Managing Groove Server Relay databases

About Groove Server Relay Databases

Groove Server Relay contains a transactional database system that stores queues of Groove client device-targeted messages (updates to Groove workspaces), queues of identity-targeted messages (Groove instant messages and invitations), and basic user information (including authentication keys and identity information). Two main databases in the Relay data directory store this information as follows:

• Flat File Queue (FFQ) store - Contains bulk client message data, separated into files (called extents) which reside in unique directories in the FFQ queue store. Groove Server Relay pre-allocates several of these extents at start-up for later use by the queue store.

• Recoverable Queueing System (RQS) - Contains client meta-data (including identity, device, and account information). Groove Server Relay creates this database at startup, if it is not already present.

In addition, the database system creates transaction log files that are used to maintain the integrity of the Groove Server Relay databases if the system fails. Transaction log files have sequenced names (such as log.0000000001, log.0000000002, etc) and reside in the RQS\Logfiles subdirectory of the Groove Server Relay installation directory. Groove Server Relay depends on these log files to maintain consistency within message queues and other related database files when restarting after an outage. The Groove Relay clears transaction logs automatically. Periodically (every five minutes), Groove Server Relay writes a checkpoint record to the current transaction log, checks for transaction logs that are no longer needed for recovery operations, and then deletes them. This process of clearing transaction logs typically finishes in some seconds.

Several database utilities that support Relay database management tools reside in the DbUtilities subdirectory of the Groove Server Relay installation directory. Only run those utilities specifically mentioned in this guide or when directed to do so by a Microsoft Support representative. Running certain utilities while the Groove Relay service is started, or running them with incorrect arguments, could permanently damage the Relay queue store and require the removal of queue database files to make the service operational again.

If your database directories become full, you may need to move them to another volume for storage. For information about how to move database directories to another volume, see Changing the Groove Server Relay data directory later in this article.

Purging Relay server queues of old messages

The Groove Server Relay automatically purges queues that have exceeded their defined lifetime. Automatic queue purging is enabled by default, so that once a day (at 11 PM local time on the server platform), Groove Server Relay automatically purges queues of old messages.

The Relay FFQ database maintains two types of message queues, with default message life times as follows:

• Device-targeted message queues – These queues hold updates that target a triplet of device-identity-workspace URLs, such as updates generated from Groove workspaces. The default lifetime for these messages is 30 days. Groove Server Relay marks device-targeted messages older than 30 days for deletion. Note that even after old device-targeted messages are deleted, the SharePoint Workspace Dynamics Manager component on the SharePoint Workspace client can recover them if necessary to update a workspace.

• Identity-targeted message queues – These queues hold SharePoint Workspace instant messages and Groove workspace invitations for an identity URL. The default lifetime for these messages is 90 days. Groove Server Relay marks identity-targeted messages older than 90 days for deletion. The longer holding period is specified because identity-targeted queues cannot be recovered after deletion.

You can use any of the following methods to control purging of Relay server message queues:

• Use Groove Server Manager to change message lifetimes or to disable automatic purging, as described in Registering Relay servers with Groove Server Manager.

• Purge message queues manually, as needed, from the Groove Server Relay administrative Web interface, as described in Manually Purging Queues later in this article.

• Specify an automatic purge interval by setting a Windows registry value, as described in the following procedure.

To schedule automatic queue purges:

1. Set the hour at which to start the purge by defining the following value in the Windows registry (in hexadecimal notation by default):

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office Server\14.0\Groove\Groove Relay\Parameters

   “AdminPurgeProcessStartHour”=dword:<xxxxxxxx>

   where xxxxxxxx is the desired start hour plus 1. For example, setting the value dword:00000009 starts the purge at 8 AM.

2. If necessary, set the number of minutes after the hour at which to start the purge by defining the following registry value:

   “AdminPurgeProcessStartMinute”=dword:<xxxxxxxx>

   where xxxxxxxx is the desired number of minutes. For example, setting this value to 00000005, starts the purge at 5 minutes past the specified hour.

3. To change daily purges (the default condition) to weekly purges on a specific day, specify the day by defining the following registry value:

   “AdminPurgeProcessStartDay”=dword:<xxxxxxxx>

   where xxxxxxxx is the desired numeric day (0 = daily, 1= Sunday, 2 = Monday and so on). For example, setting this value to 00000004 starts the weekly purge on Wednesday at the specified hour.

4. Restart Groove Server Relay to implement your changes. Remember that the Groove Relay service must be running for queue purges to occur.

5. To view purge progress at any time, click the Purge Status link from the Groove Server Relay administrative Web interface. The status displays information about each purged queue.

   For information about how to access and use the Relay server administrative Web interface, see Groove Server Relay statistics reference.

6. To disable a scheduled purge, go to the following registry key on the Relay server and set the indicated value in the Windows registry:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office Server\14.0\Groove\Groove Relay\Parameters

   “AdminPurgeEnable”=dword:00000000

   Restart the Relay server to implement your changes

Manually Purging Queues

The following procedure describes how to manually purge Relay server queues of old SharePoint Workspace messages. For information about how to schedule automatic purges, see Purging Groove Server Relay queues of old messages.

To manually purge old messages from queues

1. Open a browser and go to the Groove Server Relay administrative Web interface.

   For information about how to access and use the Relay server administrative Web interface, see Groove Server Relay statistics reference.

2. To start the purge/compress cycle, click the Maintenance link, and then click the Purge all queues to the configured purge interval link. This begins a purge/compress cycle immediately, displaying a status page with the number of bytes purged and compressed. The page updates every 5 seconds.

3. To manually purge a specific queue, click the Queues link, click a queue in the list, and then click the Purge button.

4. To view purge progress at any time, click the Purge Status link. The status displays data on the progress of the purge.

Changing the Groove Server Relay data directory

If the Groove Server Relay Data directory approaches volume capacity, you may need to move the directory to another volume. This procedure describes how to move the existing Relay Data directory to another location.

To move the Data directory to another volume and change the Data directory

1. Stop the Groove Relay service by using the Windows services manager.

2. Copy the Data directory (and its contents) to another volume by using Windows Explorer or any commonly used file-moving utility. Allow enough time for the file copy to finish.

   Note

   If you configure Groove Server Relay to use a new directory without copying the existing data directory to the new location, be aware of the following conditions:
   > Instant Messages and Invitations in existing queues (in the old Data directory location) will be lost.
   > The Relay server will restart with new empty databases. To initialize the databases, you must synchronize the Groove Server Relay with Groove Server Manager by shortening the Relay database Purge interval.

3. To configure the Groove Server Relay to point to the new Data directory, use the Groove Relay Control Panel item as follows:

   1. Open the Groove Relay Control Panel item.

   2. Click the Tuning tab and then click Select Directory to browse to a new directory.

      Note

      To reset the data directory to the default path in the Groove Relay installation directory, click Reset to Default.

   3. Click Apply, and then click OK. The updated directory will automatically be configured with the permissions required for Relay server administration and operation.

4. Find the DB_CONFIG file in the Data\RQS directory of the Groove Server Relay installation directory, and delete it (or rename it). When you restart the Groove Relay service, a new DB_CONFIG file will be created automatically that will contain the new directory location with the required access control settings.

5. Restart the Groove Relay service.

6. Verify that the Groove Relay service has started and is operating correctly.

Groove Server Relay will no longer reference the directories in their original location, so you may delete them.

See Also

Concepts

Install and configure Groove Server 2010 Relay
Registering Relay servers with Groove Server Manager
Start and test Groove Server Relay
Monitoring Groove Server Relay