Getting Started

Starting the Tidal Explorer Admin Tool

The Explorer Admin tool runs as Administrator and is installed at C:\Program Files\TIDAL\Explorer\TidalExplorerAdmin.exe

Run the installed application.

If the Admin tool is configured to connect to a remote Explorer Service running on Linux, the first screen displayed allows you to enter SSH credentials and verify connectivity to the remote host.

SSH Connection Controls	Description
Endpoint Address	A read-only text field that initially displays the endpoint address value defined in the TidalExplorerAdmin.exe.config file. e.g., https://myserver.mydomain:5001/TidalExplorerService/ This field is automatically updated once a successful connection has been made to the remote Linux server using edited Endpoint host or port values.
Endpoint Host	An editable text field that initially displays the remote host name portion of the endpoint address. e.g., myserver.mydomain Edits to the host result in a ping check to the new host when the mouse leaves the text field. The ping result is displayed in the report section. A ping success is not required to attempt connection to the host. The host’s name must match one of the DNS entries specified in the remote hosts server certificate. This may require use of a fully qualified domain name such as myserver.acme.com. Failure to match one of the DNS entries in the server certificate may result in a certificate trust failure when the Admin tool subsequently attempts to connect to the running remote service for user authentication.
Endpoint Port	An editable text field that initially displays the remote port portion of the endpoint address. e.g., 5001
Explorer Home	An editable text field that initially displays the installation folder for the remote Explorer Service defined in the TidalExplorerAdmin.exe.config file. Uses a Linux path format. e.g., /home/tidal/explorer
SSH username	An editable text field to input the Linux login name of the user who owns the remote Explorer Service installation.
SSH password	An editable text field to input the Linux login password of the user who owns the remote Explorer Service installation.
SSH Port	An editable text field that displays default SSH port 22.
Connect	The Connect button is enabled when all editable fields contain values and have no validation errors. Select Connect to perform the following verifications: The remote explorer home folder exists and contains the expected installation files as well as an explorer.lic file. The remote explorer home folder can be written by the SSH user.
Report	Shows results from ping and connection checks.
OK	The OK button enabled when all Connection checks succeed. Select the OK button to set the SSH credentials for the current Admin session and close the screen. If edits have been made in fields stored in the TidalExplorerAdmin.exe.config, the updates are saved to the configuration file before continuing.

A splash screen is displayed.

If the Explorer Service is configured for ActiveDirectory or LDAP authentication, a login screen displays, allowing you to enter login credentials to be authenticated.

For LDAP login, you must enter credentials as Username and Password.
For ActiveDirectory login, you must enter credentials as DomainName\Username and Password.
If the Explorer’s environments have not yet been configured, the dialog box that displays guides you to the Explorer Config Editor View to perform the initial configuration.

A basic configuration is created in the Configuration Editor, comprising a single Tidal environment, and a single instance as the basis for the configuration.

If a configuration is already defined, then the application displays the Master Dashboard View.

Running the Admin Tool when the Tidal Explorer Service is not running or has not completed initialization

While the Admin Tool can run when the TidalExplorerService is not running or has not completed initialization, certain features, such as dashboards, that make calls to Service APIs, are not available. Running the Admin Tool can be useful if you want to create, edit, and save the Explorer Configuration prior to starting the service, or if you want to check a license file.

If the Admin Tool has been configured for LDAP or ActiveDirectory authentication, you are always prompted for login credentials. If the Admin Tool cannot connect to the service during login, for example, if the service isn’t running or if the login credentials entered are invalid, then you are given the option to:

Ignore the login issue and continue using the Tool while emulating the entered username for the duration of this Admin session, or to
Cancel and retry the login process

Master Status and Instance Dashboards

The main application window displays a Master Status dashboard.

The following is a brief summary of the dashboards available. A detailed description of the dashboards can be found in the Master Status and Instance Dashboards section of the Tidal Explorer™ Client Tool User Guide.

Master Status Dashboard

The Master Status Dashboard tab displays Master Status information for all configured and enabled Tidal instances. The
database connections associated with each instance are also displayed in child views within each instance.

Navigate to an Instance dashboard by clicking the green arrow button in the Dashboard column on the right-hand of each instance row.

Instance Dashboard

The Tidal Instance Dashboard displays various dynamic data views covering system activity, queues, and agent connections. Historic job run and queue statistics over time can be queried, displayed and analyzed, and printed.

Explorer Configuration Editor

The Configuration Editor View is used to create and edit the Explorer configuration and apply saved configurations to the running Explorer Service.

Creating/Editing and Saving the Tidal Explorer Configuration

The Explorer configuration data is stored in the encrypted file Explorer/config/TeServiceEnvironments.dat located in the Explorer Server installation that is being administered.

Note that when administering a remote Explorer Service, an additional folder is created in the local windows file store at

Explorer/remote/<remote-hostname>. This folder contains temporary copies of files copied to/from the remote server.

