Creating a Replication Agent instance

You can create a Replication Agent instance at any time after the Sybase Replication Agent software is installed by invoking ra_admin with the -c option or using the Administrator GUI utility. See, “Using the Administrator GUI utility”.

The complete syntax is:

ra_admin -c new_inst -p port_num {-t database|-f old_inst}

where:

new_inst is the name of the new Replication Agent instance you are creating.

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

database is the type of data server that contains the primary database.

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

See “Copying a Replication Agent configuration” for information about creating a Replication Agent instance based on the configuration of an existing instance.

Use the following procedure to create a Replication Agent instance.

You must set the SYBASE environment before you invoke the Sybase Replication Agent ra_admin utility. See “Setting the SYBASE environment” for more information.

To create a Replication Agent instance using the command line

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

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

On Microsoft Windows platforms, enter:
```
cd %SYBASE%\RAX-12_6\bin
```
where %SYBASE% is the path to the Sybase Replication Agent installation directory.
On UNIX platforms, enter:
```
cd $SYBASE/RAX-12_6/bin
```
where $SYBASE is the path to the Sybase Replication Agent installation directory.

In the Sybase Replication Agent bin directory, invoke the ra_admin utility to create a new Replication Agent instance:

ra_admin -c new_inst -p port_num -t database

where:

new_inst is the name of the Replication Agent instance.
port_num is the client socket port number for the administration port of the new instance.
database identifies the type of data server that the primary database resides in:
- ibmudb – DB2 Universal Database
- informix – Informix Dynamic Server
- mssql – Microsoft SQL Server (valid only on Microsoft Windows platforms)
- oracle – Oracle database server

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

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

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

When you verify a 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 Sybase Replication Agent base directory, and checking all of the subdirectories under the Replication Agent instance directory.
Invoke ra_admin 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 that the Replication Agent instance directories were created correctly (as shown in Figure 2-1).

After you create a Replication Agent instance, you can use the ra utility to start the instance so that you can administer and configure it. See “Starting the Sybase Replication Agent” for more information.

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 Replication Agent instance. See “Creating the Replication Agent administrator login” for more information.