Customizing Unstructured Files with Hook Operations
Delphix Administration / Unstructured Files and App Data / Getting Started with Unstructured Files / Customizing Unstructured Files with Hook Operations

Hook operations allow you to execute an ordered list of custom operations at select hook points in linking, provisioning and virtual dataset management. For details on the types of operations that are available, see children of this page.

VDB and vFile Hooks

Hook
Description
Configure Clone

Operations performed after initial provision or after a refresh.

This hook will run after the virtual dataset has been started.
During a refresh, this hook will run before the Post-Refresh hook.

Pre-Refresh

Operations performed before a refresh.
This hook will run before the virtual dataset has been stopped.

These operations can cache data from the virtual dataset to be restored after the refresh completes.

Post-Refresh

Operations performed after a refresh.
This hook will run after the virtual dataset has been started and after the Configure Clone hook.
This hook will not run if the refresh or Pre-Refresh hook operations fail.

These operations can restore cached data after the refresh completes.

Pre-Rewind

Operations performed before a rewind.
This hook will run before the virtual dataset has been stopped. 

These operations can cache data from the virtual dataset to be restored after the rewind completes.

Post-Rewind

Operations performed after a rewind. This hook will not run if the rewind or Pre-Rewind hook operations fail.
This hook will run after the virtual dataset has been started.
This hook will not run if the rewind or Pre-Rewind hook operations fail.

These operations can restore cached data after the rewind completes.

Pre-Snapshot

Operations performed before a snapshot.

These operations can quiesce data to be captured during the snapshot, or stop processes that may interfere with the snapshot.

Post-Snapshot

Operations performed after a snapshot.
This hook will run regardless of the success of the snapshot or Pre-Snapshot hook operations.

These operations can undo any changes made by the Pre-Snapshot hook.

Pre-Start

Operations performed before startup of a VDB or vFile.

These operations can be used to initialize configuration files, or stop processes that might interfere with the virtual dataset.

Post-Start

Operations performed after startup of a VDB of vFile.

These operations can be used to clean up any temporary files, or restart processes that may have been stopped by a Pre-Start hook, or log notifications.

Pre-Stop

Operations performed before shutdown of a VDB or vFile.

These operations can quiesce data or processes prior to virtual dataset shutdown.

Post-Stop

Operations performed after shutdown of a VDB or vFile.

These operations can be used to log notifications, clean up any temporary files, or stop/restart related processes.

You can leverage hooks to run required scripts which address several different use cases. For example, you may want to prevent your monitoring systems from triggering during VDB startup and shutdown. As shown in the figure below, you can now leverage pre- and post-hooks to run required scripts for VDB start/stop operations.

hooks stop new.png

Hooks

Operation Failure

If a hook operation fails, it will fail the entire hook: no further operations within the failed hook will be run.

Setting Hook Operations

You can construct hook operation lists through the Delphix Admin application or the command line interface (CLI). You can either define the operation lists as part of the provisioning process or edit them on virtual datasets that already exist.

Setting Hook Operations through the Delphix Admin Application

The provisioning wizard still imports hook operations from templates.

To specify hook operations during linking or provisioning:

  1. In the Linking Wizard or Provision Wizard, click the Hooks tab.
  2. Select the hook to edit.
  3. Click the Plus icon to add a new operation.
  4. Select the type of operation or click Import to load a hook operation template.
  5. Click the text area and edit the contents of the operation.
  6. You can reorder operations either through drag-and-drop or by clicking the arrow icons.
  7. To remove an operation from the list, click the Trash icon on the operation.
  8. When you have set all hook operations, click Next to continue with the provisioning process.

To edit hook operations on a virtual dataset:

From the Datasets panel, you can create hook operations from a template. 
  1. In the Datasets panel, click the virtual dataset.
  2. Click the Configuration tab.
  3. Within the Configuration tab, click the Hooks tab.
  4. Select the hook to edit.
  5. The current operations at this hook will be displayed. To edit this list of operations, click the Pencil icon in the top right-hand corner of the tab.
  6. Click the Plus icon to add a new operation.
  7. Select the type of operation or click Import to load a hook operation template.
  8. Click the text area and edit the contents of the operation.
  9. You can reorder operations either through drag-and-drop or by clicking the arrow icons.
  10. To remove an operation from the list, click the Trash icon on the operation.
  11. When you have set all hook operations, click the check mark to save the changes.

Setting Hook Operations through the CLI

To specify hook operations during linking, edit the relevant hook's array of operations defined on the LinkingParameters > Source > Operations object.

To specify hook operations during provisioning, edit the relevant hook's array of operations defined on the ProvisionParameters > Source > Operations object.

To edit hook operations on a dSource that already exists, edit the relevant hook's array of operations defined on the Source > Operations object.

To edit hook operations on a virtual dataset that already exists, edit the relevant hook's array of operations defined on the Source > Operations object.

For more information about these CLI objects, see the following documentation in the Help menu of the Delphix Admin application:

  •  LinkedSourceOperations
  • VirtualSourceOperations
  • RunCommandOnSourceOperation
  • RunExpectOnSourceOperation API

Example of Editing Hook Operations through the CLI

  1. Navigate to the relevant source's  VirtualSourceOperations  object.
  2. Select a hook to edit.
    delphix> source
delphix source> select "pomme"
delphix source "pomme"> update
delphix source "pomme" update *> edit operations
delphix source "pomme" update operations *> edit postRefresh
  3. Add an operation at index 0.
    delphix source "pomme" update operations postRefresh *> add
delphix source "pomme" update operations postRefresh 0 *> set type=RunCommandOnSourceOperation
delphix source "pomme" update operations postRefresh 0 *> set command="echo Refresh completed."
delphix source "pomme" update operations postRefresh 0 *> ls
Properties
    type: RunCommandOnSourceOperation (*)
    command: echo Refresh completed. (*)
delphix source "pomme" update operations postRefresh 0 *> commit
  4. Add another operation at index 1 and then delete it.
    delphix source "pomme" update operations postRefresh *> add
delphix source "pomme" update operations postRefresh 1 *> set type=RunCommandOnSourceOperation
delphix source "pomme" update operations postRefresh 1 *> set command="echo Refresh completed."
delphix source "pomme" update operations postRefresh 1 *> back
delphix source "pomme" update operations postRefresh *> unset 1
delphix source "pomme" update operations postRefresh *> commit

Hook Operation Templates

You can use templates to store commonly used operations, which allows you to avoid repeated work when an operation is applicable to more than a single virtual dataset. You manage templates through the Delphix Admin application.

Hook Operations Templates Not Available via CLI

Hook operation templates cannot be fully utilized from the CLI. Manage and use hook operations through the Delphix Admin application.

Creating a Hook Operation Template

The provisioning wizard still imports hook operations from templates.
  1. Login to the Delphix Admin application using Delphix Admin credentials.
  2. Click Manage.
  3. Select Operation Templates.
  4. Click the Plus icon to add a new operation template.
  5. Enter a Name for the template.
  6. Select an operation Type.
  7. Enter a Description detailing what the operation does or how to use it.
  8. Enter operation Contents to implement the operation partially or fully.
  9. Click Create.

Importing a Hook Operation Template

To import a hook operation template:
  1. In the Datasets panel, select a dataset.
  2. Click the Configuration tab.
  3. Within the Configuration tab, click the Hooks tab.
  4. Select the hook to edit.
  5. Click the Plus icon to add a new operation.
  6. Click Import.
  7. Select the template to import.
  8. Click Import.
  9. When you have set all hook operations, click Check to save the changes.

Exporting a Hook Operation Template

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