Operating Mode
You can run the PowerCenter Integration Service in normal or safe operating mode. Normal mode provides full access to users with permissions and privileges to use a PowerCenter Integration Service. Safe mode limits user access to the PowerCenter Integration Service and workflow activity during environment migration or PowerCenter Integration Service maintenance activities.
Run the PowerCenter Integration Service in normal mode during daily operations. In normal mode, users with workflow privileges can run workflows and get session and workflow information for workflows assigned to the PowerCenter Integration Service.
You can configure the PowerCenter Integration Service to run in safe mode or to fail over in safe mode. When you enable the PowerCenter Integration Service to run in safe mode or when the PowerCenter Integration Service fails over in safe mode, it limits access and workflow activity to allow administrators to perform migration or maintenance activities.
Run the PowerCenter Integration Service in safe mode to control which workflows a PowerCenter Integration Service runs and which users can run workflows during migration and maintenance activities. Run in safe mode to verify a production environment, manage workflow schedules, or maintain a PowerCenter Integration Service. In safe mode, users that have the Administrator role for the associated PowerCenter Repository Service can run workflows and get information about sessions and workflows assigned to the PowerCenter Integration Service.
Normal Mode
When you enable a PowerCenter Integration Service to run in normal mode, the PowerCenter Integration Service begins running scheduled workflows. It also completes workflow failover for any workflows that failed while in safe mode, recovers client requests, and recovers any workflows configured for automatic recovery that failed in safe mode.
Users with workflow privileges can run workflows and get session and workflow information for workflows assigned to the PowerCenter Integration Service.
When you change the operating mode from safe to normal, the PowerCenter Integration Service begins running scheduled workflows and completes workflow failover and workflow recovery for any workflows configured for automatic recovery. You can use the Administrator tool to view the log events about the scheduled workflows that started, the workflows that failed over, and the workflows recovered by the PowerCenter Integration Service.
Safe Mode
In safe mode, access to the PowerCenter Integration Service is limited. You can configure the PowerCenter Integration Service to run in safe mode or to fail over in safe mode:
- •Enable in safe mode. Enable the PowerCenter Integration Service in safe mode to perform migration or maintenance activities. When you enable the PowerCenter Integration Service in safe mode, you limit access to the PowerCenter Integration Service.
When you enable a PowerCenter Integration Service in safe mode, you can choose to have the PowerCenter Integration Service complete, abort, or stop running workflows. In addition, the operating mode on failover also changes to safe.
- •Fail over in safe mode. Configure the PowerCenter Integration Service process to fail over in safe mode during migration or maintenance activities. When the PowerCenter Integration Service process fails over to a backup node, it restarts in safe mode and limits workflow activity and access to the PowerCenter Integration Service. The PowerCenter Integration Service restores the state of operations for any workflows that were running when the service process failed over, but does not fail over or automatically recover the workflows. You can manually recover the workflow.
After the PowerCenter Integration Service fails over in safe mode during normal operations, you can correct the error that caused the PowerCenter Integration Service process to fail over and restart the service in normal mode.
The behavior of the PowerCenter Integration Service when it fails over in safe mode is the same as when you enable the PowerCenter Integration Service in safe mode. All scheduled workflows, including workflows scheduled to run continuously or start on service initialization, do not run. The PowerCenter Integration Service does not fail over schedules or workflows, does not automatically recover workflows, and does not recover client requests.
Running the PowerCenter Integration Service in Safe Mode
This section describes the specific migration and maintenance activities that you can complete in the PowerCenter Workflow Manager and PowerCenter Workflow Monitor, the behavior of the PowerCenter Integration Service in safe mode, and the privileges required to run and monitor workflows in safe mode.
Performing Migration or Maintenance
You might want to run a PowerCenter Integration Service in safe mode for the following reasons:
- •Test a development environment. Run the PowerCenter Integration Service in safe mode to test a development environment before migrating to production. You can run workflows that contain session and command tasks to test the environment. Run the PowerCenter Integration Service in safe mode to limit access to the PowerCenter Integration Service when you run the test sessions and command tasks.
- •Manage workflow schedules. During migration, you can unschedule workflows that only run in a development environment. You can enable the PowerCenter Integration Service in safe mode, unschedule the workflow, and then enable the PowerCenter Integration Service in normal mode. After you enable the service in normal mode, the workflows that you unscheduled do not run.
- •Troubleshoot the PowerCenter Integration Service. Configure the PowerCenter Integration Service to fail over in safe mode and troubleshoot errors when you migrate or test a production environment configured for high availability. After the PowerCenter Integration Service fails over in safe mode, you can correct the error that caused the PowerCenter Integration Service to fail over.
