Quick Start for HVR - Greenplum

This quick start guide helps you to get started with HVR for replicating data into Greenplum database.

To proceed with this replication you must have basic understanding about HVR's architecture and terminologies like Hub, Location, Channel, Location Groups, Actions etc.

The example here demonstrates how to replicate tables from one Oracle schema (source location) to a Greenplum database (target location).

Before proceeding with this example ensure that the requirements for using HVR with Oracle and Greenplum are met.

For information about access privileges and advanced configuration changes required for performing replication using Oracle and Greenplum, see:

• Requirements for Oracle
• Requirements for Greenplum

Create Demo Schemas and Tables

This section describes the procedure for creating Oracle schemas and tables that are to be replicated.

Skip this section if you already have a source schema with tables which you plan to use for this replication and/or you do not want to create tables manually in the target schema.

For this demonstration, create one schema (sourcedb) with two tables (dm51_product and dm51_order) in source location and one schema (targetdb) in target location. Also, ensure to insert values into these tables in source location.

create user sourcedb identified by hvr default tablespace users temporary tablespace temp quota unlimited on users;

create table sourcedb.dm51_product 
(
 prod_id number(10) not null,
 prod_price number(10,2) not null,
 prod_descrip varchar2(100) not null,
 primary key (prod_id)
);

create table sourcedb.dm51_order 
(
 prod_id number(10) not null,
 ord_id number(10) not null,
 cust_name varchar2(100) not null,
 cust_addr varchar2(100),
 primary key (prod_id, ord_id)
);

insert into sourcedb.dm51_product values (100, 90, 'Book');

insert into sourcedb.dm51_order values (100, 123, 'Customer1', 'P.O. Box 122, Anytown, Anycountry');

HVR automatically creates tables in target schema during Refresh (initial loading) and it is the recommended method for creating tables in the target schema. However, if you want to manually create tables in target schema, the same can be achieved by executing the required SQL statements in target schema.

create user targetdb identified by hvr 
default tablespace users 
temporary tablespace temp 
quota unlimited on users;

create table sourcedb.dm51_product
(
 prod_id number(10) not null,
 prod_price number(10,2) not null,
 prod_descrip varchar2(100) not null,
 primary key (prod_id)
);

create table sourcedb.dm51_order 
(
 prod_id number(10) not null,
 ord_id number(10) not null,
 cust_name varchar2(100) not null,
 cust_addr varchar2(100),
 primary key (prod_id, ord_id)
);

Create Hub Database

This section describes how to create a hub database (schema). The hub database is a repository database that HVR uses to control its replication activities. It contains HVR catalog tables that hold all specifications of replication such as the names of the replicated databases, the replication direction and the list of tables to be replicated. For more information about HVR hub server and database, see section Hub Server in System Requirements.

HVR supports the creation of a hub database on certain databases (location classes) only. For the list of supported location classes, see section Hub Database in Capabilities.

For this demonstration, the hub database (e.g. hvrhub) is created in Oracle.

• Create the hub database (hvrhub) with password (hvr).

  create user hvrhub
  identified by hvr
  default tablespace users
  temporary tablespace temp
  quota unlimited on users;
  

Grants/Access Privileges

This section describes the grants/access privileges required for the source schema, target schema, and hub database.

1. Configure the privileges for source schema (sourcedb). For more information, see section Grants for Log-Based Capture in Requirements for Oracle.

   grant create session to sourcedb;
   grant create table to sourcedb;
   grant alter table to sourcedb;
   grant select any dictionary to sourcedb;
   grant select any transaction to sourcedb;
   

2. Configure the privileges for target schema (targetdb). For more information, see section Grants for Compare, Refresh and Integrate in Requirements for Greenplum.

3. Configure the privileges for hub schema (hvrhub). For more information, see section Grants for Hub Schema in Requirements for Oracle.

   grant create session to hvrhub;
   grant create table to hvrhub;
   grant create procedure to hvrhub;
   grant create trigger to hvrhub;
   grant execute on dbms_alert to hvrhub;
   

Download and Install HVR

An HVR distribution is available for download at the Fivetran.com website. For more information, see Downloading HVR.

