HowReplication Conflict Analyzer (RCA) Works
Replication conflicts are easy to see in a view. But what about across many views in many databases. How do you figure out which is the "correct" information? How do you see changes to hidden fields on the form? What if you need to talk to someone else to review needed changes. What do you show them?
The answer to all of these questions is "The Replication Conflict Log" created by the Sentinel. It highlights any replication conflict it finds in your databases, and places doclinks to both the Parent Document and the replica conflict for quick review. At that point, you can modify or delete documents to finish the job of resolving the conflicts.
Types of discrepancies that Sentinel RCA handles:
1. Fields contain different values (most common problem)
2. Fields contain different data types (text vs. number most common).
3. Parent (or Conflict) does not contain a field that the other document does contain.
Typical Uses
1. Notes Administrator can regularly check out and resolve replication conflicts, all from one place (the Replication Conflict Log).
2. A database designer can review replication conflicts to modify the database design to minimize future conflicts.
Points to Remember
1. Orphaned replica conflicts show up as Notes errors, with a logged message.
2. View Name does not impact which documents are analyzed. It is used solely for DocLinks.
Logging Replication Conflicts
To log replication conflicts, compose a task, 3. Administrative Tools \1. Replication Conflict Analyzer, in the Sentinel Task database. Select the Server and Database on which to run the analyzer. Select a view. This is the name of the view in the source Notes database. This view will be used for setting DocLinks. All replication conflicts will be discovered, whether or not they exist in this view.
Reference Fields
Reference Fields appear on the log to save the step of reviewing the actual replication conflict document (which can be done by clicking on the supplied doclink). You can list any fields that may appear on the documents. Incorrectly typing a field name will not cause any problems. An example is Customer Name. Although that may not be in "conflict", it will save checking back every time.
When the Replication Conflict Analyzer runs, two logs are created:
1. A Sentinel run log that records the number of conflicts found. This is the normal Sentinel Log. (View 3. Logs \1. Messages by Time).
2. A Replica Conflict Log (View 3. Logs\2. Replica Conflicts).
This log creates one document for each pair of replica conflict documents. The log contains two DocLinks, one to the parent document and one to the replica conflict. Each field discrepancy is then listed. The log will show values from both the Parent Document and the Replica Conflict.
Sample Log Field "RECNO" different data types.
Field "A" different values. Replica Conflict
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Parent Document
Frank
Field "C" different values. Replica Conflict
cccccccccccccccccccccccc Parent Document
ccccccc
Field "B" different values. Replica Conflict
NEW CHANGED B2 Parent Document
OLD B
Field "$Revisions" different values. Replica Conflict
12/29/95 05:20:52 PM Parent Document
12/29/95 05:20:52 PM,12/29/95 05:25:49 PM,12/29/95 05:27:33 PM