC - Least-Connection: assign more jobs to real servers with
fewer active jobs.

Service to check -> custom1

Check port -> 22

Forwarding Method -> DR

Feedback Method -> Agent

Arp Problem when using DR

Every real server must be configured to respond to the VIP address as well as the RIP
address.

You can use iptables (netfilter) on the real server to re-direct incoming packets destined for the virtual
server IP address.

This is a simple case of adding the following command to your start up script (rc.local):

//replace 10.0.0.21 with the Virtual Server IP
iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -p tcp -d 10.0.0.21 -j REDIRECT

chkconfig iptables on

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This article discusses the features in Recital that allow data to be imported and exported between platforms in Microsoft® ADO XML Format.

Overview

Extensible Markup Language, XML, is widely regarded as a lingua franca for the interchange of data. XML's text-based, platform-independent format and its integration of data and the schema to define and describe that data, make it the ideal import/export medium. Recital software provides the functionality to output the data from Recital - and other supported table formats such as FoxPro and FoxBASE - into XML file format and to import XML data into those tables' formats. Such import/export operations provide the means to exchange data with third-party applications and can also facilitate the transfer of data between Recital installations on binary-incompatible platforms.

The features examined in this article are available in Recital Terminal Developer and in the Recital Mirage and Recital Database Servers on all Recital supported platforms. Both the Recital/4GL and Recital/SQL provide XML import and export capabilities. The XML files discussed are in Microsoft® ADO XML format.

Microsoft® ActiveX® Data Objects XML Format

The ADO XML format is primarily designed for ADO Recordset persistence and ADO XML files created by Recital can be used in this way and loaded directly into ADO Recordsets. The format can, though also be used for more generic data transfer. An ADO XML file is self-contained, consisting of two sections: a schema section followed by a data section. The schema conforms to the W3C XML-Data specification and defines the data structure.
For additional information on the Microsoft® ActiveX® Data Objects XML Format, please see Appendix 1.

NOTE: The Recital XMLFORMAT setting should always be in its default setting of ADO for ADO XML Format operations.

set xmlformat to ADO

SQL

Recital/SQL offers the ability to export data into XML files using the SELECT and FETCH statements and import from XML using the CREATE TABLE and INSERT statements.

SQL: Exporting

The SELECT...SAVE AS XML statement allows the complete result set from a SELECT statement to be saved as an XML file. This could be a complete table:

open database southwind
  SELECT * from orders SAVE AS XML orders.xml

or a more complex multi-table query:

open database southwind
SELECT orders.orderid, orders.customerid,;
    employees.employeeid, employees.lastname, employees.firstname,;
    orders.orderdate, orders.freight, orders.requireddate,;
    orders.shippeddate, orders.shipvia, orders.shipname,;
    orders.shipaddress, orders.shipcity,;
    orders.shipregion, orders.shippostalcode, orders.shipcountry,;
    customers.companyname, customers.address, customers.city,;
    customers.region, customers.postalcode, customers.country; 
    FROM orders INNER JOIN customers;
    ON customers.customerid = orders.customerid,;
    orders INNER JOIN employees;
    ON orders.employeeid = employees.employeeid;
    SAVE AS XML orderinfo

The resulting XML file can then be further processed within the same or a different Recital environment or transferred to a third party product.

<x-ml xmlns:z="#RowsetSchema" xmlns:rs="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:rowset"
 xmlns:dt="uuid:C2F41010-65B3-11d1-A29F-00AA00C14882" xmlns:s="uuid:BDC6E3F0-6DA3-11d1-A2A3-
00AA00C14882">
 <s:schema id="RowsetSchema">
  <s:elementtype rs:updatable="true" content="eltOnly" name="row">
   <s:attributetype rs:basecolumn="orderid" rs:basetable="orders.dbf" rs:write="true"
 rs:nullable="true" rs:number="1" name="orderid">
   <s:datatype rs:fixedlength="true" rs:precision="14" rs:scale="0" dt:maxlength="10"
 rs:dbtype="numeric" dt:type="number">
   </s:datatype></s:attributetype>
   <s:attributetype rs:basecolumn="customerid" rs:basetable="orders.dbf" rs:write="true"
 rs:nullable="true" rs:number="2" name="customerid">
   <s:datatype rs:fixedlength="true" dt:maxlength="5" rs:dbtype="str" dt:type="string">
   </s:datatype></s:attributetype>
   <s:attributetype rs:basecolumn="employeeid" rs:basetable="orders.dbf" rs:write="true"
 rs:nullable="false" rs:number="3" name="employeeid">
   <s:datatype rs:fixedlength="true" rs:precision="20" rs:scale="0" dt:maxlength="10"
 rs:dbtype="numeric" dt:type="number">
   </s:datatype></s:attributetype>
   <s:attributetype rs:basecolumn="lastname" rs:basetable="orders.dbf" rs:write="true"
 rs:nullable="false" rs:number="4" name="lastname">
   <s:datatype rs:fixedlength="true" dt:maxlength="20" rs:dbtype="str" dt:type="string">
   </s:datatype></s:attributetype>
   <s:attributetype rs:basecolumn="firstname" rs:basetable="orders.dbf" rs:write="true"
 rs:nullable="false" rs:number="5" name="firstname">
   <s:datatype rs:fixedlength="true" dt:maxlength="10" rs:dbtype="str" dt:type="string">
   </s:datatype></s:attributetype>
   <s:attributetype rs:basecolumn="orderdate" rs:basetable="orders.dbf" rs:write="true"
 rs:nullable="true" rs:number="6" name="orderdate">
   <s:datatype rs:fixedlength="true" dt:maxlength="10" rs:dbtype="Date" dt:type="Date">
   </s:datatype></s:attributetype>
   <s:attributetype name="freight" ...

