Linking unstructured files

Prerequisites

• The source environment must meet the requirements outlined in Unstructured Files Environment Requirements.

• The Delphix Engine must have access to an environment user. This user should have read permissions on all files to be cloned.

Unstructured Files on Cluster Environments

Unstructured files cannot be linked from, or provisioned to, any form of a cluster environment, such as an Oracle RAC environment. To link or provision unstructured files from a host that is part of a cluster, add the host as a standalone environment. Then link from, or provision to, this standalone host.

Procedure

1. Login to the Delphix Management application.

2. Click Manage.

3. Select Environments.

4. Select the environment containing the unstructured files you want to link.

5. Click the Environment Details tab.

6. If the environment user described in the Prerequisites section is not listed under Environment Users, add the user.

7. Click the Databases tab.

8. Scroll to the bottom of the page to view the Unstructured Files section.

9. Click the Plus icon on the right. This action displays a dialog box prompting for the Database Name and Path. Enter a name to help identify the files. The path is the absolute path to the directory on the environment server.

10. Click Add to save the configuration. After saving this configuration, add the dSource.

11. Click Manage > Datasets.

12. On the left-hand side, click the plus sign.

13. Select Add dSource. Alternatively, on the Environment Management screen, you can click Add dSource next to a dataset name to start the dSource creation process.

14. In the Add dSource wizard, select the source of the files.

15. Select the Environment User outlined in the Prerequisites section.

16. Click Advanced.

17. Enter Paths to Exclude. These paths are relative to the root path of the dataset home path and will not be linked by the Delphix Engine. This feature is most commonly used to exclude directories containing log files. Wildcard (*) pattern matching is supported to exclude all the contents of a directory, without excluding the directory itself. For example, specifying /dir/ will exclude all contents of /dir but still link /dir as an empty directory. For PowerShell to escape a $ sign in a directory path please use the following /before the dollar sign when adding it to the exclude paths, for example: /$RECYCLE.BIN.
    Info:
    Retroactive Edits to Exclude Paths on Windows

    After creating a dSource, you can edit the set of Paths to Exclude from syncing at any time on the dSource's Configuration tab. For Unix environments, retroactively adding a path to exclude will result in the next SnapSync deleting the newly-excluded files. However, for Windows environments, retroactively adding a path to exclude will result in the next SnapSync ignoring newly-excluded files. Stale versions of these files will still exist in all future snapshots.

18. If you are linking files from a Unix environment, enter Paths of Symlinks to Follow. These paths are relative to the root path of the dataset home path and will be followed to gather additional files to copy.
    Info:

    Paths of Symlinks to Follow - Caveats

    • This feature can only be used to follow symlinks to directories. Symlinks to files will be ignored.

    • This feature is not available for files on Windows environments.

19. Click Next.

20. Enter a dSource Name.

21. Select a Database Group for the dSource.

22. Click Next. Adding a dSource to a database group enables you to set Delphix Domain user permissions for that dSource's objects, such as snapshots. 

23. Select a SnapSync policy.

24. Click Advanced to edit retention policies.

25. Click Next.

26.  Enter any operations that should be run at Hooks during the sync process (or any future sync processes).

27.  Click Next. 

28. Review the dSource Configuration and Data Management information.

29. Click Submit.

The Delphix Engine will initiate two jobs to create the dSource, DB_Link, and DB_Sync. You can monitor these jobs by clicking Active Jobs in the top menu bar, or by selecting System > Event Viewer. When the jobs have been completed successfully, the file's icon will change to a dSource icon on the Environments > Databases screen, and the dSource will be added to the list of Datasets under its assigned group.

dSource Information

After you have created a dSource, you can view information about it and make modifications to its policies and permissions by selecting it in the Datasets panel.