When the Tidal Admin tool is run for the first time, it identifies if no explorer configuration has been created and opens the Configuration Editor View.

If no configuration is found, the Tidal Administration tool creates an initial configuration comprised of a single environment, a single instance with a TidalServer, and a LiveMaster. In addition, it adds the current Windows user of the Admin tool as a Tidal Explorer User with GlobalSuperUser rights.

The Config Editor consists of a toolbar and a Main Editor Control.

Explorer Configuration Editor Toolbar

The Explorer Configuration Editor toolbar contains the following controls:

Explorer Configuration Editor Toolbar Options	Description
Load Config Action	Loads the Environment configuration from the file store. Loading the configuration from this file discards all current configuration in the editor.
Save Config Action	Loads the current Environment configuration in the editor to the file store of the administered explorer installation. The configuration must not contain any validation errors. If administering a local Window Explorer installation, then the following additional operations occur. Data folders are created for each enabled TidalServer, if require, when the configuration is saved. Explorer\data\<tidalservename>\PM\|EM\|FM folders The Save operation also identifies unreferenced tidaldervername folders under Explorer\data that may be considered for deletion. Note: Saving the configuration to file does not apply the configuration to the running service.
Refresh Service from Saved Config Action	Applies the configuration saved in the file store to the administered service if it is running. The service adjusts its operation based on the changes to the configuration compared to the configuration it is using prior to the update. Depending on the configuration changes, the service will: Identify Tidal Server changes such as additions, deletions and config changes. Identify New, Changed, Deleted, Disabled or altered databases and users.
Expand All Hierarchies Action	Expands the displayed environment or user hierarchy.
Collapse All Hierarchies Action	Collapses the displayed environment or user hierarchy.

Explorer Config Main Editor Control

Use the Explorer Config Main Editor Control to edit the hierarchy of elements defined in the Environment Configuration as outlined below.

Explorer Configuration Editor Control Options	Description
Hierarchy Config > Environment > Instance > TidalServer	Selecting the Tidal Environments tab displays the hierarchy of configured environments. The Tidal Environments tab is selected by default. In the example above, Tidal Environment 1 contains Tidal Instance 1 which contains a Tidal Server with folder name “tidalserver1” and a Primary Master Host at localhost:6215. Note: Clicking the DbConnections tab or Tidal Server tab in an instance shows the Databases or Tidal Server data, respectively, for the parent Tidal Instance.

Hierarchy Config > Environment > Instance > DbConnections	In the example below, Tidal Environment 1 contains Tidal Instance 1' which contains a LiveMaster DB named DB 1.
Hierachy Config > Users	Click the Tidal Explorers Users tab displays a list of configured users.

Editing the Configuration

Configuration Editor and License Constraints

Note: The Configuration Editor prevents creation of more environments, instances, or historic online database backups than are permitted by the Explorer license. Saving the configuration is also prevented if the configuration exceeds license constraints.

Editing Environments

Create a New Environment

Locate the Create New Environment button on the Tidal Explorer Configuration row at the top of the hierarchy.
Click the button to create a new environment as well as the required child elements for the Environment, including a Tidal instance and the instance’s required children.

Delete an Environment

Click the Delete Environment button on the Environment definition row to be removed. The Environment and all configured Tidal instances and related children contained within the environment are deleted. Note that the configuration must contain at least one Tidal environment, meaning that the last remaining Tidal Environment in a configuration cannot be deleted.

Editing Environment Properties

Select Edit to display the Environment Edit form.

Environment Name is required and must be unique (across all environments).
Environment Description is optional.
Disabling an environment using the Enabled check button prevents the child Instances, Masters, and databases associated with a disabled environment from displaying on Explorer clients.

Select Update to apply the property changes to the environment. Select Cancel to abort the edit operation.

Note: The editor indicates changes to the original configuration field values using a yellow background at the field level and green circular row headers for new entities. The change markers don’t become visible until another element in the UI becomes active.

Editing Tidal Instances in an Environment

Create a New Tidal Instance

Locate the Create New Instance button on the parent Environment row.
Click the button to create a new instance as well as the required child elements for the instance including a Tidal Server and a LiveMaster DB.

Delete a Tidal Instance

Select the Delete Instance button located on the Instance definition row to be deleted.

The Instance and all configured children of the instance are deleted and references to deleted DBs from User configurations are removed.

Note that an environment must contain at least one Tidal instance; the last remaining Tidal instance in an environment cannot be deleted.

Edit the Properties for a Tidal Instance

You can edit the Instance properties by selecting the Edit button on the instance row to display the Instance Edit form.

Instance Name is required and must be unique (across all environments).
Instance Description is optional.
Disabling an instance using the Enabled check button prevents the Instance, its child Master, and databases associated from displaying on Explorer clients.

Select the Update button to apply the property changes to the Instance. Select Cancel to abort the edit operation.