Click image to display full size

Fig 1: Microsoft® Office Excel 2003: orderinfo.xml.

For data accessed through a Recital Database Gateway, such as Oracle, MySQL or PostgreSQL, the FETCH command can be used to save a cursor results set into an XML file:

// Connect to MySQL Database 'mydata' via Recital Database Gateway
nStatHand=SQLSTRINGCONNECT("mys@mysql1:user1/pass1-mydata",.T.)
if nStatHand < 1
  dialog box [Could not connect]
else
  DECLARE cursor1 CURSOR FOR;
      SELECT account_no, last_name, first_name FROM example
  OPEN cursor1
  FETCH cursor1 INTO XML exa1.xml
  SQLDISCONNECT(nStatHand)
endif

SQL: Importing

The CREATE TABLE statement allows a new table to be created based on the structure defined in an XML file. The data from the XML file can optionally be loaded into this new table if the LOAD keyword is included. For example, a new 'orderinfo' table can be created and populated with data from the orderinfo.xml file created by the SELECT...SAVE AS XML statement shown earlier:

open database southwind
SELECT orders.orderid, orders.customerid,;
    employees.employeeid, employees.lastname, employees.firstname,;
    orders.orderdate, orders.freight, orders.requireddate,;
    orders.shippeddate, orders.shipvia, orders.shipname,;
    orders.shipaddress, orders.shipcity,;
    orders.shipregion, orders.shippostalcode, orders.shipcountry,;
    customers.companyname, customers.address, customers.city,;
    customers.region, customers.postalcode, customers.country; 
    FROM orders INNER JOIN customers;
    ON customers.customerid = orders.customerid,;
    orders INNER JOIN employees;
    ON orders.employeeid = employees.employeeid;
    SAVE AS XML orderinfo

CREATE TABLE orderinfo FROM XML orderinfo LOAD

The INSERT statement can be used to load data when the table structure already exists. Taking our earlier orderinfo.xml file again, the data can be loaded using INSERT:

open database southwind;
SELECT orders.orderid, orders.customerid,;
    employees.employeeid, employees.lastname, employees.firstname,;
    orders.orderdate, orders.freight, orders.requireddate,;
    orders.shippeddate, orders.shipvia, orders.shipname,;
    orders.shipaddress, orders.shipcity,;;
    orders.shipregion, orders.shippostalcode, orders.shipcountry,;
    customers.companyname, customers.address, customers.city,;
    customers.region, customers.postalcode, customers.country; 
    FROM orders INNER JOIN customers;
    ON customers.customerid = orders.customerid,;
    orders INNER JOIN employees;
    ON orders.employeeid = employees.employeeid;
    SAVE AS XML orderinfo
CREATE TABLE orderinfo FROM XML orderinfo

INSERT INTO orderinfo FROM XML orderinfo

The examples above show the export and import in a single piece of code. To transfer data between binary-incompatible platforms, the export phase using SELECT...SAVE AS XML would be carried out on the source platform, the resulting XML file would be transferred to the target platform, then the import phase using CREATE TABLE...LOAD or CREATE TABLE + INSERT would be run on the target platform.

Recital/4GL

The Recital/4GL offers the ability to export data into XML files using the COPY TO ... TYPE XML command and import from XML using the XMLFIRST() and XMLNEXT() functions.

