Inspecting the active replication buffers

To solve issues with replication buffering, it is possible to inspect the active replication buffers with the SLNetClientTest tool, and also to drop a specific buffer. After an upgrade to DataMiner 10.3.0 [CU16]/10.4.0 [CU4]/10.4.7, it may also be necessary to flush the replication buffer to the DMA.

Viewing all active replication buffers

To view a list of all active replication buffers:

1. Connect to the DMA using the SLNetClientTest tool.

2. In the Diagnostics menu, select Caches & Subscriptions > ReplicationBufferStats.

   In the Properties tab of the main window, a new message will appear that lists the number of active buffers. For detailed information, double-click the message, or select the message and check the Text pane on the right.

Dropping a replication buffer

To drop one specific replication buffer:

1. Connect to the DMA using the SLNetClientTest tool.

2. Go to the Build Message tab of the main window.

3. In the Message Type dropdown list, select DiagnoseMessage.

4. In the ExtraInfo field, specify "drop:[bufferkey]", where [bufferkey] is the key of the replication buffer you want to drop. Replication buffer keys are listed in the replication buffer stats (e.g., "hostname/ipaddress/dmaid/eid")

5. In the Type field at the bottom, select ReplicationBufferStats.

Warning

Always be extremely careful when using the SLNetClientTest tool, as it can have far-reaching consequences on the functionality of your DataMiner System.

Managing replication buffer files

When a replication buffer saves files to disk, those files are located in C:\Skyline DataMiner\System Cache\SLNet and are named as follows:

• From DataMiner 10.3.0 [CU16]/10.4.0 [CU4]/10.4.7 onwards: ReplicationBuffer_clienthostname_ip_dmaid_eid.bin

  These files do not include a unique hash in their filenames. As a result there is only one file per replicated element.

• Prior to DataMiner 10.3.0 [CU16]/10.4.0 [CU4]/10.4.7: ReplicationBuffer_clienthostname_ip_dmaid_eid_objectid.bin

  These files include a unique hash in their filenames.

  From DataMiner 10.3.0 [CU16]/10.4.0 [CU4]/10.4.7 onwards, these older files will remain in the SLNet folder, but the new changes prevent further growth.

  • If older data is no longer needed, you can manually delete the files.

  • To keep the data, you can flush it to the Agent using the SLNetClientTest tool:

    1. Connect to the DMA using the SLNetClientTest tool.

    2. Go to the Build Message tab of the main window.

    3. In the Message Type dropdown list, select DiagnoseMessage.

    4. In the ExtraInfo field, specify "flush:[fileNamePattern]".

       Examples:

       Command	Action
       flush:*	Flushes all files
       flush:slc-h32-g06_*	Flushes all files for Agent slc-h32-g06
       flush:slc-h32-g06_10.11.6.32_223_4	Flushes files for a specific element on the Agent

    5. In the Type field at the bottom, select ReplicationBufferStats.

    Important

    • DataMiner can only flush the replication buffer if the replication connection for that specific subscription is active. If not, the flush will fail and the file will remain.
    • Always be extremely careful when using the SLNetClientTest tool, as it can have far-reaching consequences on the functionality of your DataMiner System.

Automatic cleanup of replication buffer files

From DataMiner 10.5.0 [CU16]/10.6.0 [CU4]/10.6.7 onwards, replication buffer files are automatically cleaned every 24 hours when replication buffering is enabled.

During this cleanup, DataMiner removes the following files from the SLNet system cache:

• Files that are still managed by the replication buffer but for which no connection was set up for the configured number of days.

• Files that are no longer managed by the replication buffer and that have a last modified time that exceeds the configured number of days.

  The retention period can be configured using the ReplicationBufferMaxDisconnectedTime setting in MaintenanceSettings.xml.

Manually triggering cleanup of replication buffer files

From DataMiner 10.5.0 [CU16]/10.6.0 [CU4]/10.6.7 onwards, it is also possible to manually trigger a cleanup using the SLNetClientTest tool, regardless of whether replication buffering is enabled.

To do so:

1. Connect to the DMA using the SLNetClientTest tool.

2. Go to the Build Message tab of the main window.

3. In the Message Type dropdown list, select DiagnoseMessage.

4. In the ExtraInfo field, specify cleanup:<numberOfDays>, where <numberOfDays> is a value between 14 and 30. For example: cleanup:20.

5. In the Type field at the bottom, select ReplicationBufferStats.

Warning

Always be extremely careful when using the SLNetClientTest tool, as it can have far-reaching consequences on the functionality of your DataMiner System.