VHS Configuration File Keywords

For more information about modifying the VHS configuration file, see Service Configuration Files.

The VHS keywords are listed in the tables below:

Service Info Keywords

Keyword Required Description Default Options

SERVICE

Yes

SERVICE specifies the name of the service in Site.Service format.

SITE.VHS

8 chars max each for site and service name; no spaces; must be unique to the system.

Valid characters are:

A-Z, 0-9, !, $, _

HISTORY_FILE_SIZE_MAX_GB

No

The size (in GB) of the disk storage file. The maximum history file size can be safely increased after the service is in operation. If it is decreased, data may be lost. If this keyword is commented out, the size defaults to 10 GB. The maximum size of a VHS datastore is 5000 GB (5 TB).

10 GB

1 to 5000

SVC_PORT

Yes

The SVC_PORT keyword specifies the UDP port number for this service. Each service on the computer must have a unique port number. Use the Config File Manager to ensure that all ports for all services on a given server are unique.

6016

5001 to 32767

(5410 can be used only by the ARS)

REDUNDANT

No

REDUNDANT indicates whether Redundancy is enabled for this service and it is part of a redundant set with other services.

  • Set to TRUE to enable Redundancy for this service and indicate that it is in a redundant relationship with another service within the redundancy environment.
  • Set to FALSE or commented out to disable Redundancy for this service.

See Redundancy for more configuration details. A redundancy definition for your CygNet environment is configured in the CygNet Redundancy Editor.

Note: A redundant RSM cannot be managed by another RSM in your redundancy environment. CygNet won’t allow an RSM to start an owned RSM if that RSM has the REDUNDANT keyword set to TRUE.

The IN_REDUNDANT_SET (Service in redundant set) info item will report whether this service is part of a redundant relationship.

FALSE

TRUE, FALSE

MINIMUM_EXPIRE_DAYS

No

The minimum number of days points are stored in the VHS (i.e., minimum retention period). Points also have a retention property (Keep values within last) that specifies the period of time (in number of days) prior to now that CygNet will keep data points in the VHS. If both options are active, the longer of the two retention periods will take precedence.

None

Integer

CHANGE_QUEUE_SIZE

No

CHANGE_QUEUE_SIZE sets the size of the service change queue that contains the incremental changes to the data in the source service. This is the number of changes the service will store to answer replication requests before expiring the oldest changes.

Notes:

This keyword is initially commented out by default. Uncomment the line and enter a valid value to use anything other than the default value.

If 0 is specified, the change notification is disabled.

This keyword is specified in the configuration file for the source service.

The CHANGE_QUEUE_SIZE (Change Update Queue Size) info item will report configured size of the service change queue.

500,000

500,000 to 5,000,000

DATASTORE_VERSION

No

Indicates the data storage technology used by the VHS. The options include:

  • 1 — Legacy CygNet VHS datastore method (Obsolete)
  • 2 — Microsoft Extensible Storage Engine (ESE) method

See Data Storage for DBS-Based Services for more information.

2

1 or 2

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Associated Services Keywords

Keyword Required Description Default Options

ACS

Yes

The Site and Service name of the service’s ACS, in Site.Service format.

SITE.ACS

Any valid service name of the corresponding type

ELS

Yes

The Site and Service name of the service’s ELS, in Site.Service format.

SITE.ELS

AUD

No

The Site and Service name of the service’s AUD, in Site.Service format.

SITE.AUD

MSS

Yes

The Site and Service name of the MSS from which commands will be accepted, in Site.Service format.

SITE.MSS

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Security Keywords

Keyword Required Description Default Options

ACS_ID

Yes

The User ID of the service. This keyword is required for performing security events.

VHS

User defined

ACS_APPLICATION

Yes

The service’s application name for security.

VHS

Any valid security application ID

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Journal File Keywords

See VHS Journal Files for more information about this feature.

Keyword Required Description Default Options

CREATE_JOURNALS

No

If set to TRUE, turns the creation of daily journal files on or off.

TRUE

TRUE, FALSE

JOURNAL_RETENTION_DAYS

No

Specifies the number of days that journal files will be retained before they are deleted.

7

1 to 35

JOURNAL_FILES_DIR

No

Specifies the directory that closed journal files will be placed in. This path must be on the same physical file system as the VHS data folder (i.e. the VHS must be able to perform a file move to this folder from the VHS data folder, not a file copy).