Recital/4GL: Exporting

The COPY TO command can be used to export data from Recital and other natively supported tables out to a wide range of formats. This includes exporting to an XML file. The '.xml' file extension is added automatically. The COPY TO command can be used to export an entire table:

open database southwind
use orders
copy to orders type xml

or, using the FIELDS clause and the FOR or WHILE clauses, restrict the field list and export only those records which match a particular condition:

open database southwind
use orders
copy to orders type xml fields orderid for year(orderdate) = 1996

Only the orderid field from those records which match the condition is exported:

<x-ml xmlns:z="#RowsetSchema" xmlns:rs="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:rowset"
 xmlns:dt="uuid:C2F41010-65B3-11d1-A29F-00AA00C14882" xmlns:s="uuid:BDC6E3F0-6DA3-11d1-A2A3-
00AA00C14882">
 <s:schema id="RowsetSchema">
  <s:elementtype rs:updatable="true" content="eltOnly" name="row">
   <s:attributetype rs:basecolumn="ORDERID" rs:basetable="ORDERS" rs:write="true" rs:nullable="true"
 rs:number="1" name="ORDERID">
   <s:datatype rs:fixedlength="true" rs:precision="10" rs:scale="0" dt:maxlength="10"
 rs:dbtype="numeric" dt:type="number">
   </s:datatype></s:attributetype>
  </s:elementtype>
 </s:schema>
 <rs:data>
 <z:row orderid="10248">
 <z:row orderid="10249">
 <z:row orderid="10250">
 <z:row ...

Recital/4GL: Importing

Data from an XML file can be extracted one record at a time using the XMLFIRST() and XMLNEXT() functions. XMLFIRST() reads the first record from an XML file and loads information from the file into a series of memory variables and arrays. The record data is loaded into a one-dimensional array which is created automatically. Each element in the array contains the data for its corresponding field in string format. The field names are loaded into another automatically-created array. The XMLNEXT() function works in a similar way to deal with all the subsequent records in the XML file. The XMLCOUNT() function can be used, as in the example below, to determine how many data records the XML file has.

The Recital/4GL includes a vast range of functions for manipulation and conversion of arrays and their individual elements. In the example program below, the XMLFIRST() and XMLNEXT() functions are used to sequentially extract each record from an XML file, whose name is passed to the program as a parameter. Once loaded into an array, the data is converted to the correct Recital data type then appended into a table. The table name is also passed as a parameter.

procedure replaceit
  append blank
  for i = 1 to numfields
    if type(field(i)) = "N"
      replace &(field(i)) with val(data[&i])
    elseif type(field(i)) = "D"
      replace &(field(i)) with stod(data[&i])
    elseif type(field(i)) = "T"
      replace &(field(i)) with ctot(data[&i])
    elseif type(field(i)) = "L"
      replace &(field(i)) with iif(data[&i]="T",.T.,.F.)
    elseif type(field(i)) = "Y"
      replace &(field(i)) with val(data[&i])
    else
      replace &(field(i)) with data[&i]
    endif
  next
return
 
procedure starthere                    
  parameters cTable, cFile
  numfields=xmlfirst(cFile,targ,trans,where,fldnames,data)
  if numfields < 1
    dialog box [No records in XML file]
  else
    use &cTable
    replaceit()
  endif
  numrecs = xmlcount(cFile)
  if numrecs > 1
    numleft = numrecs -1
    for i = 1 to numleft
      xmlnext(trans,where,fldnames,data)
      replaceit()
    next
  endif
return

Alternative Import/Export Methods

Other features exist in Recital to facilitate the import and export of data:

RDDs

The RDDs, Replaceable Database Drivers, are available on Windows, Linux and all supported 32-bit UNIX platforms. They allow for the use and creation of database tables and indexes in FoxPro, dBase and Clipper formats. The file format is the same across all the platforms that support the RDDs, allowing the tables and indexes to be transferred as required. The formats are also supported by a wide range of third-party products as well as their originating database systems. For more information on the RDDs, please see the online documentation on Xbase migration and the SET FILETYPE command.

BUILD/INSTALL

These are Recital/4GL commands for the export (BUILD) and import (INSTALL) of Recital tables and their associated memo, dictionary and multiple index files in ASCII format to allow them to be transferred across binary incompatible platforms. For more information, please see the online documentation on Recital/4GL commands.

COPY Commands

The COPY TO, COPY STRUCTURE, COPY STRUCTURE EXTENDED and CREATE FROM commands can all be used to enable data to be transferred between different formats and different platforms. For more information, please see the online documentation on Recital/4GL commands.

