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Support for Sybase ASE with Replication Server Version 16.0 on RHEL 8 available?

  • 16 March 2022
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Hi guys,
in BOL, I wasn’t able to find anything regarding Sybase Replcation support.

Is the, somehow, possible to backup consistently with the recent versions of Commvault software ?

best regards
Klaus

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Best answer by Stuart Painter 31 March 2022, 08:08

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Hi @johanningk 

Thanks for the question, I’ve done some research in BOL:

Sybase: System Requirements

Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise 16.0 SP03 PL07 and More Recent Versions

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.x

  • x86
  • x64
  • Compatible processors

 

SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise 16.0, Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise 15.7/15.5/15.0.3 64-Bit

[Red Hat 8 not supported]

Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOS 7.x with glibc 2.17.x or a more recent version

  • x86
  • x64
  • Compatible processors

 

As you say, there isn’t any mention of Sybase ASE with Replication Server”, have you performed any testing to see if replication server feature adds any complexity?

I can follow up internally to see what implications there are and if this affects supported versions.

Thanks,

Stuart

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Hi Stuart,
I didn’t start any testing yet.
But since transaction log handling is different, compared to a standalone or OS clustered Instance, it might require some kind of awareness for this feature.

On Oracle dataguard for example, the logs are not delete, as long as still required for replication. This is different.

Do you think it is worth trying ? Hmmm.

Thanks,
Klaus

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Hi @johanningk 

I have spoken with some people here in Unix/DB support and we’re drawing a comparison to Oracle DataGuard.

I will need to follow up internally with Development to get some clarity for you.

Thanks,

Stuart

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Hi @johanningk 

Development have responded after briefly checking some available SAP  documentation:

https://help.sap.com/viewer/product/SAP_REPLICATION_SERVER/16.0.3.0/en-US.

Since Replication Server is a feature installed on top of Sybase ASE, this should work fine with Commvault, however this hasn’t been tested.

What are your requirements for support here, specifically with respect to the replication server aspect?

Are you looking to add a primary/replica/standby?

Are you able to test this out protection on a test client using replication server as Commvault is built and tested on Sybase ASE database only.

Thanks,

Stuart

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Hi @Stuart Painter ,

sorry for the late reply….

This is completely understandable and of course sensible for database backups.

However, Sybase Replication Server (though being an additional product sitting upon a normal ASE) has certain restrictions regarding the correct handling of defined well-known markers inside the transaction log of an ASE database.

Improper handling of these markers destroys the replication functionality.

 

Therefore the questions:

Can Commvault assure that operating the “Commvault iDataAgent for Sybase” on the databases of an ASE containing replicated databases does not interfere with the running replication system in every configuration ?

Or are there perhaps special configuration hints to be followed to assure this ?

How is the procedure to set up or resync a Sybase replicate database (iow. the destination of a replication) in conjunction with “iDataAgent” ?

Thanks,

Klaus

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Hi @johanningk 

Commvault has not been tested with Sybase Replication server, so officially this isn’t supported.

If you have a specific use case and would like to explore using Sybase Replication Server with Commvault and any specific requirements that may be needed, please open a support case.

We can do some initial investigations and potentially open a CMR to introduce support for this feature in future.

Thanks,

Stuart

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Thanks Stuart,
we will discuss this internally and probably have to look for a different method to backup the Replication Cluster.

best regards
Klaus