To be able to run a mirror server in an installation, a journal file must be created for the database. This article describes how to initialize a journal file. It must be done using the swDatabaseManager tool. 


Prerequisites

  • Server and database compatible version of swDatabaseManager.exe tool
  • If running against an sqlite database, the SystemWeaver server must be stopped, i.e., you must have sole access to the database during file initialization. If running a MS SQL database, there is no need to disconnect the database. 
  • The server must be run against the database before a journal is created. This is to initialize basic data. This is already the most common scenario as often a server has been running before a mirror server is installed. 


Note: The swDatabaseManager application is not for general distribution and should only be used by an authorized system administrator.


As noted in the prerequisites, the SystemWeaver server application should be stopped if running a sqlite database. 

  1. Open the swDatabaseManager.
  2. Select the database Type.
  3. Enter the database information:

    R53 and later releases: Enter the information manually or use the Load config button to load it from an existing swServer.ini file that contains the database information in the DNS= entry. See DSN in Installing a New SystemWeaver Server for the format to use by database type. 
    R52 and earlier releases:  Enter the information manually.  
    On the Database tab, click the Display Info button to confirm that tool version is compatible with the database version. 

  4. To create a journal file: 

    R53 and later releases:  Navigate to the Journal tab and click Init journaling. 

    R52 and earlier releases:  Navigate to the Mirroring tab, click Initialize journaling.
  5. Navigate to the desired location for the journal file and give the .swjournal file a name. Consider naming the swjournal file in a way that makes it easy to know which database it belongs to. Click Save to save the new file.


The application will indicate when the journal initialization is completed.

 


Note: The journal file name and path will need to be entered into the swServer.ini for the main server as described in How to Configure a Main Server for Mirroring.


Data Disk Size

This depends entirely on your use case. How much data will you be working with and storing in the system? We have installations from 100MB up to 10s of GB. You will need to make sure that you have enough storage space for the journal file. We recommend that you monitor and make adjustments to available disk size as needed.


MinJournalEntries

There is an option in the main server swServer.ini to set a minimum number of most recent entries to be saved in the swjournal file which will limit the size of the file. For more information, see MinJournalEntries in Installing a New SystemWeaver Server


If, at any time, you want to remove journaling, you will need to disable journaling.