Appendix 1: Microsoft® ActiveX® Data Objects XML Format

For detailed information on the Microsoft® ActiveX® Data Objects XML Format, please consult the following Microsoft documentation:

Link

XML Persistence Format

Namespaces

Schema Section

Data Section

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Recital 10.0 introduced the COPY DATABASE <name> TO <name> command.. The full syntax is;
COPY DATABASE <name> TO <name>  [ IF [ NOT ] EXISTS ] 
This command is used to copy an existing database to a new database. By default an error will be returned if the target database already exists. Specifying the optional IF NOT EXISTS keywords no error will be returned if the target database already exists. If the optional IF EXISTS keywords are specified and the target database already exists, then it will be removed before the copy. Both the databases must be closed before they can be copied.
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Subclipse is an Eclipse Team Provider plug-in providing support for Subversion within the Eclipse IDE. This plugin is required in order to use the recital eclipse workspace.
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Opening SSH to the outside world is a security risk. Here is how to restrict SSH access to certain IP addresses on a machine.

  1. Edit the /etc/hosts.allow file to include these lines, assuming your machine is on the 192.168.2.x nonrouting IP block, and you want to enable an external address of 217.40.111.121 IP block: Remember to add the period on the end of each incomplete IP number. If you have another complete IP address or range, add a space and that range on the end.

    sshd,sshdfwd-X11: 192.168.2. 217.40.111.121
  2. Edit your /etc/hosts.deny file to include this line:

    sshd,sshdfwd-X11:ALL 
  3. These lines refuse SSH connections from anyone not in the IP address blocks listed.

Additionally you can restrict SSH access by username.

  1. Edit the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file and add the following lines

    PermitRootLogin no
    AllowUsers      user1 user2 user3 etc
    PasswordAuthentication yes

Now restart the ssh daemon for these changes to take effect

service sshd restart




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This article looks at After Image Journaling and audit trails in Recital using SET JOURNAL and associated commands.

Overview

After Image Journaling, used in conjunction with a structured backup policy is an effective disaster recovery solution. Any transaction that takes place on a table that is being journaled is logged in the journal file. In the event of a disk crash or similar event in which the table is lost, the journaled transactions can be reapplied to the latest backup copy of the table. Alternatively or additionally, the journal can be used to provide an audit trail to all modifications made to the table data.

NOTE: Recital also provides Before Image Journaling via BEGIN TRANSACTION / END TRANSACTION blocks, allowing unsuccessful transactions to be rolled back to a set saved state.

SET JOURNAL and RECOVER

Regular backups are an essential routine for any system, but in high-transaction environments restoration of the latest backup can still mean a major loss of data. After image journaling can successfully be used as part of your disaster recovery strategy to minimize data loss and down time. Recital after image journaling functionality is based on the use of the SET JOURNAL and RECOVER commands.

SET JOURNAL
SET JOURNAL TO [<.dbj filename> | ()]
SET JOURNAL ON | OFF | ()

The SET JOURNAL command is used to enable the After Image Journaling and audit trail for the active table. The TO <.dbj filename> clause associates the specified transaction journal file with the active table.  If the journal file does not exist, it will be created.  The filename can be substituted with a <expC>, enclosed in round brackets, which returns a valid filename.  If no file extension is specified, ‘.dbj’ is used. When specifying a journal file, it is recommended that the journal file is stored on a different disk than that which the table is stored on, so that if a fatal disk error occurs, then the journal file will not be lost along with the table. 

//Enable journaling for the southwind!orders table
open database southwind
use orders
set journal to /journals/ord_journ

The <.dbj filename> is a standard table.  It contains seven fields that are specific to a journal file, followed by the first 249 fields of the associated table.

The first seven fields in the journal are:


Field

Type

Display

Storage

Description

AUD_DATE

Date

8 | 10 *

4

The date on which the transaction was performed.

AUD_TIME

Character

8

8

 The time at which the transaction was performed, in the format HH:MM:SS.

AUD_TERM

Character

12

12

The name of the terminal from which the transaction was performed

AUD_UID

Short

5

2

The ID of the user who performed the transaction.

AUD_GID

Short

5

2

The group ID of the user who performed the transaction.

AUD_CMD

Short

4

2

The command number of the transaction performed from the command table below

AUD_RECNO

Integer

7

4

The record number in the associated table which the transaction was performed on.


* Dependent on SET CENTURY setting.

The AUD_CMD Command Reference Numbers are as follows:


Command

Number

DELETE

14

RECALL

36

REPLACE

41

BROWSE

6

CHANGE

8

EDIT

17

INSERT

26

APPEND

5

READ

35


Since journal files are standard Recital tables, you can use standard Recital commands such as the REPORT command to print audit trails, transaction logs, etc.

//Enable journaling for the southwind!orders table
open database southwind
use orders
set journal to /journals/ord_journ
//.. transactions
close data
//View journaled records
use /journals/ord_journ.dbj

Click image to display full size

Fig 1: Journal Record Example.

The SET JOURNAL TO command without a <.dbj filename> specified closes the active journal file and no further journaling will take place on the active table until the SET JOURNAL TO <.dbj filename> is reissued.

