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Administering
Learn how to administer the product.
Administering HCL VersionVault MultiSite
Learn to configure and manage the HCL VersionVault MultiSite environment to support development activities at different locations.
Implementation planning
Before you install and use HCL VersionVaultHCL Compass MultiSite, you need to plan your implementation.
MultiSite use model
There are different aspects of your MultiSite use model that affect the implementation and deployment of a MultiSite environment.
Mastership strategy
Mastership impact on release and development branches
Mastership restrictions impact how you design your release and development branching strategy.

Administering
Learn how to administer the product.
- Administering HCL VersionVault
  Learn about performing administrative tasks for an HCL VersionVault community including managing software licenses, user and group accounts, VersionVault server and client hosts, shared data, and the network that connects them.
- Administering platforms for HCL VersionVault
  Learn how to perform HCL VersionVault administrative tasks on supported platforms.
- Administering HCL VersionVault MultiSite
  Learn to configure and manage the HCL VersionVault MultiSite environment to support development activities at different locations.
  - Introduction
    HCL VersionVault MultiSite adds a powerful capability to HCL VersionVault. With MultiSite, developers at different locations can use the same HCL VersionVault versioned object base (VOB). For HCL VersionVault, each location (site) has its own copy (replica) of the VOB. At any time, changes made in one replica can be sent in update packets to other replicas. You can manage replicas by using the command-line tools.
  - MultiSite operation
  - Implementation planning
    Before you install and use HCL VersionVaultHCL Compass MultiSite, you need to plan your implementation.
    - MultiSite installation
      MultiSite is installed as an optional product component during the HCL VersionVaultHCL Compass installation.
    - MultiSite licensing
      A MultiSite license is required to access an object in a replica by a MultiSite command or GUI, by an HCL VersionVaultHCL Compass command or GUI, or by a standard operating system command.
    - Shipping server use with HCL VersionVault
      The shipping server is installed when you install HCL VersionVault MultiSite.
    - HCL VersionVault use model
      Before development work is started in any VOB, the project manager and administrator must define the HCL VersionVault use model. For example, the project manager must specify the branches, labels, and triggers that are used for development and integration work.
    - MultiSite use model
      There are different aspects of your MultiSite use model that affect the implementation and deployment of a MultiSite environment.
      - Type of administration
        You must decide how much control the individual sites will have over their replicas. Your choices are centralized administration, individual administration, or some combination of the two.
      - MultiSite, time, and time zones
        In MultiSite, time stamps are stored in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) and are printed to reflect the local time.
      - Time rules in config specs
        Time rules in config specs are not absolute. The version selected by a time rule can change after an update packet is imported at your replica.
      - Mastership strategy
        Mastership impact on release and development branches
        Mastership restrictions impact how you design your release and development branching strategy.
        Mastership impact on –mkbranch statements in config specs
        You can use auto-make-branch rules in config specs only if the current replica masters the branch type in the rule.
        Default and explicit mastership specification
        You can use auto-make-branch rules in config specs only if the current replica masters the branch type in the rule.
      - Identities and permissions strategy for VOB replicas
        A replica can preserve identities and permissions, preserve permissions only, or preserve neither identities nor permissions (nonpreserving).
      - Managing rolemaps, policies, and object-rolemap bindings
        There are several administrative consequences arising from the differences between policy mastership and rolemap mastership, and also from the replication mode of the VOB family.
      - Group selection in replicas according to feature level
      - Synchronization
        The main factors to consider when planning replica synchronization are method, scheduling, and pattern.
      - Synchronization pattern
        The synchronization pattern for a family defines which replicas exchange update packets and the direction of exchange.
      - Synchronization schedule
        The synchronization schedule for a family defines when replicas in the family send and receive updates. The schedule is affected by many factors, including the rate of development at different sites, the connections among sites, and whether you use MultiSite as a backup strategy.
      - Use of MultiSite for VOB backups
        You can use MultiSite as part of your VOB backup strategy.
      - Scrubbing parameters for replicas
        When a command makes a change to a replica, an entry is recorded in the replica’s operation log. Also, when you export an update packet, an export_sync record is created for each target replica. These records are used by the recoverpacket command to reset a replica’s epoch number matrix.
      - Path names that contain spaces
        On computers running Windows™, if the path name of a receipt handler or a shipping order contains spaces, DOS short name resolution must be enabled for the file system on which the receipt handler or shipping order is located. This property is enabled by default. If this property is not enabled, the shipping server cannot invoke the receipt handler or process the shipping order.
    - Responsibilities of MultiSite administrators
      The MultiSite administrator must perform the tasks described in this topic.
  - MultiSite command set
    This section summarizes the commands for HCL VersionVault MultiSite and HCL VersionVault that display HCL VersionVault MultiSite information. There are a series of MultiSite commands and API functions that display or modify MultiSite information.
  - Packet transportation methods and configuration
    The method you choose for transporting packets between replicas depends on connectivity. If your replicas do not have IP connectivity, you must use a file-based transport method. If your replicas have connectivity, you can use the store-and-forward facility.
  - Feature levels
    Feature levels allow different replica hosts in a VOB family to run different versions of HCL VersionVault. You can raise the feature level of either a single replica host or an entire VOB family.
  - Creating VOB replicas
    Before creating a replica, you must make decisions about branching, mastership, identities and permissions preservation, and method of packet delivery.
  - Replica synchronization
    Replica synchronization uses the same export-transport-import procedure that is used during replica creation.
  - Administering replicas
  - Using MultiSite for VOB backup and interoperability
    You can use HCL VersionVault MultiSite to back up a VOB and to provide access to VOBs in a heterogeneous network.
  - Troubleshooting MultiSite operations
    When you encounter a situation where running an HCL VersionVault MultiSite command produces an unexpected result, or produces a warning or error message, the information in this section can assist you in troubleshooting the problem.

Mastership impact on release and development branches

Mastership restrictions impact how you design your release and development branching strategy.

A common branching strategy is to use a single release branch (or integration branch) and multiple development branches. The project manager or developer merges changes from the development branch to the integration branch. You can use this strategy with MultiSite, but the merges to the integration branch must occur at the replica that masters the integration branch.

Another approach is to use a single release integration branch, multiple site integration branches, and multiple developer branches. Developers or project managers at a replica merge to the site integration branch, and the project manager at the replica that masters the release integration branch merges to that branch from the site integration branches.

You may need to allow developers to transfer and request mastership of branches and branch types. Developers at different sites may have to use the same branch type (for example, because an element’s versions cannot be merged, or because each site must merge its own work to the integration branch). A branch or branch type’s mastership cannot be shared by multiple replicas; instead, there are two models for transferring mastership between replicas:

Model 1. Create a schedule that determines when each replica masters the branch or branch type. Create scripts to transfer mastership.

Model 2. Give the developers at the sites the ability to request mastership of the branch or branch type. For more information about this model, see Implementing requests for mastership.

Note: Do not use mastership transfer models as substitutes for good branching and merging rules. Enabling requests for mastership involves more planning and setup than implementing a strategy for branching and merging. Also, if you can develop in parallel, planned branching and merging is safer than allowing developers to request mastership and merge their own work randomly.

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