Install HVR on a hub machine. For details on installing HVR, see the respective operating system sections:

• Installing HVR on UNIX or Linux
• Installing HVR on Windows
• Installing HVR on macOS

The HVR distribution requires a license key in order for the software to operate. Please see the HVR licensing page for more details on how to install the HVR license.

After the installation, you can control HVR using the HVR graphical user interface (HVR GUI).

• If the hub machine is Windows, then HVR GUI can be executed directly on the hub machine.
  • To control HVR remotely from your PC, connect to the hub machine using Windows Remote Desktop Connection and launch HVR GUI on the hub machine.
• If the hub machine is Linux, then HVR GUI can be executed directly on the hub machine. However, an application like X Server or VNC viewer must be installed to run HVR GUI directly on Linux.
  • To control HVR remotely from your PC, install HVR on the PC (with Windows or macOS) and configure the HVR Remote Listener on the hub machine.
• If the hub machine is Unix, then HVR GUI should typically be run remotely from a PC to control HVR installed on the hub machine. To do this, install HVR on the PC (with Windows or macOS) and configure the HVR Remote Listener on the hub machine.

The HVR Remote Listener allows you to connect HVR GUI available on your PC to the remote HVR hub machine. For more information about connecting to remote HVR installation, see Configuring Remote Installation of HVR on Unix or Linux and Configuring Remote Installation of HVR on Windows.

Launch HVR GUI

This section describes how to launch HVR GUI on various operating systems.

• On Windows and macOS, double-click the HVR shortcut icon available on the desktop or execute command hvrgui in the CLI.

• On Linux, double-click the hvrgui file available in the HVR_extracted_path/bin directory or execute command hvrgui in the CLI.

  Linux requires applications like X server or VNC viewer to execute HVR GUI.

• On Unix, HVR GUI is not supported. So, HVR GUI should be run on a remote PC (with Windows, Linux, or macOS) to control HVR installed on the Unix machine.

Register Hub

This section describes how to connect HVR GUI to the hub database.

When you launch HVR GUI for the first time, the Register Hub dialog is displayed automatically. The Register Hub dialog can also be accessed from menu File by selecting Register Hub. Skip steps 1 to 4 if you want to run HVR GUI directly on the hub machine.

1. Click Connect to HVR on remote machine.

   To connect HVR GUI on a PC to a remote HVR hub machine, the HVR Remote Listener must be configured and running on the HVR hub machine.

2. Enter the name or IP address of the hub machine in the Node field (e.g. myserver).

3. Enter the port number (defined in the HVR Remote Listener of the hub machine) in the Port field (e.g. 4343).

4. Enter the Login (e.g. myserveradmin) and Password for the hub machine. By default, this is the operating system login credentials of the hub machine.

5. Select Oracle in the Class pane.

6. Specify Database Connection details.

   1. Enter the directory path in ORACLE_HOME. You can also click the browse button to select the directory path.
   2. Enter the Oracle System ID in ORACLE_SID or TNS credentials.
   3. Enter the user name of the hub database in User (e.g. hvrhub).
   4. Enter the password for the hub database in Password (e.g. hvr).

7. Click Connect.
   

8. Click Yes in the prompt dialog asking to create catalog tables in the hub database.

   HVR displays this prompt when connecting to a hub database for the first time.

   On connecting successfully to the hub database, the navigation tree pane displays the hub machine and the hub database. Location Configuration, Channel Definitions, and Scheduler are displayed under the hub database.

Create Locations

This section describes how to create locations in HVR GUI. Location is a storage place (for example, database or file storage) from where HVR captures (source location) or integrates (target location) changes.

• Create source location (src) connected to source schema (sourcedb) in Oracle.
  1. In navigation tree pane, right–click Location Configuration ▶ New Location.
  2. Enter Location name and Description for the location.
  3. Select Oracle in Class.
  4. Provide Database Connection details. For more information on Database Connection fields, see section Location Connection in Requirements for Oracle.

     1. Enter directory path for ORACLE_HOME. You can also click browse to select directory path.

     2. Enter Oracle System ID in ORACLE_SID or TNS credential or RAC credential.

        For RAC connectivity, ensure to provide remote machine connection details under Connection tab.