The journaling features are mainly used with shared tables.  It should be noted that there is an overhead in enabling transaction journaling, as records updated in a table are also written to the journal file. When records are appended into a journal file, locking is automatically performed so that multiple users can update the journal concurrently.  The associated table must be opened shareable for this to occur.  Each table can have a journal file associated with it. 

The SET JOURNAL ON | OFF command enables or disables transaction journaling.  This command is primarily used in applications where journaling can be disabled for a certain class of operations. By default, SET JOURNAL is ON, but no journal files are set.

NOTE: Only the first 249 fields of a table can be journaled: subsequent fields are ignored. The maximum number of fields in a Recital table is 256.

RECOVER
RECOVER FROM <.dbj filename> | ()

The RECOVER command uses the journal file to reapply lost transactions to a previous backup of the data after a fatal error such as a disk head crash. The FROM clause specifies the journal file to use. The file name can be substituted with an <expC>, enclosed in round brackets, which returns a valid filename.  If no file extension is specified, then ‘.dbj’ is assumed. 

Regular backups are essential to the successful use of After Image Journaling.   It is also very important to reinitialize the journal file after each backup: either open the journal file as you would a normal table and use the ZAP command, or delete the file completely. If a fatal error occurs, such as a disk head crash, the table and index files must be restored from a backup, then the RECOVER command executed. RECOVER will reapply' all of the transactions in the journal file to the table, and update the indexes.  After the RECOVER command has completed, you can continue with normal processing. 

//Create a backup of the southwind!orders table
//...backup table and associated files
//Reinitialize the journal file
erase /journals/ord_journ.dbj
//Enable journaling for the southwind!orders table
open database southwind
use orders
set journal to /journals/ord_journ
//.. transactions
//Restore the backup of the southwind!orders table
//...restore
//Open the restored backup
open database southwind
use orders
//Reapply the transactions using the journal
recover from /journals/ord_journ.dbj
//Now, enable the journal file again or
//restart with a new backup

Journaling Memo Fields

By default, memo fields - variable length text fields - are not journaled due to the possible storage overhead of multiple copies of potentially large blocks of text. But, if memo journaling is required, the SET MEMOJOURNAL ON command can be used to enable this.

SET MEMOJOURNAL
SET MEMOJOURNAL ON | OFF | ()

The SET MEMOJOURNAL command causes memo fields to be journaled when journaling is set on a table. This command allows the optional logical expression <expL> to be evaluated.  If a value of  .T. is returned, MEMOJOURNAL is set ON.  If a value of .F. is returned, MEMOJOURNAL is set OFF.  By default SET MEMOJOURNAL is OFF.

Like a normal Recital table, the journal holds only a pointer to a data block in an associated memo file, not the actual memo data itself. The journal's memo file has a file extension of .dbm rather than the standard Recital .dbt. Therefore, if the journal is being opened as a table, in order to view the journal's memo data, the SET MEMOEXT command should be used.

//Enable journaling for the southwind!suppliers table
open database southwind
use suppliers
set journal to /journals/sup_journ
//.. transactions
close data
//Set filename extension for memo file
set memoext to '.dbm'
//View journaled records
use /journals/sup_journ.dbj

Summary

The After Image Journaling enabled by the SET JOURNAL and RECOVER commands can be used in conjunction with a strict backup regime to minimize data loss in cases where tables become damaged or irretrievable. Journal files can be accessed like standard Recital tables and provide detailed information about the transactions applied to a table, so can be used for auditing purposes.

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lslk lists information about locks held on files with local inodes on systems running linux.

Install it with:

yum install lslk
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Recital 10 enhances the APPEND FROM command. The enhancement added the following syntax ;
APPEND FROM  TYPE CSV <file-name.csv> 
The TYPE keyword has now been enhanced to support a comma separated values (CSV) format
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In this article Barry Mavin, CEO and Chief Software Architect for Recital provides details on how the Recital Database Server can be used to provide a solution for Universal Data Integration.

Overview

The Recital Database Server handles universal cross-platform data access to a wide range of data sources. The database server natively handles full remote SQL data access to Recital, Visual FoxPro, FoxPro, FoxBASE, Clipper and older dBase data. Using Bridges, it handles full remote SQL data access to C-ISAM and OpenVMS RMS. Using gateway connections, it handles full remote SQL data access to Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, server-side ODBC, server-side JDBC and server-side OLE DB data sources. With its ability to access data using server-side ODBC, JDBC and OLE DB drivers from clients on all supported operating systems (Windows, Linux, Unix, OpenVMS), the Recital Database Server is an ideal Data Integration Solution for applications of all sizes and complexity.

Universal Data Integration Solutions

There are several ways in which data may be accessed by the Database Server.

