Performing an online purge

This topic describes how to perform an online purge.

Overview

An Online Purge (in the Administration group) allows administrators to purge deleted views and data from a server while it is running. A purge process deletes unwanted data from the database and removes deleted archives from the vault. This operation can be performed only if the server configuration is running.

Online Purge contains a simple Start/Stop button and a log content pane in the lower half which displays the progress of the purge as it deletes the data, and which can be refreshed at any time. The Online Purge process can be started and stopped using the Online Purge button in the Server Administration tool. You can start and stop Online Purge on a remote StarTeam Server as well as a local StarTeam Server.

Using Online Purge while StarTeam Server is running prevents the costly downtime of an Offline Purge, which could be anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Online Purge not only eliminates this costly downtime, but is much faster than an offline Purge.

In Online Purge, newly deleted data will be available to purge only after a Server restart. Online Purge is an interactive process which can be stopped and restarted anytime when StarTeam Server is running. Online Purge records its current execution state and provides the ability to restart from the exact point where it stopped. After StarTeam Server starts, Online Purge has to be restarted manually.

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Starting and stopping an online purge

This section describes how to purge deleted views from a server configuration when the server is running. This is called an Online Purge. To use Online Purge, you must already have data that has been deleted from one or more views. Online Purge only purges data that has been deleted from a server.

Online Purge is started and stopped from the Server Administration tool. The Online Purge tab in the Server Administration tool enables application administrators to remove deleted views from a server configuration database and vault and rebuild the indexes in that database. If the deleted view has items that are active in another view, these items are not deleted. For example, if two views share a file and you delete one view, the shared file is not deleted. It is recommended that you perform a purge after deleting one or more views from a project.

The Online Purge operation takes much less time to complete than an Offline Purge if a large number of records need to be deleted or moved.

Note: Before you start any purge process, be sure to backup the database before using the purge feature since the process is irreversible. You should also start the server configuration from which the view was deleted at least once before using the purge feature. Purge is available for Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, and PostgreSQL databases. You must have installed the database client application on the same computer as the Server for the purge to work properly. This operation can be performed only if the server configuration is running.

To begin the purge:

  1. Open the Server Administration tool.
  2. In the Servers list, select the server which contains the data you want to purge.

    Note: You must access the Server Administration tool on the computer where the Server is installed.

  3. Click the Online Purge icon in the Administration section at the bottom left of Server Administration window.

    This opens the Online Purge tab on the right side of the Server Administration window.

    Note: Please note the information at the top of the Online Purge tab.

  4. Press the Start button to start the Online Purge.

    The Start button is only available if the Status is Ready. Once the Online Purge starts, the button changes to a Stop button, and the Status changes to In Progress.

    As the Online Purge proceeds, a log of what is being deleted is displayed below the button. You can refresh the log at any time to see the current status of the purge.

    Note: If the Server is stopped for any reason during an Online Purge, you will have to restart the server, and manually restart the Online Purge. The Purge will start over from the beginning.

  5. If you need to pause the Online Purge, press the Stop button.

    Note: Stopping the Online Purge pauses the process until you start it again by pressing the Start button. If the server has been running during this time, the Online Purge will continue from the place it was stopped.

When the Online Purge is complete, the button returns to a disabled Start button, and the Status is “Completed”.

Note: You cannot start another Online Purge on this server until more data is deleted from the server.

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