.\JournalFiles\

Folder path

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Quick Recovery Keywords

See VHS Quick Recovery for more information about this feature.

Keyword Required Description Default Options

QUICK_RECOVERY_ENABLED

No

If set to TRUE, enables Quick Recovery feature. If set to TRUE, CHECK_OPTIONS cannot be enabled.

The QR_STARTUP (Started up with QR) info item reports the value of this keyword.

TRUE

TRUE, FALSE

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VHS Data File Check Keywords

See VHS Check Utility for more information about this feature.

Keyword Required Description Default Options

CHECK_OPTIONS

No

Defines the level of check to perform when running file check upon restart. This keyword is required for the check to occur.

See also FIX_ERRORS and RUN_CHECK.

If enabled, QUICK_RECOVERY_ENABLED cannot be set to TRUE.

MINIMUM

MINIMUM,

MEDIUM, or

MAXIMUM

FIX_ERRORS

No

Switch to enable fixing errors found while performing file check.

See also CHECK_OPTIONS and RUN_CHECK.

TRUE

TRUE

FALSE

RUN_CHECK

No

Specifies condition under which to run VHS Check before service restart:

  • ALWAYS will run the check before any restart.
  • IMPROPER_SHUTDOWN will run the check only if the previous shutdown was improper.

See also CHECK_OPTIONS and FIX_ERRORS.

IMPROPER_
SHUTDOWN

ALWAYS or

IMPROPER_SHUTDOWN

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Replication Keywords

See VHS Replication for more information about this feature.

Keyword Required Description Default Options

REPL_SOURCE

No

The REPL_SOURCE keyword specifies the Domain and Site.Service name for the source service to be replicated in the format [DDDD]SITE.SERVICE. The REPL_SOURCE value requires the same service name, with a different domain prefix. If not specified, replication is disabled. Applies to all services except ARS, FMS, and RSM.

Note: This keyword is specified in the configuration file for the replicated (destination) service.

The REPL_SOURCE (Repl Source Service) info item will report the source service name from which the replicated service is requesting changes.

None

[DDDD]SITE.SERVICE

REPL_CHECK_INTERVAL

No

REPL_CHECK_INTERVAL indicates the interval (in seconds) to check before performing the next replication synchronization. This value determines the replication synchronization frequency.

After performing a sync, a replicating service will subtract the amount of time the sync took from the check interval time to determine how long to wait until the next sync. For example, if the check interval is 60 seconds and the sync takes 40 seconds, the service will only wait 20 seconds before starting the next sync. If the whole sync time exceeds the frequency, then the replicating service will wait for half the sync interval (30 seconds in this case) before starting the next sync.

Note: This keyword is specified in the configuration file for the replicated (destination) service.

The REPL_CHECK_INTERVAL (Repl Poll Secs) info item will report the interval that a replicated service will check the source change queue for new updates. If the service is not replicating REPL_CHECK_INTERVAL will respond with an empty string.

60

1 to 3600

REPL_DELAY_MAX

No

REPL_DELAY_MAX indicates the number of seconds a service is allowed to be behind in replication before it is considered to be behind. If this keyword is disabled, the value defaults to double the REPL_CHECK_INTERVAL time. Best practice recommends enabling and setting a meaningful value for REPL_DELAY_MAX for all replicating services. A recommended value would be a longer time interval than you would expect any sync interval to take.

Note: This keyword is specified in the configuration file for the replicated service.

The REPL_DELAY_MAX (Allowed repl delay) info item will report the time elapsed since the service was last fully in sync. Time is calculated as the delta between "now" and the end of the last full sync that has completed. If the time since the last successful sync exceeds the REPL_DELAY_MAX value, and the REPL_INT_VAL_STATE (Int repl val state) info item is currently "Normal", then the REPL_INT_VAL_STATE info item is set to "Delayed." The state can only be set back to "Normal" when the time between two syncs is less than the REPL_DELAY_MAX time.

120

1 to 3600

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History Forwarding Keywords

See VHS Data Forwarding for more information.

Keyword Required Description Default Options

DESTINATION_SERVICE

No

The name of the service to which forwarded data will be sent. The format is [DDDD]Site.Service where DDDD is replaced by the CygNet Domain where the history forwarder service is running.

