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Features for the Replication Manager

Replication Manager features

Abstract

When you open Replication Manager, the Replication Management tab graphically depicts your entire site, with all registered server nodes. As all connections are TCP/IP, these can be via your local network, WAN, or even cloud-based sites with a valid secured connection.

When you open Replication Manager, the Replication Management tab graphically depicts your entire site, with all registered server nodes. As all connections are TCP/IP, these can be via your local network, WAN, or even cloud-based sites with a valid secured connection.

Figure 1, “Replication Manager layout shows some of the features of Replication Manager (from left to right):
  • All available plans are listed under Existing Plans.

  • Replication plans are displayed as lines connecting server nodes.

  • The central Replication Manager is shown as a unique green square

  • Registered server nodes are shown as blue squares.

Figure 1. Replication Manager layout
Replication Manager layout


Figure 2. Replication Manager's main window tabs
Replication Manager's main window tabs


There are two tabs in the main window:
  • Replication Management tab

    This is the default tab. This tab displays the servers and replication plans. This is where you will create replication plans and manage your replication.

  • Replication Logs tab

    This tab displays the logs of replication activity. After you have defined your replication plans and deployed them, you can switch to this tab to monitor operation.

Figure 3. Replication Management server
Replication Management server


The central part of the Replication Management tab is a canvas that shows each FairCom server on the site. Each server is shown as a blue square containing a server icon and the name of the server.

Note

Use Refresh to scan the network and to refresh the display of servers and plans. Under normal operation that will not be necessary because the Replication Manager continually checks the site and refreshes its view. Use this option to force a refresh if you think a server may have stopped responding.

  • MEMPHIS

    This is the server running the Replication Management studio, which can be any standard FairCom server.

  • FAIRCOM1

    In Figure 3, “Replication Management server, red arrows show that ReplPlan1 replicates data from this FairCom server to FAIRCOM3.

  • FAIRCOM2

    In Figure 3, “Replication Management server, red arrows show that ReplPlan3 replicates data from this FairCom server to FAIRCOM3. Notice that this server is dimmed to indicate it is currently offline.

  • FAIRCOM3

    In Figure 3, “Replication Management server, red arrows show that this FairCom server is the destination (target) for data replicated from FAIRCOM1 and FAIRCOM2. This server has a dashed outline and a large chain link to indicate that the mouse is hovering over its border, which will be important when you use drag-and-drop to create a replication plan.

You can drag the servers around on the canvas to create a layout that is meaningful to you — for example. you may want to arrange the servers geographically, with the west-coast servers on the left and the east-coast on the right. Alternatively, you may want to place all production servers in one row, all development servers in another, and all reposting servers in another row. The Replication Manager will remember the current layout when you load it again on the same machine.

Move the server

To move the server:
  1. Hover the mouse pointer over the center of the server.

  2. Observe the mouse pointer change from a hand pointer to a four-point arrow pointer.

  3. Drag the server to any position on the canvas.

Move multiple servers as a group

To make multiple selections and move multiple servers as a group:
Figure 4. Select multiple servers
Select multiple servers


  1. Ctrl+ click on a server.

  2. Observe a red dotted line around the server square, indicating the server is selected (see Figure 4, “Select multiple servers).

  3. Ctrl + click other servers to select them and observe the red dotted line around all of the selected servers.

  4. Hover the mouse pointer over one of the selected servers.

  5. Observe the mount pointed change from a hand pointer to a four-point arrow pointer.

  6. Move selected servers as a group.

  7. Click on any selected server again to remove the red dotted line and to deselect the server.

Resize the server

This can be useful if you want to collapse the server as small as possible to save screen space or enlarge a server to make a long name easy to read (or you can use the zoom control if you need to see a large number of servers).

To change the size and shape of the server depicted on the canvas:
  1. Hold Shift while clicking on a server square.

  2. Observe resizing handles appear around the edge of the server square.

  3. Drag the server square to any size.

  4. Hold Shift and click anywhere on the server to remove the resizing handles.

Zoom the display

Figure 5. Zoom dropdown menu
Zoom dropdown menu


Increase or decrease the zoom by:

Move the canvas

You can drag the entire canvas around to see different parts of it. This is a useful feature if you have too many servers to fit them all on the screen.

Figure 6. MiniView
MiniView


  1. Hover the mouse pointer over any white space on the canvas.

  2. Observe that the pointer becomes a hand pointer indicating that you can drag the canvas around to view different parts.

  3. Use the MiniView to see an overview of the entire canvas.

    Note

    • The MiniView is a less detailed grayscale version of the regular canvas display.

    • The MiniView provides a view of the entire canvas, which is scaled to fit the viewer. You can drag the canvas inside the MiniView to move the entire canvas in the main window.

    1. Drag the MiniView to view different portions of the canvas.

    2. Use the minimize button in the corner of MiniView or expand it.

    3. Use the MiniView button to show or hide this tool.

The Replication Manager provides a Layout menu that allows you to manage the location of the servers and groups on the main viewing canvas.

 Layout dropdown menu options:
  • Edit Description

    This allows you to rename the selected layout.

  • New Layout

    This allows you to create a new layout.

    1. Enter a name for the layout.

    2. Rearrange the servers on the canvas.

      Note

      The Replication Management studio will remember their positions the next time you reload the Replication Management studio or select that layout.

  • Delete Layout

    This allows you to delete the selected layout.

Replication Manager provides several selections for managing your replication environment.

Figure 7. Replication Manager menus
Replication Manager menus


Menu descriptions and selections:
  • Actions menu (see Figure 7, “Replication Manager menus)

    This menu lists available actions.

    • Manage Archived Plans

      This selection allows you to view archived plans and restore or delete them using the Archived Plans Management window. Replication plans can be archived using a selection in the  Existing Plans dropdown menu (once archived, a plan is not displayed under Existing Plans).

    • Show Unmanaged Servers

      This menu option controls the display of servers that are not included in replication. You can right-click on a server to unmanage it if you do not want to control it — for example, if it is going to be offline for an indefinite period.

    • Agent Tracing

      This checkbox turns Agent Tracing on and off. If the checkbox is checked, Agent Tracing is on. The status of Agent Tracing is indicated in the status bar in the lower-left corner of the window.

    • Web Tracing

      This checkbox turns Web Tracing on and off. If the checkbox is checked, Web Tracing is on. The status of Web Tracing is indicated in the status bar in the lower-left corner of the window.

    • Reset Dialog Sizes

      This option returns all dialog boxes to their original, default sizes. It can be used as a quick way to clean up the display if windows have been moved.

  • Options menu

    The Options menu opens the Options window allowing you to set properties for the Replication Manager.

  • Help menu

    This menu displays help for Replication Manager.