Copying a Mirror Replication Agent configuration

When you create a new Mirror Replication Agent instance, you can copy the configuration of an existing instance by invoking ma_admin with the -c option and -f option.

The complete syntax is:

ma_admin -c new_inst -p port_num [-f old_inst]

where:

new_inst is the name of the new Mirror Replication Agent instance.

port_num is the client socket port number for the administration port of the new instance.

old_inst is the name of an existing Mirror Replication Agent instance whose configuration you want to copy for the new instance.

If you do not specify the -f option, the new Mirror Replication Agent instance is created with a default configuration.

For information about creating a Mirror Replication Agent instance with the default configuration, see “Creating a Mirror Replication Agent instance”.

Use the following procedure to create a new Mirror Replication Agent instance, based on the configuration of an existing instance.

You must set the SYBASE environment before you invoke the Mirror Replication Agent ma_admin utility. For more information, see “Preparing to use the utilities”.

To copy an existing Mirror Replication Agent instance configuration to a new instance

Open an operating system command window on the Mirror Replication Agent host machine.

At the operating system prompt, navigate to the Mirror Replication Agent bin directory.

On Microsoft Windows platforms:
```
cd %SYBASE%\MA-15_0\bin
```
where %SYBASE% is the path to the Mirror Replication Agent installation directory.
On UNIX platforms:
```
cd $SYBASE/MA-15_0/bin
```
where $SYBASE is the path to the Mirror Replication Agent installation directory.

In the Mirror Replication Agent bin directory, invoke the ma_admin utility to create a new Mirror Replication Agent instance whose configuration is based on the configuration of an existing instance:

ma_admin -c new_inst -p port_num -f old_inst

where:

new_inst is the name of the new Mirror Replication Agent instance.
port_num is the client socket port number for the administration port of the new instance.
old_inst is the name of an existing Mirror Replication Agent instance whose configuration you want to copy for the new instance.

After you invoke ma_admin, the operating system prompt returns when the new Mirror Replication Agent instance is created.

Verify that the Mirror Replication Agent instance was created properly using one of the following methods:

Invoke ma_admin with the -v option, and specify the name of the new Mirror Replication Agent instance:
```
ma_admin -v new_inst
```
where new_inst is the name of the new Mirror Replication Agent instance.

When you verify a Mirror Replication Agent instance with the -v option, the utility verifies the instance by checking for an instance directory with the specified instance name under the Mirror Replication Agent base directory, and checking all of the subdirectories under the Mirror Replication Agent instance directory.
Invoke ma_admin with the -l (lowercase L) option:
```
ma_admin -l
```
The -l option lists all verifiable Mirror Replication Agent instances, which should include the one you just created.
As an alternative to using the ma_admin utility, you can use operating system commands to verify that the Mirror Replication Agent instance directories were created correctly.

When you create a new Mirror Replication Agent instance and copy the configuration of an existing instance, some configuration parameters are set to default values, and they are not copied from the existing configuration.

The values of the following configuration parameters are not copied from an existing configuration:

admin_port

log_directory

pds_database_name

pds_datasource_name

pds_host_name

pds_password

pds_port_number

pds_retry_count

pds_retry_timeout

pds_server_name

pds_username

rs_source_db

rs_source_ds

rasd_backup_dir

rasd_database

rasd_trace_log_dir

rasd_tran_log

rasd_tran_log_mirror

asa_port

For more information about Mirror Replication Agent configuration parameters, see the Mirror Activator Mirror Replication Agent Reference Manual.

After you create a Mirror Replication Agent instance, you can use the ma utility to start the instance so that you can administer and configure it.

Sybase recommends that you create a user login name and password to replace the default “sa” login and secure access to the administration port, immediately after you create a Mirror Replication Agent instance. For more information see “Creating the Mirror Replication Agent administrator login”.