- •Perform maintenance on the PowerCenter Integration Service. When you perform maintenance on a PowerCenter Integration Service, you can limit the users who can run workflows. You can enable the PowerCenter Integration Service in safe mode, change PowerCenter Integration Service properties, and verify the PowerCenter Integration Service functionality before allowing other users to run workflows. For example, you can use safe mode to test changes to the paths for PowerCenter Integration Service files for PowerCenter Integration Service processes.
Workflow Tasks
The following table describes the tasks that users with the Administrator role can perform when the PowerCenter Integration Service runs in safe mode:
Task | Task Description |
|---|
Run workflows. | Start, stop, abort, and recover workflows. The workflows may contain session or command tasks required to test a development or production environment. |
Unschedule workflows. | Unschedule workflows in the PowerCenter Workflow Manager. |
Monitor PowerCenter Integration Service properties. | Connect to the PowerCenter Integration Service in the PowerCenter Workflow Monitor. Get PowerCenter Integration Service details and monitor information. |
Monitor workflow and task details. | Connect to the PowerCenter Integration Service in the PowerCenter Workflow Monitor and get task, session, and workflow details. |
Recover workflows. | Manually recover failed workflows. |
PowerCenter Integration Service Behavior
Safe mode affects PowerCenter Integration Service behavior for the following workflow and high availability functionality:
- •Workflow schedules. Scheduled workflows remain scheduled, but they do not run if the PowerCenter Integration Service is running in safe mode. This includes workflows scheduled to run continuously and run on service initialization.
Workflow schedules do not fail over when a PowerCenter Integration Service fails over in safe mode. For example, you configure a PowerCenter Integration Service to fail over in safe mode. The PowerCenter Integration Service process fails for a workflow scheduled to run five times, and it fails over after it runs the workflow three times. The PowerCenter Integration Service does not complete the remaining workflows when it fails over to the backup node. The PowerCenter Integration Service completes the workflows when you enable the PowerCenter Integration Service in safe mode.
- •Workflow failover. When a PowerCenter Integration Service process fails over in safe mode, workflows do not fail over. The PowerCenter Integration Service restores the state of operations for the workflow. When you enable the PowerCenter Integration Service in normal mode, the PowerCenter Integration Service fails over the workflow and recovers it based on the recovery strategy for the workflow.
- •Workflow recovery.The PowerCenter Integration Service does not recover workflows when it runs in safe mode or when the operating mode changes from normal to safe.
The PowerCenter Integration Service recovers a workflow that failed over in safe mode when you change the operating mode from safe to normal, depending on the recovery strategy for the workflow. For example, you configure a workflow for automatic recovery and you configure the PowerCenter Integration Service to fail over in safe mode. If the PowerCenter Integration Service process fails over, the workflow is not recovered while the PowerCenter Integration Service runs in safe mode. When you enable the PowerCenter Integration Service in normal mode, the workflow fails over and the PowerCenter Integration Service recovers it.
You can manually recover the workflow if the workflow fails over in safe mode. You can recover the workflow after the resilience timeout for the PowerCenter Integration Service expires.
- •Client request recovery. The PowerCenter Integration Service does not recover client requests when it fails over in safe mode. For example, you stop a workflow and the PowerCenter Integration Service process fails over before the workflow stops. The PowerCenter Integration Service process does not recover your request to stop the workflow when the workflow fails over.
When you enable the PowerCenter Integration Service in normal mode, it recovers the client requests.
Configuring the PowerCenter Integration Service Operating Mode
You can use the Administrator tool to configure the PowerCenter Integration Service to run in safe mode, run in normal mode, or run in safe or normal mode on failover. To configure the operating mode on failover, you must have the high availability option.
Note: When you change the operating mode on fail over from safe to normal, the change takes effect immediately.
1. In the Administrator tool, click the Manage tab > Services and Nodes view.
2. In the Domain Navigator, select a PowerCenter Integration Service.
3. Click the Properties view.
4. Go to the Operating Mode Configuration section and click Edit.
5. To run the PowerCenter Integration Service in normal mode, set OperatingMode to Normal.
To run the service in safe mode, set OperatingMode to Safe.
6. To run the service in normal mode on failover, set OperatingModeOnFailover to Normal.
To run the service in safe mode on failover, set OperatingModeOnFailover to Safe.
7. Click OK.
8. Restart the PowerCenter Integration Service.
The PowerCenter Integration Service starts in the selected mode. The service status at the top of the content pane indicates when the service has restarted.