Getting Started

    Q1. Which versions of Unix are supported by SA/ASA?
    Q2. Which O/S patches are required by SA/ASA?
    Q3. How do I set up my environment to run ASA?

Installing SA/ASA

Introduction

This document contains frequently asked questions (FAQs), and their answers about running Adaptive Server Anywhere on Unix, including limitations of the operating systems and  troubleshooting. Some familiarity with both Unix and Adaptive Server Anywhere is assumed.

In this document, SA refers to SQL Anywhere version 5.x, ASA refers to Adaptive Server Anywhere version 6.0 and later, and ASE refers to Adaptive Server Enterprise. Note that issues involving the use of ASE are beyond the scope of this document.

Getting Started

Q1. Which versions of Unix are supported by SA/ASA?
A1. A table of supported platforms is available HERE.

Q2. Which O/S patches are required by SA/ASA?
A2. The following table indicates the suggested and required patches for each version of Unix:

Q3. How do I set up my environment to run ASA?
A3. In ASA 7.0.x, two shell script files are provided to set up your environment for you. If you are using the Bourne shell or one of its derivates (sh, ksh, bash), issue the command ". asa_config.sh" to setup your environment. If you are using the C-shell or one of its derivates (csh, tcsh), then issue the command "source asa_config.csh". For ASA and SA versions earlier than 7.0.0, you must use the "export" command to set each variable individually. For example,

PATH=/opt/sybase/SYBSasa6/bin:$PATH
export PATH

The following variables must be set:

Optionally, the following variables may be set also:

These variables can be set in each user's startup shell script, for example, .bashrc, if desired.

Installing SA/ASA

Q4. How much disk space is required?
A4. It depends on how many options are selected. The table below shows the disk space requirements for the two extremes: a full, network server install with all the options, and a small client install:

Example: ASA 7.0.1

Q5. How do I uninstall SA/ASA?
A5. Delete all the files in the directory specified during the install process. For example, if you have installed ASA into /opt/sybase/SYBSsa7, then enter the command "rm -rf /opt/sybase/SYBSsa7".

Q6. What are the minimum files required to run SA/ASA?
A6. The following table lists the absolute minimum files needed to run a 7.0.1 client, personal server and network server:

If you wish to run dbisqlc and dbconsole, you need the following files plus those required for the Network Client:

bin/dbconsole
bin/dbisqlc
tix/default.tix

Q7. How do I get an upgrade or bug fix?
A7. The upgrade from 7.0.x to 7.0.2 is available on the web site: 
http://downloads.sybase.com/swd/base.do?client=support. Click on "SQL Anywhere Studio". Also available there are Emergency Bug Fix (EBF) builds of 6.0.4 and later. These EBFs are not full product installs, but only updates. You must install an EBF overtop of an existing installation. Also available is the evaluation version of 7.0.2. For all other versions and their bug fixes, you should contact your support representative.

Q8. Where is the on-line help?
A8. An html version of the on-line help files can be found on the CD. The install program gives you the option of installing a copy to your hard disk. The help files on the CD are located in the directory 'help'. If, for example, your CD is mounted at /mnt/cdrom, then point your browser to: file:/mnt/cdrom/help/contents.htm. The gui-based tools dbconsole and dbisqlc do not have context-sensitive help. If you press F1, you will see the message "Warning at line 1, Help file not found". Use the html-based help instead.

Using the Database Engine

Q9. What are the system resources needed by ASA?
A9. ASA uses the following resources:

• Semaphores: the Solaris version uses native semaphores, but the Linux, HP-UX and AIX versions use System V semaphores, so it is possible to run out on these platforms. The server uses 1, each non-threaded client uses 1, and each threaded client uses 1 plus 1 per connection. If you do run out, then either the server will not be able to start, or clients will not be able to connect to a running server. If this happens, see your system documentation for how to increase your number of semaphores.
• Memory: the server manages its own cache. The size of the cache can be set by the -c option. ASA 7.0.0 and up also features dynamic cache sizing and allow you to specify the minimum and maximum sizes of the cache. The dynamic cache will grow or shrink depending on need.
• Temporary file space: the server creates a number of temporary files in the directory specified by SATMP or ASTMP (default: /tmp/.SQLAnywhere). These files must not be changed or deleted while the server is running. To prevent the temp files of a long-running server from becoming stale enough to be deleted by an automatic temp file cleaner, use the -ut option. It is possible to run out of file descriptors if your O/S limits their number. Use the 'ulimit' command to examine and increase the maximum allowed number of open files. If this number is too low, then the server may hang or crash.
• Threads: all platforms use posix threads.
• Signals: ASA uses a SIGALRM and a SIGIO handler in non-threaded clients, and a SIGIO handler in threaded clients. If you also wish to handle these signals, please read the file 'readme.txt' in your ASA install.

Q10. Which engine switches are supported only on Unix?
A10. The following engine command-line switches are supported only on Unix:

• -ud - run the server in the background as a daemon. This allows the server to keep running after the current user logs out.
• -s id - sets the ID that is used in messages to the syslog facility. The default is: user. Other values are: none, daemon, and local0, local1 …, local7.
• -ut min - causes the server to touch temporary files every min minutes (default: 30). This keeps them from being deleted by automatic temp file cleaner programs.

Q11. Which engine switches are not supported on Unix?
A11. The following engine command-line switches are not supported on Unix:

• -d - disable asynchronous I/O
• -df - use direct, asynchronous I/O
• -di - use direct I/O if possible
• -gb - set database priority class
• -gx - set number of execution threads (use –gn instead)
• -sc - use C2 communication links
• -tmt - set reenlistment timeout for distributed transactions
• -tmf - for recovery from distributed transactions
• -y - run as a Windows 95/98 service

Q12. Which ASA features are not supported on Unix?
A12. The following ASA features are not supported on Unix:

• any communication protocol other than TCP/IP and local shared memory, including named pipes, NETBIOS, IPX and SPX.
• OLE DB
• the FileDSN connection parameter is not currently available, but will be in a version ASA after, but not including, 7.0.2.
• integrated logins

Q13. Which ASA features are only supported on some Unix versions?
A13a. The following ASA features are only supported on some Unix versions:

• dynamic cache sizing is not available on Linux kernels earlier than 2.4 and also not on Linux for ASA versions 7.0.2 or earlier
• remote data access (proxy tables) are only available on Solaris and Linux, and only for ASA 7.0.2 and later
• SMP support is only available in ASA 6.0.0 and later; earlier versions will run on SMP machines, but will only use one processor
• the new external stored procedure APIs are only available in ASA 7.0.0 and later

A13b. The following SQL Anywhere Studio features are only supported on some Unix versions:

• MobiLink for ASA is available for Solaris and Linux in ASA 7.0.0 and later
• MobiLink transport-layer security (TLS) for the MobiLink server/client connection is available for Solaris and Linux in ASA 7.0.0 and later
• the Java versions of Sybase Central and Interactive SQL are available in ASA 7.0.0 and later
• the stored procedure and Java debugger is available in ASA 6.0.3 and later