Linking Unstructured Files
Delphix Administration / Unstructured Files and App Data / Getting Started with Unstructured Files / Linking Unstructured Files

This topic describes the process of linking to a set of unstructured files and creating a dSource.

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 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 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 using Delphix Admin credentials.

  2. Click Manage.
  3. Select Environments.

  4. Select the environment containing the unstructured files you want to link.
    If you have not already added the environment, see the Managing Unix Environments and Managing Windows Environments topics for more information about adding environments.

  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.
    For more information about adding environment users, see Managing Unix Environments and Managing Windows Environments.

  7. Click the Databases tab.

  8. Click the Plus icon next to Add Dataset Home.
    Adding the files as a dataset home will register the type and location of the files with the Delphix Engine.

  9. For Dataset Home Type, select Unstructured Files.

  10. Enter a Name to help identify the files.

  11. Enter the Path to the root directory of the files. On Windows, this can be a local path or an UNC name.

  12. Click the Check icon to save your dataset home. Scroll down the list of dataset homes to view and edit this dataset home if necessary.

  13. Click Manage.

  14. Select Datasets.

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

  16. 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.

  17. In the Add dSource wizard, select the files source.

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

  19. Click Advanced.

  20. 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.

    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.

     

  21. 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.

    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.

     

  22. Click Next.

  23. Enter a dSource Name.

  24. Select a Database Group for the dSource.
  25. 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. For more information, see the topics under Users, Permissions, and Policies.

  26. Select a SnapSync policy.

  27. Click Advanced to edit retention policies.

  28. Click Next.

  29. Enter any operations that should be run at Hooks during the sync process (or any future sync processes).
    For more information, see Customizing Unstructured Files with Hook Operations.

  30. Click Next.

  31. Review the dSource Configuration and Data Management information.
  32. 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 completed successfully, the files 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.

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