DB2 Version 9.7 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows
DB2 Version 9.7 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows
These modes apply only when the primary and standby databases are in peer or disconnected peer state.
Use the hadr_syncmode database configuration parameter to set the synchronization mode. The following values are valid:
In this mode, log writes are considered successful only when logs have been written to log files on the primary database and when the primary database has received acknowledgement from the standby database that the logs have also been written to log files on the standby database. The log data is guaranteed to be stored at both sites.
If the standby database crashes before it can replay the log records, the next time it starts it can retrieve and replay them from its local log files. If the primary database fails, a failover to the standby database guarantees that any transaction that has been committed on the primary database has also been committed on the standby database. After the failover operation, when the client reconnects to the new primary database, there can be transactions committed on the new primary database that were never reported as committed to the application on the original primary. This occurs when the primary database fails before it processes an acknowledgement message from the standby database. Client applications should consider querying the database to determine whether any such transactions exist.
If the primary database loses its connection to the standby database, what happens next depends on the configuration of the hadr_peer_window database configuration parameter. If hadr_peer_window is set to a non-zero time value, then upon losing connection with the standby database the primary database will move into disconnected peer state and continue to wait for acknowledgement from the standby database before committing transactions. If the hadr_peer_window database configuration parameter is set to zero, the primary and standby databases are no longer considered to be in peer state and transactions will not be held back waiting for acknowledgement from the standby database. If the failover operation is performed when the databases are not in peer or disconnected peer state, there is no guarantee that all of the transactions committed on the primary database will appear on the standby database.
If the primary database fails when the databases are in peer or disconnected peer state, it can rejoin the HADR pair as a standby database after a failover operation. Because a transaction is not considered to be committed until the primary database receives acknowledgement from the standby database that the logs have also been written to log files on the standby database, the log sequence on the primary will be the same as the log sequence on the standby database. The original primary database (now a standby database) just needs to catch up by replaying the new log records generated on the new primary database since the failover operation.
If the primary database is not in peer state when it fails, its log sequence might be different from the log sequence on the standby database. If a failover operation has to be performed, the log sequence on the primary and standby databases might be different because the standby database starts its own log sequence after the failover. Because some operations cannot be undone (for example, dropping a table), it is not possible to revert the primary database to the point in time when the new log sequence was created. If the log sequences are different and you issue the START HADR command with the AS STANDBY parameter on the original primary, you will receive a message that the command was successful. However, this message is issued before reintegration is attempted. If reintegration fails, pair validation messages will be issued to the administration log and the diagnostics log on both the primary and the standby. The reintegrated standby will remain the standby, but the primary will reject the standby during pair validation causing the standby database to shut down. If the original primary database successfully rejoins the HADR pair, you can achieve failback of the database by issuing the TAKEOVER HADR command without specifying the BY FORCE parameter. If the original primary database cannot rejoin the HADR pair, you can reinitialize it as a standby database by restoring a backup image of the new primary database.
In this mode, log writes are considered successful only when the log records have been written to the log files on the primary database and when the primary database has received acknowledgement from the standby system that the logs have also been written to main memory on the standby system. Loss of data occurs only if both sites fail simultaneously and if the target site has not transferred to nonvolatile storage all of the log data that it has received.
If the standby database crashes before it can copy the log records from memory to disk, the log records will be lost on the standby database. Usually, the standby database can get the missing log records from the primary database when the standby database restarts. However, if a failure on the primary database or the network makes retrieval impossible and a failover is required, the log records will never appear on the standby database, and transactions associated with these log records will never appear on the standby database.
If transactions are lost, the new primary database is not identical to the original primary database after a failover operation. Client applications should consider resubmitting these transactions to bring the application state up to date.
If the primary database fails when the primary and standby databases are in peer state, it is possible that the original primary database cannot to rejoin the HADR pair as a standby database without being reinitialized using a full restore operation. If the failover involves lost log records (because both the primary and standby databases have failed), the log sequences on the primary and standby databases will be different and attempts to restart the original primary database as a standby database without first performing a restore operation will fail. If the original primary database successfully rejoins the HADR pair, you can achieve failback of the database by issuing the TAKEOVER HADR command without specifying the BY FORCE parameter. If the original primary database cannot rejoin the HADR pair, you can reinitialize it as a standby database by restoring a backup image of the new primary database.
In ASYNC mode, log writes are considered successful only when the log records have been written to the log files on the primary database and have been delivered to the TCP layer of the primary system's host machine. Because the primary system does not wait for acknowledgement from the standby system, transactions might be considered committed when they are still on their way to the standby database.
A failure on the primary database host machine, on the network, or on the standby database can cause log records in transit to be lost. If the primary database is available, the missing log records can be resent to the standby database when the pair reestablishes a connection. However, if a failover operation is required while there are missing log records, those log records will never reach the standby database, causing the associated transactions to be lost in the failover.
If transactions are lost, the new primary database is not exactly the same as the original primary database after a failover operation. Client applications should consider resubmitting these transactions to bring the application state up to date.
If the primary database fails when the primary and standby databases are in peer state, it is possible that the original primary database will not be able to rejoin the HADR pair as a standby database without being reinitialized using a full restore operation. If the failover involves lost log records, the log sequences on the primary and standby databases will be different, and attempts to restart the original primary database as a standby database will fail. Because there is a greater possibility of log records being lost if a failover occurs in asynchronous mode, there is also a greater possibility that the primary database will not be able to rejoin the HADR pair. If the original primary database successfully rejoins the HADR pair, you can achieve failback of the database by issuing the TAKEOVER HADR command without specifying the BY FORCE parameter. If the original primary database cannot rejoin the HADR pair, you can reinitialize it as a standby database by restoring a backup image of the new primary database.
In this mode, the HADR pair can never be in peer state or disconnected peer state. The log writes are considered successful as soon as the log records have been written to the log files on the primary database. Because the primary database does not wait for acknowledgement from the standby database, transactions are considered committed irrespective of the state of the replication of that transaction.
A failure on the primary database host machine, on the network, or on the standby database can cause log records in transit to be lost. If the primary database is available, the missing log records can be resent to the standby database when the pair reestablishes a connection. However, if a failover operation is required while there are missing log records, those log records will never reach the standby database, causing the associated transactions to be lost in the failover.
If transactions are lost, the new primary database is not exactly the same as the original primary database after a failover operation. Client applications should consider resubmitting these transactions to bring the application state up to date.
Since the transaction commit operations on the primary database are not affected by the relative slowness of the HADR network or the standby HADR server, the log gap between the primary database and the standby database might continue to increase. It is important to monitor the log gap as it is an indirect measure of the potential number of transactions that might be lost should a true disaster occur on the primary system. In disaster recovery scenarios, any transactions committed during the log gap would not be available to the standby database. Therefore, monitor the log gap by using the hadr_log_gap monitor element; if it occurs that the log gap is not acceptable, investigate the network interruptions or the relative speed of the standby database node and take corrective measures to reduce the log gap.
If the primary database fails, it is possible that the original primary database will not be able to rejoin the HADR pair as a standby database without being reinitialized using a full restore operation. If the failover involves lost log records, the log sequences on the primary and standby databases will be different, and attempts to restart the original primary database as a standby database will fail. Because there is a greater probability of log records being lost if a failover occurs in super asynchronous mode, there is also a greater probability that the primary database will not be able to rejoin the HADR pair. If the original primary database successfully rejoins the HADR pair, you can achieve failback of the database by issuing the TAKEOVER HADR command without specifying the BY FORCE parameter. If the original primary database cannot rejoin the HADR pair, you can reinitialize it as a standby database by restoring a backup image of the new primary database.