     3. Enter username of the source schema in User. For example, sourcedb.

     4. Enter password for source schema in Password.

  5. Click Test Connection to verify the connection to location database.
  6. Click OK.
     
• Create target location (tgt) connected to target schema (targetdb) in Greenplum.
  1. In navigation tree pane, right–click Location Configuration ▶ New Location.
  2. Enter Location name and Description for the location.
  3. Select Greenplum in Class.
  4. Provide Database Connection details. For more information on Database Connection fields, see section Location Connection in Requirements for Greenplum.
     1. Enter the hostname or ip-address of the Greenplum server in Node.
     2. Enter the Port number on which the Greenplum server is expecting connections.
     3. Enter the name of the Greenplum Database.
     4. Enter username of the target database in User. For example, targetdb.
     5. Enter password for target database in Password.
  5. Click Test Connection to verify the connection to location database.
  6. Click OK.
     

Create Channel

This section describes how to create a channel (hvrdemo) in HVR. A channel is a replication flow which captures changes from source location(s) and integrates them into target location(s).

1. In navigation tree pane, right-click Channel Definitions ▶ New Channel.
   
2. Enter Channel name and Description for the channel in New Channel dialog.
3. Click OK.

Create Location Groups

This section describes how to create location groups in a channel. The location groups are used for defining action on the location. Typically a channel contains two location groups - one for the source location and one for the target location. Each location group can contain multiple locations.

In this example, create one source location group (SRCGRP) and one target location group (TGTGRP).

1. In navigation tree pane, click + next to the channel (hvrdemo).
2. Create source location group (SRCGRP):
   1. Right–click Location Groups ▶ New Group.
   2. Enter Group Name and Description for the location group.
   3. Select source location (src) from Group Membership.
      
   4. Click OK.
3. Create target location group (TGTGRP):
   1. Right–click Location Groups ▶ New Group.
   2. Enter Group Name and Description for the location group.
   3. Select target location (tgt) from Group Membership.
      
   4. Click OK.

Select Table(s)

This section describes how to select the tables (dm51_product and dm51_order) from source location for replication. Table Explore allows you to select schema(s) and/or table(s) for replication.

1. Right–click Tables ▶ Table Explore.
2. Select source location (src) from the list.
   
3. Click Connect.
4. Select tables from Table Explore dialog. Press Shift key to select multiple tables or Ctrl+A to select all tables.
5. Click Add to add the selected tables.
6. Click OK in HVR Table Name dialog.
7. Click Close in Table Explore dialog.
   

Define Actions

This section describes how to define actions on the location groups (SRCGRP and TGTGRP). Actions define the behavior of a replication activity.

1. Define action Capture to capture changes from all tables in the source location group.

   1. Right–click source location group SRCGRP ▶ New Action ▶ Capture.
      
   2. Click OK.

2. Define action Integrate to integrate changes into all tables in the target location group.

   1. Right–click target location group TGTGRP ▶ New Action ▶ Integrate.
   2. Select parameter /Burst. HVR's Integrate with Burst improves the data replication performance by using the Burst algorithm, for more information, see /Burst in Integrate.
      
   3. Click OK.

3. Define action LocationProperties to use the Greenplum Parallel File Distribution (gpfdist) server for bulk loading operations (Bulk Refresh and Integrate with Burst) into Greenplum for maximum performance. Using Greenplum's External Tables with gpfdist data loading is the fastest way to load large tables into Greenplum . For more information, see section Burst Integrate and Bulk Refresh in Requirements for Greenplum.

   Before proceeding with this step, ensure to set values for /StagingDirectoryHvr and /StagingDirectoryDb as mentioned in section Burst Integrate and Bulk Refresh.

   1. Right–click target location group TGTGRP ▶ New Action ▶ LocationProperties.

   2. Select parameter /StagingDirectoryHvr.

   3. Browse and select the directory for bulk load staging files. This directory should be on the machine where HVR connects to the source database

   4. Select parameter /StagingDirectoryDb.

   5. Enter the local directory on the Greenplum head-node or a URL pointing to /StagingDirectoryHvr.
      

   6. Click OK.

      The Actions pane only displays actions related to the object selected in the navigation tree pane. Click on the channel name (hvrdemo) to view actions defined for all location groups in the selected channel.

Initialize

This section describes how to initialize the replication. HVR Initialize first checks the channel and creates replication jobs in the HVR Scheduler.

In this example, HVR Initialize creates one capture job (hvr_demo-cap-src) and one integrate job (hvr_demo-integ-tgt).

