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A couple of new features have been added to the HA4i product as a result of customer requests. Auditing is one area where HA4i has always been well supported but as customers get used to the product they find areas they would like to have some adjustments. The object auditing process was one such area, the client was happy that the results of the audits were correct but asked if we could selectively determine which attributes of an object are to be audited as they have some results which while they are correct are not important to them.
The existing process was a good place to start so we decided to use this as the base but while were making changes improve the audit to bring in more attributes to be checked. We determined a totally new set of programs would be required which would include new commands and interfaces, this would allow the existing audit process to remain intact where clients have already programmed them into their schedulers and programs. The new audits would run by retrieving the list of parameters to be checked from a control file and only compare configured parameters. The results have been tested by the client and he has given us the nod to say this meets with his approval. We also added new recovery features which allow out of sync objects to be fully repaired more effectively.
Another client approached us with a totally different problem, they were having problems with errors being logged from the journal apply process due to developers saving and restoring journaled objects from the production environment into test libraries on the production system. This caused a problem because the objects are automatically journaled to the production journal when they are restored, so when the apply process finds the entry in the remote journal it tries to create the object on the target system and fails because the library does not exist. To overcome this we amended the code which supports the re-direction technology for the remote apply process (It allows journal entries for objects in one library to be applied to objects in another library) to support a new keyword *IGNORE. When the apply process finds these definitions it will automatically ignore any requests for objects in the defined library. NOTE:- The best solution would have been to move the developers off the production systems and develop more HA friendly approaches to making production data available, but in this case that was not an option.
We are always learning and adding new features into HA4i, many of them from customer requirements or suggestions. Being a small organization allows us to react very quickly to these requirements and provide our clients with a High Availability Solution that meets their needs. If you are looking for an Affordable High Availability or Disaster Recovery Solution or would like to ask about replacing an existing solution give us a call. We are always happy to look at your needs and see if HA4i will fit your solution requirements and budget.
Chris…