Table 1:

Client Universal Data Access solutions for accessing local or remote data.


Client Solution
Recital Use remote gateway connections
Visual FoxPro Use the Universal ODBC Driver
Java (all platforms) Use the Universal JDBC Driver
.NET Framework Use the Universal .NET Data Provider
Microsoft Office Use the Universal ODBC Driver
Windows Mobile Use the Universal Compact Framework .NET Data Provider
PHP on Linux Use the Universal ODBC Driver for Linux
Mono on Linux Use the Universal .NET Data Provider
Others If the data source you want to access is not in the list above, then you can use a remote ODBC, JDBC or OLE DB gateway.
You can find examples of connection strings for most ODBC and OLE DB data sources by clicking here.

Table 2:

Windows Server Universal Data Access solutions accessible from any remote client running on Windows, Linux, Unix or OpenVMS:


Data Source Solution
Recital Native support (See table 1)
Visual FoxPro Native support (See table 1)
FoxPro Native support (See table 1)
FoxBASE Native support (See table 1)
Clipper Native support (See table 1)
dBase Native support (See table 1)
C-ISAM Use a bridge (See table 1)
Access Use a gateway connection
gateway="oledb:Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=\somepath\mydb.mdb;User Id=admin;Password=;"
Exchange Use a gateway connection
gateway="oledb:Provider=ExOLEDB.DataSource;Data Source=http://servername/publicstore"
Excel Use a gateway connection
gateway="oledb:Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=C:\MyExcel.xls;"
Oracle Use a gateway connection
gateway="oledb:Provider=msdaora;Data Source=TheOracleDB;User Id=xxxxx;Password=xxxxx;"
SQL Server Use a gateway connection
gateway="oledb:Provider=sqloledb;Data Source=Aron1;Initial Catalog=pubs;User Id=sa;Password=asdasd;"
MySQL Use a gateway connection
gateway="oledb:Provider=MySQLProv;Data Source=mydb;User Id=xxxxx;Password=xxxxx;"
IBM DB2 Use a gateway connection
gateway="oledb:Provider=DB2OLEDB;Network Transport Library=TCPIP;Network Address=XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX;Initial Catalog=MyCtlg;Package Collection=MyPkgCol;Default Schema=Schema;User ID=MyUser;Password=MyPW"
Sybase ASA Use a gateway connection
gateway="oledb:Provider=ASAProv;Data source=myASA"
Sybase ASE Use a gateway connection
gateway="oledb:Provider=Sybase.ASEOLEDBProvider;Srvr=myASEserver,5000;Catalog=myDBname;User Id=username;Password=password"
IBM Informix Use a gateway connection
gateway="oledb:Provider=Ifxoledbc.2;password=myPw;User ID=myUser;Data Source=dbName@serverName;Persist Security Info=true"
Ingres Use a gateway connection
gateway="odbc:dsn=data_source_name"
Firebird Use a gateway connection
gateway="odbc:dsn=data_source_name"
IBM AS400 iSeries Use a gateway connection
gateway="oledb:PROVIDER=IBMDA400; DATA SOURCE=MY_SYSTEM_NAME;USER ID=myUserName;PASSWORD=myPwd"
Interbase Use a gateway connection
gateway="oledb:provider=sibprovider;location=localhost:;data source=c:\databases\gdbs\mygdb.gdb;user id=xxxxx;password=xxxxx"
Others

If the data source you want to access is not in the list above, then you can use server-side ODBC, JDBC or OLE DB.
You can find examples of connection strings for most ODBC and OLE DB data sources by clicking here.
Full details on using server-side JDBC drivers can be found here.
Full details on using server-side ODBC drivers can be found here.
Full details on using server-side OLE DB drivers can be found here.


Table 3:

Linux and Unix Server Universal Data Access solutions accessible from any remote client running on Windows, Linux, Unix or OpenVMS:


Data Source Solution
Recital Native support (See table 1)
Visual FoxPro Native support (See table 1)
FoxPro Native support (See table 1)
FoxBASE Native support (See table 1)
Clipper Native support (See table 1)
dBase Native support (See table 1)
C-ISAM Use a bridge (See table 1)
Oracle Use a gateway connection
gateway="oracle:Connection_String"
MySQL Use a gateway connection
gateway="mysql:Connection_String"
IBM DB2 Use a gateway connection
gateway="db2:Connection_String"
PostgreSQL Use a gateway connection
gateway="postgres:Connection_String"
Others

If the data source you want to access is not in the list above, then you can use a server-side JDBC driver.
Full details on using server-side JDBC drivers can be found here.


