You can create a new Replication Agent instance at any time after the Replication Agent software is installed by invoking the ra_admin command with the -c option.
The complete syntax of the ra_admin command with the -c option is:
ra_admin -c new_inst -p port {-t database|-f old_inst} -s
where new_inst is the name of the new Replication Agent instance you are creating, port is the client socket port number for the administration port of the new Replication Agent instance, database is the type of database server that contains the primary database, and old_inst is the name of an existing Replication Agent instance whose configuration you want to duplicate for the new Replication Agent instance.
You must specify either the -t option to identify the type of the database server or the -f option to copy an existing configuration. If you do not specify the -f option, the new Replication Agent instance is created with a default configuration.
When a Replication Agent instance is created, the configuration file for that instance is created automatically. The configuration file is named inst_name.cfg, where inst_name is the name of the Replication Agent instance. The configuration file resides in the %SYBASE%\rax-12_5\inst_name directory, where %SYBASE% is the Replication Agent installation directory.
Use the following procedure to create a new Replication Agent instance.
See the Sybase Replication Agent Installation Guide for
information on how to create a Replication Agent instance as part of the
installation process.
To create a Replication Agent instance
Open a window with an operating system prompt.
Use the following command to make the Replication Agent bin directory the current directory:
cd \%SYBASE%\rax-12_5\bin
where %SYBASE% is the Replication Agent installation directory.
At the operating system prompt, invoke the ra_admin utility to create a new Replication Agent instance.
If you want to create a new Replication Agent instance with a default configuration, issue the following command:
ra_admin -c new_inst -p port -t database
where new_inst is the name of the new Replication Agent instance, port is the client socket port number for the administration port of the new Replication Agent instance, and database is the type of database server in which the primary database resides.
If you want to create a new Replication Agent instance whose configuration is based on the configuration of an existing Replication Agent instance, issue the following command:
ra_admin -c new_inst -p port -f old_inst
where new_inst is the name of the new Replication Agent instance, port is the client socket port number for the administration port of the new Replication Agent instance, and old_inst is the name of the existing Replication Agent instance whose configuration will be duplicated for the new instance.
After you invoke the ra_admin utility, the operating system prompt returns when the new Replication Agent instance is created.
Verify that the new Replication Agent instance was created properly using one of the following methods:
Invoke the ra_admin utility with the -v option specifying the name of the new Replication Agent instance:
ra_admin -v new_inst
where new_inst is the name of the newly created Replication Agent instance.
Invoke the ra_admin utility with the -l option:
ra_admin -l
The -l option lists all verifiable Replication Agent instances, which should include the new one you just created.
As an alternative to using the ra_admin utility, you can use operating system commands to verify the existence of the correct Replication Agent instance directory structure (shown in Figure 3-1).
After you create a new Replication Agent instance, you can use the ra utility or the Administrator GUI to start the instance so it can be administered and configured.