None

[DDDD]DEST1.VHS

FORWARDING_INTERVAL

No

This keyword can be used to define a "send interval" for forwarding messages. The source VHS compresses data into forward messages. Once the message is full it is sent to the destination VHS. If the message is not full by the specified "send interval" it is sent anyway. When active, the forwarding message will be sent to the destination VHS once the message is full or when the send interval is met, whichever comes first. The interval keyword value must specify an integer and an interval: s=seconds, m=minutes, h=hours, or d=day.

5m

IntegerInterval

FORWARDING_QUEUE_EXPIRATION

No

The amount of time (in seconds, minutes, hours, or days) a message will be stored in the queue. Once a message exceeds the defined period it will be deleted from the queue. This keyword is used to manage the size of the queue. The queue time keyword value must specify an integer and an interval: s=seconds, m=minutes, h=hours, or d=day.

2d

IntegerInterval

FORWARDING_MAX_BACKLOG

No

The maximum number of messages the queue is allowed to hold. When a new message is queued and the maximum backlog is exceeded, either the oldest or newest message will be dropped (depends on setting of the keyword FORWARDING_EXPIRE_TYPE). This keyword is used to manage the size of the queue.

2000

Integer between

1 and 10,000

FORWARDING_EXPIRE_TYPE

No

Determines which messages to delete (the oldest or newest message) when the queue reaches its maximum backlog.

OLD

OLD, NEW

FORWARDING_RESPONSE_TIMEOUT

No

The number of seconds the source VHS will wait for a response from the destination VHS for an acknowledgment of receipt before it tries resending a replication response message. The response time keyword value must specify an integer and an interval: s=seconds, m=minutes, h=hours, or d=day.

30s

IntegerInterval

DESTINATION_2_SERVICE

No

A second Site.Service to send replicated data.

The only required keyword for a second forwarder is DESTINATION_2_SERVICE. All parameters of the first forwarder will apply for the defaults, if the first is not used.

[DDDD]DEST2.VHS

 

FORWARDING_2_INTERVAL

No

This keyword can be used to define a "send interval" for forwarding messages. The source VHS compresses data into forward messages. Once the message is full it is sent to the destination VHS. If the message is not full by the specified "send interval" it is sent anyway. When active, the forwarding message will be sent to the destination VHS once the message is full or when the send interval is met, whichever comes first. The interval keyword value must specify an integer and an interval: s=seconds, m=minutes, h=hours, or d=day.

5m

IntegerInterval

FORWARDING_2_QUEUE_EXPIRATION

No

The amount of time (in seconds, minutes, hours, or days) a message will be stored in the queue. Once a message exceeds the defined period it will be deleted from the queue. This keyword is used to manage the size of the queue. The queue time keyword value must specify an integer and an interval: s=seconds, m=minutes, h=hours, or d=day.

2d

IntegerInterval

FORWARDING_2_MAX_BACKLOG

No

The maximum number of messages the queue is allowed to hold. When a new message is queued and the maximum backlog is exceeded, either the oldest or newest message will be dropped (depends on setting of the keyword FORWARDING_EXPIRE_TYPE). This keyword is used to manage the size of the queue.

2000

FORWARDING_2_EXPIRE_TYPE

No

Determines which messages to delete (the oldest or newest message) when the queue reaches its maximum backlog.

OLD

OLD, NEW

FORWARDING_2_RESPONSE_TIMEOUT

No

The number of seconds the source VHS will wait for a response from the destination VHS for an acknowledgment of receipt before it tries resending a replication response message. The response time keyword value must specify an integer and an interval: s=seconds, m=minutes, h=hours, or d=day.

30s

IntegerInterval

DESTINATION_3_SERVICE

No

A third Site.Service to send replicated data.

The only required keyword for a third forwarder is DESTINATION_3_SERVICE. All parameters of the first forwarder will apply for the defaults, if the first is not used.

[DDDD]DEST3.VHS

 

FORWARDING_3_INTERVAL

No

This keyword can be used to define a "send interval" for forwarding messages. The source VHS compresses data into forward messages. Once the message is full it is sent to the destination VHS. If the message is not full by the specified "send interval" it is sent anyway. When active, the forwarding message will be sent to the destination VHS once the message is full or when the send interval is met, whichever comes first. The interval keyword value must specify an integer and an interval: s=seconds, m=minutes, h=hours, or d=day.

