One vital aspect of business resilience is the ability to mirror a copy of what's on your System i to another System i machine. One product that can provide this service, as well as numerous other communications and systems management functions for multiple System i servers, is Bug Busters Software Engineering, Inc.'s Remote Software Facility (RSF).

Currently at release 8.1, RSF offers a wide range of functions useful to system administrators and programmers. With it, administrators and others can communicate with other System i servers and their users, send and retrieve spooled files and other objects between machines, monitor output queues, link message queues on multiple machines to each other, and download software fixes from selected vendors. In addition, programmers can customize RSF via built-in user exits, build their own tools with a feature that lets them call programs on remote machines and pass parameters to them, and take advantage of list, menu, and CL command interfaces to all RSF functions.

Object Replication Between Systems

RSF's optional high-availability (HA) features let administrators replicate database files, other library objects, IFS directories, user profiles, system values, network attributes, authorization lists, spooled files, and more between systems. Transmission can be achieved via TCP/IP or SDLC connections.

RSF lets administrators mirror files at the record or object level, replicate data areas at the byte or object level, and duplicate data queues at the byte level. Replication starts with administrators defining the mirroring attributes for each library by using the Change Library Sync Attributes command and then defining mirroring attributes for system information with the Change System Sync Attributes command.

In setting up RSF's HA functions, users can exclude individual and generic objects, replicate libraries and IFS directories to libraries and directories with different names on a target machine, and replicate to multiple machines concurrently. RSF also supports two-way mirroring, which lets users make and synchronize changes on both the source and target machines, and it supports multiple-way mirroring across a variety of network topologies.

RSF keeps error logs for review so administrators can be aware of any problems. A Work With Synchronization Attributes display (Figure 1) provides a bird's-eye view of the replication process. Administrators can use the display to edit synchronization attributes, review the last synchronization point for libraries and system-object types, see errors at a glance, monitor synchronization and replication activities, and submit synchronization jobs.

RSF can also synchronize libraries with cross-library dependencies, for example, if logical files are stored in a different library from the physical files they're based on. In addition, RSF can help users set up journaling operations, including establishment of multiple journals for a single library. At the user's option, RSF can automatically create and manage any journals needed for replication.

Multiple-System Task Simplification

RSF's non-HA features provide some other useful tools for system managers, particularly in multiple-system environments. For example, managers can broadcast objects to multiple remote machines in the time it takes to send to just one, poll remote machines and retrieve objects from each one, monitor and respond to system messages from any number of other System i servers via a central console, and send cover letters with data transmissions. The RSF Express feature lets users transfer objects graphically from a PC by using the product's GUI to drag and drop object icons from one window to another.

RSF also includes security features to prevent unauthorized use. Transmissions between systems are encrypted. Users can control access to functions on a target machine, based on the source machine's serial number or system name.

RSF provides HA and other intersystem services for a fraction of the cost of other HA solutions. If your budget is limited, but you want replication capabilities to support a business resiliency plan, RSF is worth a look.

John Ghrist is senior products editor for System iNEWS.

Solution Spotlight is a feature of System iNews that provides more in-depth coverage of significant System i products. Offerings are selected for Solution Spotlight by System iNews editorial staff, based on staff perception of the product as either new or innovative, or because the product is the subject of extensive discussions in Internet forums on SystemiNetwork.com and elsewhere.