1. Right–click channel hvrdemo ▶ HVR Initialize.
2. Select Create or Replace Objects in HVR Initialize dialog.
3. Click Initialize.
   
4. Click OK.
   
5. Click Close.
   Click Scheduler node in navigation tree pane to view the capture and integrate jobs in Jobs tab.

For more information about initiating replication in HVR, see Replication Overview.

Start Scheduler and Create Windows Service

This section describes how to start the HVR Scheduler and create Windows service.

1. Start Scheduler. In the navigation tree pane, right-click Scheduler ▶ Start.
   
2. Click Create... in the prompt asking to create the service hvrscheduler_hvrhub.
3. Select Local System Account ('SYSTEM') in Create Windows Service dialog.
   
4. Click Create....

Start Capture Job

This section describes how to start the job for capturing changes from source location (src). By starting the Capture job in HVR Scheduler, HVR begins capturing all changes since the moment HVR Initialize was executed. This 'capture begin moment' can be modified using the option Capture Rewind available in the Advanced Options tab of HVR Initialize dialog.

1. In the navigation tree pane, click Scheduler.

2. Start capture job. In the Jobs pane, right-click capture job hvrdemo-cap-src ▶ Start.
   

3. Click Yes in Start dialog.

   On starting the capture job (hvrdemo-cap-src) successfully, the status of the job changes from SUSPEND to RUNNING.

Refresh

This section describes how to perform initial load into the target database. HVR Refresh copies all existing data from source location (src) to the target location (tgt) and optionally creates new tables and keys in target location.

1. In the navigation tree pane, right–click channel hvrdemo ▶ HVR Refresh.
2. Select Create Absent Tables.
   
3. Click Refresh.
4. Click Yes to begin HVR Refresh.
   When the refresh is completed, the Refresh Result dialog displays the total number of rows replicated from the selected tables.
   
5. Click Close in Refresh Result dialog.
6. Click Close in HVR Refresh dialog.

Start Integrate Job

This section describes how to start the job to integrate changes into the target location (tgt).

1. In the navigation tree pane, click Scheduler.

2. Start integrate job. In the Jobs pane, right-click integrate job hvrdemo-integ-tgt ▶ Start.
   

3. Click Yes in Start dialog.

   On starting the integrate job (hvr_demo-integ-tgt) successfully, the status of the job changes from SUSPEND to RUNNING.

Verify Replication

This section describes the two methods for verifying HVR's replication activity.

Viewing Log File

HVR creates separate log file for the hub, channel (hvrdemo), and for each replication jobs (hvrdemo-cap-src and hvrdemo-integ-tgt). This log file contains the details of the changes captured and integrated. To view the replication activity log,

1. In navigation tree pane, click + next to the Scheduler.
   

2. Right-click hvr_demo ▶ View Log to view the output of the jobs in Log tab for the selected channel (e.g. Log of channel hvrdemo).
   

   The directory path for HVR log files is displayed in the log tab.

3. Update the value(s) in source location database. The Log tab will immediately display the details of capture job (hvrdemo-cap-src) and integrate job (hvrdemo-integ-tgt) to reflect the capture and integrate of this change.

Using HVR Compare

HVR Compare allows you to verify the replication activity by comparing the data in source and target locations. To compare the source and target locations,

1. Stop the Integrate job (hvrdemo-integ-tgt),
   1. In the navigation tree pane, click Scheduler.
   2. In the Jobs pane, right-click integrate job hvrdemo-integ-tgt ▶ Suspend.
      
   3. Click Yes in Start dialog.
2. Update the value(s) in source location database.
3. Execute HVR Compare,
   1. In the navigation tree pane, right–click channel hvrdemo ▶ HVR Compare.
   2. Select source location (src) on the left side and target location (tgt) on the right side.
   3. Select Row by Row Granularity in the Options tab.
      
   4. Click Compare.
   5. On completion, Compare Result dialog is displayed. If the State column displays Different, it indicates the data in source and target locations are not identical.
      
   6. Click Close in Compare Result dialog and HVR Compare dialog.
4. Start Integrate Job (hvrdemo-integ-tgt).
5. Execute HVR Compare again (step 3). In Compare Result dialog, if the State column displays Identical, it indicates the changes are replicated successfully.