5m

IntegerInterval

FORWARDING_3_QUEUE_EXPIRATION

No

The amount of time (in seconds, minutes, hours, or days) a message will be stored in the queue. Once a message exceeds the defined period it will be deleted from the queue. This keyword is used to manage the size of the queue. The queue time keyword value must specify an integer and an interval: s=seconds, m=minutes, h=hours, or d=day.

2d

IntegerInterval

FORWARDING_3_MAX_BACKLOG

No

The maximum number of messages the queue is allowed to hold. When a new message is queued and the maximum backlog is exceeded, either the oldest or newest message will be dropped (depends on setting of the keyword FORWARDING_EXPIRE_TYPE). This keyword is used to manage the size of the queue.

2000

FORWARDING_3_EXPIRE_TYPE

No

Determines which messages to delete (the oldest or newest message) when the queue reaches its maximum backlog.

OLD

OLD, NEW

FORWARDING_3_RESPONSE_TIMEOUT

No

The number of seconds the source VHS will wait for a response from the destination VHS for an acknowledgment of receipt before it tries resending a replication response message. The response time keyword value must specify an integer and an interval: s=seconds, m=minutes, h=hours, or d=day.

30s

IntegerInterval

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Logging Info Keywords

Keyword Required Description Default Options

SYSTEM_LOGGING

 

Obsolete

 

 

TRACE_LOGGING

 

Obsolete

 

 

NET_LOGGING

 

Obsolete

 

 

LOGMASK_ELS

Yes

Specifies the types of service events to be logged to the associated ELS (specified in the ELS keyword). To disable logging to the ELS, comment out the ELS keyword for the selected service. See the Note below this table for more information about the keyword values. The LOGMASK_ELS (LMask ELS) info item will report the value of this keyword.

See LOGMASK_ELS in the Logging section for more information.

CONTROL EXCEPTIONS

LOG_ALL

or any combination of:

CONTROL EXCEPTIONS WARNING
PROG_STAT
MIN_TRACE

LOGMASK_FILE

Yes

Specifies the type(s) of service events to be logged to the service’s log file ([file name].log). During the current session of the service, data is written to the current log file. Log file names follow the naming convention of the selected logging mode (as set by the LOGFILE_MODE keyword value). See the Note below this table for more information about the keyword values. The LOGMASK_FILE (LMask File) info item will report the value of this keyword.

See LOGMASK_FILE in the Logging section for more information.

CONTROL EXCEPTIONS WARNING

LOG_ALL

or any combination of:

CONTROL EXCEPTIONS WARNING
PROG_STAT
MIN_TRACE
MAX_TRACE
ENTER_EXIT

LOGFILE_FILE_COUNT

Yes

Specifies the maximum number of log files that a service will create before it starts re-using log files. For example, a count of two will produce SVC001.log, then SVC002.log, and then start back at SVC001.log, where SVC is the name of the service. Specify any value from 2 to 100. The LOGFILE_FILE_COUNT (File Cnt) info item will report the value of this keyword.

See LOGFILE_FILE_COUNT in the Logging section for more information.

2

2 to 100

LOGFILE_LINE_COUNT

Yes

When the value of the LOGFILE_LIMIT_MODE keyword is LINE, this keyword specifies the maximum number of lines per log file. When the specified line count is reached, the log file is truncated at the limit point, and logging is resumed using the next available log file. Specify any value from 1000 to 1000000. The LOGFILE_LINE_COUNT (Line Cnt) info item will report the value of this keyword.

See LOGFILE_LINE_COUNT in the Logging section for more information.

100000

1 to 100000

LOGFILE_MODE

Yes

Specifies the operational mode for the log file, that is, how log files are maintained. Options are LEGACY or EXTENDED. The default value is LEGACY. The LOGFILE_MODE (Logging Mode) info item will report the value of this keyword.

See LOGFILE_MODE in the Logging section for more information.

LEGACY

EXTENDED

LEGACY

LOGFILE_LIMIT_MODE

Yes

Specifies how to limit the size of each individual log file. Options are LINE (maximum line count is determined by the LOGFILE_LINE_COUNT keyword) or SIZE (maximum file size in megabytes) determined by the LOGFILE_FILE_SIZE keyword). The LOGFILE_LIMIT_MODE (Limit Mode) info item will report the value of this keyword.

