Re: ONLINE v.4 logical logs problems

In article <Pine.LNX.3.95.961126161840.926A-100000@nb5r16.new.ox.ac.uk>, Stephen Walmsley <sjw@nb5r16.new.ox.ac.uk> writes > >We're running Informix-Online v.4. The database is about 7 gigs and >consists of several hundred tables, many of which are >1m rows and one >which is >13m rows. > >Whenever I try to drop or create an index on a large loaded table the >engine completely screws up because it creates a transaction for the >process and fills up the logical logs. When they inevitably become full, >it doesn't back out of the transaction, like you might think it should, >instead it falls over and asks for a backup to be carried out to clear the >logical logs. Trouble is, it can't do the backup because the engine has >stopped dead. > >Whenever this has happened I've had to recreate the entire system from >backups. It has happened when I've done a query which Informix has thought >it can speed up by creating a temporary index. > >Any of you have experience with this problem? When it next happens, is Yes. >there anything I can do without having to restore from tapes, which takes >about 5 hours? Upgrading is something I'd like to avoid as I've been told Yes - Informix have an internal tool which allows them to remove anything from the logical logs later than the most recent checkpoint. When Online then starts any transactions which were active during the checkpoint get rolled back. Not a nice solution and not sure that the focing back to most recent checkpoint involves rolling back things (I doubt so) which means you probably get a logically corrupt database i.e.. partially complete transactions. Note: People at customer sites (i.e. the customers people not Informix's people) have been fired for allowing Informix to dial in and use this undocumented tool. The real answer is to increase the size of your logical logs. >that there are worse bugs with the later versions. > >TIA, > >Stephen > Not so - Online 5.07.UC1 is stable and 7.xis probably reasonably stable by now (7.10->7.11->7.11 (over 140 bug fixes)->7.12->7.13-> 7.20->7.21 plenty of bug fixes). I would go to 5.07 or if you can wait a few months 7.21. -- David Williams