Table 4:

OpenVMS Server Universal Data Access solutions accessible from any remote client running on Windows, Linux, Unix or OpenVMS:


Data Source Solution
Recital Native support (See table 1)
Visual FoxPro Native support (See table 1)
FoxPro Native support (See table 1)
FoxBASE Native support (See table 1)
Clipper Native support (See table 1)
dBase Native support (See table 1)
RMS Use a bridge (See table 1)
Others

If the data source you want to access is not in the list above, then you can use a server-side JDBC driver.

Supported Data Sources

Native Data Access

The Recital Database Server has native built-in support for the following data sources:

  • Recital
  • Visual FoxPro
  • FoxPro
  • FoxBASE
  • Clipper
  • dBase

You can setup tables to work with using the Database Administration Tool in Recital Enterprise Studio.

Bridges

Using Bridges, you can access the following data sources as if they were standard Recital/FoxPro tables:

  • CISAM
  • OpenVMS RMS

You can setup bridges using the Database Administration Tool in Recital Enterprise Studio.

Gateways/Connections

Using Gateways, you can transparently access the following local or remote data sources:

  • Recital
  • Oracle
  • ODBC (Server-side ODBC data sources)
  • JDBC (Server-side JDBC data sources)
  • OLEDB Use this to connect to SQL Server and other Windows OLE DB data sources)
  • MySQL
  • PostgreSQL

Remote Data Object functions

Recital 10 includes a complete and robust set of data source independent functions for accession MySQL, Oracle, DB2 and Postgres. This article explains how to use them.

Client Data Access drivers

Included with the Recital Database Server are three Client drivers. These Client drivers can access any data sources supported by the Recital Database Server. They are not restricted to accessing only Recital data. They can be used to access server-side ODBC, JDBC and OLE DB data sources also.

Recital Universal .NET Data Provider

Use this client driver when building .NET applications with Visual Studio .NET. A data provider in the .NET Framework serves as a bridge between an application and a data source. A data provider is used to retrieve data from a data source and to reconcile changes to that data back to the data source.

Key features of the Recital Universal .NET Data Provider:

  • Fully Internet enabled
    The Recital Universal .NET Data Provider works across the internet providing access to a wide range of data sources located on remote servers running Windows, Linux, Unix and OpenVMS.
  • SQL Server compatible
    The Recital Universal .NET Data Provider is plug compatible with the .NET Framework SQL Server Data Provider.
  • Cross-platform Data Integration
    Using the Recital Universal .NET Data Provider, you can connect to remote Windows, Linux, Unix or OpenVMS servers and access any data source supported by the Recital Database Server.
  • Managed code
    The Recital Universal .NET Data Adaptor written in C# is 100% .NET Framework managed code.
  • Runs on Windows Mobile
    The Recital Universal .NET Data Adaptor runs under the .NET Compact Framework on Windows Mobile.
Recital Universal JDBC Driver

The JDBC API is the industry standard for database-independent connectivity between the Java programming language and a wide range of databases. The JDBC API provides a call-level API for SQL-based database access. JDBC technology allows you to use the Java programming language to exploit "Write Once, Run Anywhere" capabilities for applications that require access to enterprise data.

Key features of the Recital Universal JDBC Driver:

  • Fully Internet enabled
    The Recital Universal JDBC driver works across the internet providing access to a wide range of data sources located on remote servers running Windows, Linux, Unix and OpenVMS.
  • JDBC 3.0 API
    The Recital Universal JDBC driver supports the JDBC 3.0 API.
  • Pure Java Type 3 Driver
    The Recital Universal JDBC driver is a 100% pure Java Type 3 driver.
  • Full Access to Metadata
    The JDBC API provides metadata access that enables the development of sophisticated applications that need to understand the underlying facilities and capabilities of a specific database connection.
  • Cross-platform Data Integration
    Using the Recital Universal JDBC driver, you can connect to remote Windows, Linux, Unix or OpenVMS servers and access any data source supported by the Recital Database Server.
  • No Installation
    A pure JDBC technology-based driver does not require special installation; it is automatically downloaded as part of the applet that makes the JDBC calls. The Recital Universal JDBC Driver is 100% java.
Recital Universal ODBC Driver

Connect to remote data from Microsoft Office or other applications that support ODBC data access. The Recital Universal ODBC Driver is also available for Linux and Unix.

Key features of the Recital Universal ODBC Driver:

  • Fully Internet enabled
    The Recital Universal ODBC driver works across the internet providing access to a wide range of data sources located on remote servers running Windows, Linux, Unix and OpenVMS.
  • Works with Crystal Reports
    The Recital Universal ODBC driver supports the SQL syntax generated by Crystal Reports.
  • Works with Microsoft Office
    The Recital Universal ODBC driver works with Microsoft Office products.
  • Works with PHP on Linux
    The Recital Universal ODBC driver is available for Linux and works with PHP.
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DRBD:
DRBD (Distributed Replicated Block Device) forms the storage redundancy portition of a HA cluster setup. Explained in basic terms DRBD provides a means of achieving RAID 1 behavoir over a network, where whole block devices are mirrored accross the network.