The default value is LINE.

See LOGFILE_LIMIT_MODE in the Logging section for more information.

LINE

LINE

SIZE

LOGFILE_FILE_SIZE

Yes

When the value of the LOGFILE_LIMIT_MODE keyword is set to SIZE, this keyword specifies the maximum size (in megabytes) allowed for a log file, before logging will be continued using the next log file. Possible maximum size values are user-determined, respecting the limits of your specific system configuration. The default value is 100 megabytes. When the specified limit is reached, the log finishes the current line, closes the current file, and then continues logging in the next available log file. The LOGFILE_FILE_SIZE (File Size) info item will report the value of this keyword.

See LOGFILE_FILE_SIZE in the Logging section for more information.

100

Depends on user system configuration

Note: Use the following keyword values to set logging options for the LOGMASK_ keywords.

There is no order of precedence for the logging options, except that LOG_ALL logs everything.

Example

A value for LOGMASK_ELS might be CONTROL + EXCEPTIONS.

A value for LOGMASK_FILE might be CONTROL + EXCEPTIONS + WARNING + PROG_STAT.

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Backup Keywords

Note: Only the VHS configuration file (Vhs.cfg) will be backed up during the backup process that these keywords control. No other VHS files will be included in the backup.

Keyword Required Description Default Options

BACKUP_PATH

No

BACKUP_PATH specifies the path to the backup directory for the service files. The path can be relative or absolute. If the path contains spaces it must be enclosed in quotation marks. The service will create the backup folder if it does not exist.

None

User-defined path

BACKUP_TIME

No

BACKUP_TIME specifies the time for the daily backup to run (24-hour format 0000 to 2359, do not use a colon). If this keyword is not enabled for a service or no time is specified, the automatic backup will not occur. Service backup will only occur if manually initiated or scheduled via the MSS.

None

0000 to 2359

COPY_BACKUP_TO

No

COPY_BACKUP_TO enables copying of the backup service files to the specified directory once the backup process is complete. The path can be relative or absolute. If the directory does not exist the service will create it. If the path or directory name contains spaces, the parameter must be enclosed in quotation marks. If you specify a network drive and are running the CygNet services as system services, you must use the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) (\\Workstation\Path) to specify the path. The backup file can be copied to a network drive only if the drive is mapped to the local machine.

None

User-defined path

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Auditing Keywords

See VHS Audit Levels for more information.

Keyword Required Description Default Options

AUDIT_LEVEL

No

AUDIT_LEVEL sets auditing level of messages written to the AUD service. When set to 0, auditing is off. The AUDIT_LEVEL info item reports the value of this keyword.

Note: This level is used for auditing legacy points and values (non-extended data) and extended entry values. See VHS Audit Levels for more information.

1

0, 1, 2

AUDIT_LEVEL_BLOB

No

Sets the auditing level for adds, deletes, and updates of extended entry Blobs. Only changes to Blob lengths are recorded in the AUD service.

1

0,1

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ESE Keywords

Keyword Required Description Default Options

VHS_FILE_SIZE_GROW_BY_MB

No

As the VHS datastore grows, the VHS will resize the database by this amount in megabytes.

Performance and unused space are the two factors to consider when adjusting this value. There are performance benefits to raising the "grow by size" parameter: filesystem overhead and database file fragmentation are reduced when using a larger "grow by size."

Note: Larger databases tend to perform better with a larger "grow by size" setting.

2

VHS_MAX_CACHE_SIZE_MB

No

Specifies the maximum size of the database page cache for the VHS datastore in megabytes. The default for this keyword is 1000 megabytes.

1000

1 to 2000 (for 32-bit VHS)

1 to 20000 (for 64-bit VHS)

VHS_MIN_CACHE_SIZE_MB

No

Specifies the minimum size of the database page cache for the VHS datastore in megabytes. The default for this parameter is 200 megabytes.

200

1 to 2000 (for 32-bit VHS)

1 to 20000 (for 64-bit VHS)

VHS_TRANSACTION_LOG_DIR

No

VHS_TRANSACTION_LOG_DIR sets the directory where the transaction log files are stored. You cannot specify the main service directory, but it can be a subdirectory or another location. You can specify a different (faster or smaller) drive, or another location if the txlogs directory is being used for something else.

.\txlogs\

 

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