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Procedures for a GroupWise Top-down Rebuild

Author: Bob Jonkman bjonkman@sobac.com

Date: 9 December 2003

Intended Audience: GroupWise Administrators

References: Novell Knowledgebase Technical Information Documents:

TID 10070541 < http://support.novell.com/cgi-bin/search/searchtid.cgi?/10070541.htm >

TID 10008654 < http://support.novell.com/cgi-bin/search/searchtid.cgi?/10008654.htm >

TID 10026860 < http://support.novell.com/cgi-bin/search/searchtid.cgi?/10026860.htm >

A Top-down Rebuild of the GroupWise domain and postoffice databases is needed when anomalies exist in these databases. End users will experience this as people with mailboxes not visible in the addressbook, people in different postoffices see different entries in the addressbook, incorrect entries are seen in the addressbook even though the ConsoleOne entries are correct. Administrators will experience this as difficulties in synchronizing user entries in ConsoleOne. Top-down rebuilds are also recommended after a server abend or out-of-disk-space conditions that may have compromised the integrity of the databases.

While a Top-down Rebuild normally will only help the GroupWise system, it is recommended to have a backup of the system before performing the rebuild since there is a very slight possibility of data loss. Also it can be time consuming, so make sure it is done with good reason.

Top-Down Rebuild Procedures

  1. Make a copy of the Primary Domain

  2. Ensure the Primary Domain is valid

    If there are errors or corruption in the Primary Domain they could be propagated to the entire system during a top-down rebuild. To ensure the Primary Domain is valid:

    1. Be sure ConsoleOne is connected to the Primary Domain (look for the "connector" on the Domain icon). To connect, highlight the Primary Domain, right-click, select "Connect".
    2. Right-click on the Primary Domain, select "GroupWise Utilities, System Maintenance", select "Validate", click "Run".
    3. If there is an error during the Validate process the database needs to be recovered. See Primary Domain Recovery Procedures, below.
    4. If there was no error during the Validate process open the file RL.DBG (located in the Domain directory). GroupWise objects listed in this file represent records in the Domain database that do not correspond to a mailbox. These records may still exist after a delete or rename, in which case they do not indicate there is an error. Otherwise, they indicate a synchronization error.

      To fix records indicating synchronization errors:

      1. Highlight the object in the GroupWise view (if you cannot find the object in GroupWise View you may have to connect to the Secondary Domain that contains the object).
      2. Right-click on the object, select "GroupWise Utilities, Synchronize". A window pops up "Synchronize will refresh [...] Proceed with synchronization?", Click "Yes".

  3. Ensure the Secondary Domains are valid

    For each of the Secondary Domains perform the following steps:

    1. Connect ConsoleOne to the Secondary Domain.
    2. Run the "GroupWise Utilities, System Maintenance, Validate" process.
    3. If there are errors in the Validate process then the Secondary Domain needs to be rebuilt; nothing further can be done with this domain. Do not perform the following step, "Synchronize the Primary Domain with the Secondaries", for this domain. See also TID 10026860.
    4. If there are no errors in the Validate process open the RL.DBG file, and check and synchronize the listed objects using the steps above.

  4. Synchronize the Primary Domain with the Secondary Domains

    Do not perform this step if the Secondary Domain has not passed validation, otherwise you may introduce corruption from the damaged Secondary Domain into the Primary Domain.

    Connect to the Primary Domain. For each Secondary domain:

    1. Highlight the Secondary Domain.
    2. Right-click, select "GroupWise Utilities, System Maintenance", select "Synch Primary with Secondary", click "Run".

  5. Quench the GroupWise system

    1. Shut off all MTAs, POAs and Gateway processes on all servers.
    2. Disable logins on the Primary Domain server.
    3. Determine which workstations are still connected to the Primary Domain.
    4. Disconnect all connections to the Primary Domain except the workstation on which the Primary Domain is to be rebuilt.

  6. Rebuild the Primary Domain

    1. Make another copy of the Primary Domain.
    2. Using ConsoleOne right-click the Primary Domain, select "GroupWise Utilities, System Maintenance", select "Rebuild Database", click "Run".
    3. When complete, select "Rebuild Indexes for Listing", click "Run".
    4. When complete, click "Close".

  7. Re-check that the Primary Domain is valid

  8. Rebuild the Secondary Domains

    All the Secondary Domains can be re-built concurrently. For each Secondary Domain:

    1. Make a copy of the domain database.
    2. Highlight the Secondary Domain.
    3. Right-click, select "GroupWise Utilities, System Maintenance", select "Rebuild Database", click "Run".
    4. When complete, select "Rebuild Indexes for Listing", click "Run".
    5. When complete, select "Close".

    If there is any doubt about the integrity of the database (ie. After a server abend or an out-of-disk-space condition) re-check that the Secondary Domains are valid.

  9. Rebuild the Postoffice WPHost databases

    The postoffice databases can be rebuilt concurrently after the host Secondary Domain rebuild is complete. To perform a Postoffice WPHost database rebuild:

    1. Make a copy of the Postoffice WPHost database.
    2. Connect to the Secondary Domain for this Postoffice.
    3. Highlight the Postoffice.
    4. Right-click, select "GroupWise Utilities, System Maintenance", select "Rebuild Database", click "Run".
    5. When complete, select "Rebuild Indexes for Listing", click "Run".
    6. When complete, click "Close".

  10. Restart the GroupWise system

    Re-start the GroupWise system only when all rebuilds are complete.

    1. For each server run the GRPWISE.NCF script from the server console.
    2. Enable logins on the Primary Domain server.
    3. Verify validity of the Primary Domain.

For a complete top-down-to-bottom rebuild the message and user database need to be rebuilt as well [ TID 10008654]. If such a complete rebuild is necessary please see the TID for procedures.


( Primary Domain Recovery Procedures are not yet written)