To start off you will need 2 indentically sized raw drives or partitions. Many how-to's on the internet assume the use of whole drives, of course this will be better performance, but if you are simply getting familar with the technology you can repartition existing drives to allow for two eqaully sized raw partitions, one on each of the systems you will be using.

There are 3 DRBD replication modes:
• Protocol A: Write I/O is reported as completed as soon as it reached local disk and local TCP send buffer
• Protocol B: Write I/O is reported as completed as soon as it reached local disk and remote TCP buffer cache
• Protocol C: Write I/O is reported as completed as soon as it reached both local and remote disks.

If we were installing the HA cluster on a slow LAN or if the geogrphical seperation of the systems involved was great, then I recommend you opt for asyncronous mirroring (Protocol A) where the notifcation of a completed write operation occurs as soon as the local disk write is performed. This will greatly improve performance.

As we are setting up our HA cluster connected via a fast LAN, we will be using DRBD in fully syncronous mode, protocol C.
Protocol C involves the file system on the active node only being notified that the write operation was finished when the block is written to both disks of the cluster. Protocol C is the most commonly used mode of DRBD.

/etc/drbd.conf

global { usage-count yes; }
common { syncer { rate 10M; } }
resource r0 {
protocol C;
net {
max-buffers 2048;
ko-count 4;
}
on bailey {
device    /dev/drbd0;
disk      /dev/sda4;
address   192.168.1.125:7789;
meta-disk internal;
}
on giskard {
device    /dev/drbd0;
disk      /dev/sda3;
address   192.168.1.127:7789;
meta-disk internal;
}
}

drbd.conf explained:

Global section, usage-count. The DRBD project keeps statistics about the usage of DRBD versions. They do this by contacting a HTTP server each time a new DRBD version is installed on a system. This can be disabled by setting usage-count no;.

The common seciton contains configurations inhereted by all resources defined.
Setting the syncronisation rate, this is accoimplished by going to the syncer section and then assigning a value to the rate setting. The syncronisation rate refers to rate in which the data is being mirrored in the background. The best setting for the syncronsation rate is related to the speed of the network with which the DRBD systems are communicating on. 100Mbps ethernet supports around 12MBps, Giggabit ethernet somewhere around 125MBps.

in the configuration above, we have a resource defined as r0, the nodes are configured in the "on" host subsections.
"Device" configures the path of the logical block device that will be created by DRBD
"Disk" configures the block device that will be used to store the data.
"Address" configures the IP address and port number of the host that will hold this DRBD device.
"Meta-disk" configures the location where the metadata about the DRBD device will be stored.
You can set this to internal and DRBD will use the physical block device to store the information, by recording the metadata within the last sections of the disk.
Once you have created your configuration file, you must conduct the following steps on both the nodes.

Create device metadata.

$ drbdadm create-md r0
v08 Magic number not found
Writing meta data...
initialising activity log
NOT initialized bitmap
New drbd meta data block sucessfully created.
success

Attach the backing device.
$ drbdadm attach r0

Set the syncronisation parameters.
$ drbdadm syncer r0

Connect it to the peer.
$ drbdadm connect r0

Run the service.
$ service drbd start

Heartbeat:

Heartbeat provides the IP redundancy and the service HA functionailty.
On the failure of the primary node the VIP is assigned to the secondary node and the services configured to be HA are started on the secondary node.

Heartbeat configuration:

/etc/ha/ha.conf

## /etc/ha.d/ha.cf on node1
## This configuration is to be the same on both machines
## This example is made for version 2, comment out crm if using version 1
// replace the node variables with the names of your nodes.

crm no
keepalive 1
deadtime 5
warntime 3
initdead 20
bcast eth0
auto_failback yes
node bailey
node giskard

/etc/ha.d/authkeys
// The configuration below set authentication off, and encryption off for the authentication of nodes and their packets.
//Note make sure the authkeys file has the correct permisisions chmod 600

## /etc/ha.d/authkeys
auth 1
1 crc

/etc/ha.d/haresources
//192.168.1.40 is the VIP (Virtual IP) assigned to the cluster.
//the "smb" in the configuration line represents the service we wish to make HA
// /devdrbd0 represents the resource name you configured in the drbd.conf

## /etc/ha.d/haresources
## This configuration is to be the same on both nodes

bailey 192.168.1.40 drbddisk Filesystem::/dev/drbd0::/drbdData::ext3 smb

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