Editing a Tidal Server in a Tidal Instance

To edit a Tidal Server definition in a Tidal Instance, you must expand the instance row and select the Tidal Server tab to display the server data, then select Edit to display the Edit Tidal Server form.

Tidal Server Edit Properties	Description
Folder Name	A text entry field, the name of the folder used to store data received by MasterLink from the configured Master Explorer/data/<tidalservername>. The TidalServer name used must be unique, cannot already exist in the data folder or use the name ‘config’, and may only contain alphabetic lowercase [a-z], numeric [0-9] and underscore characters. Changing the FolderName of a TidalServer that is already registered in a running Explorer Service does not take effect and causes exceptions to be logged in the Explorer Service. A service restart is required for FolderName changes to take effect. This will be resolved in a future release.
Description	An optional description of the Server, this is a text-entry field.
PM Host	The IP address or FQDN of the machine hosting the Primary Master, it is required if the TidalServer is enabled. This is a text-entry field and whitespace characters are not allowed.
PM Port	This required column consists of the port number used by the Primary Master (PM) with default value 6125. PM Port is a text-entry field.
SSL	If SSL is enabled for the Tidal Server, this check button should be checked. Note: The Explorer Service must be restarted in order to detect changes made to SSL properties defined in the explorer.props file or changes to a Tidal Instances SSL settings made via the Explorer Admin Config Editor. This will be resolved in a future release.
BM Host	The IP address or FQDN of the machine hosting the Backup Master (BM). This field must be empty if this is a Primary Master-only configuration. This text-entry field must not contain whitespace characters.
BM Port	The port number used by the Backup Master is displayed in this text-entry field. The default value is 6125.
FM Host	The IP address or FQDN of the machine hosting the Fault Monitor (FM). This field must be empty if this is a Primary Master-only configuration. Whitespace characters are not allowed in this text-entry field.
FM Port	This text-entry field contains the Port number used by the Fault Monitor. The default value in this field is 6705.
Enabled	The TidalServer can be enabled or disabled using the Enabled check button. In order for a TidalServer to be displayed in the dashboard, the Parent Environment and instance must be enabled. A disabled TidalServer does not collect information from its related Tidal Master. It may still be displayed on the dashboard if there are DB connections associated with the instance that the dashboard is required to display.

Note: The Host/Port combinations used in one Tidal instance should not be used in a different Tidal instance. This will be enforced by the Config Editor in a future release. A TidalServer cannot be deleted from its parent Tidal Instance.

Editing a LiveMaster DB in a Tidal Instance

Each instance contains a single LiveMaster DB definition.

To edit the LiveMaster database properties in a Tidal instance, you must expand the instance row and select the DbConnections tab to display the LiveMaster DB data then press the Edit button to display the Edit DB Connection form.

DbConnection Properties	Description
Name	This text-only field contains the name used to identify the DB in the Explorer client. Name is required and must be unique across all databases including LiveMasters and Backups in all environments.
Description	Optional information about the database is entered in this field.
SqlType	Allows selection of the database type from MSSQL, PgSQL or Oracle. All databases defined in an instance must have the same SqlType.
Schema Owner	Defines the Schema Owner value name. Required field. For Oracle, the value is normally ‘Tidal’. For MSSQL, the value is ‘TBO’. For PgSQL, the value is normally ‘public’.
DB Category	LiveMaster for the Live database associated with the Tidal Master. OnlineBackup for other Online backup DBs associated with the Tidal Master. DB Category is not editable.
Timeout	This text-entry field contains the default command timeout for database queries, in seconds. The default is 30 seconds. For large databases or for databases running on lower-spec machines, the command timeout can be increased to prevent client reports and operations timing out. Note: Command timeout should not be set to zero as this removes the timeout interval for SQL commands.
DB Version	The Tidal version(s) associated with the schema defined in the DB. Initially empty, this field is populated automatically when the DB connection string has been configured. DB Version is not directly editable.
PM Alias	The Primary Master Alias read from the DB. Initially empty, this field populates automatically when the DB connection string has been configured. Online backup DBs must use the same master nodmst_alias as the LiveMaster DB in the same instance. PM Alias is not directly editable.
Enabled	The Database can be enabled or disabled using the Enabled check button. A disabled Database is not visible on Explorer clients. Note: Do not enable DB connections unless they have been configured. The Explorer release allows DB Connections that are enabled but not configured to be displayed on the user interface. This will be resolved in a future release.
Configure DB Connection	Click the DB button on the DbConnection row to configure the connection string for the database. Based on the value of the SqlType, a Connection Test form for either MSSQL, PgSQL or Oracle displays. If no connection string has been defined, a default connection string appropriate to the SqlType is displayed. See note on the following page. Using the Configure DB Connection Form To configure a DB connection: Enter the connection string required to connect to the required DB. Select the Test button. This will attempt to connect to the Tidal DB with the supplied connection string. It will extract info about the DB version and the nodmst_alias for the master node. It will verify other aspects as required. The connection string is displayed under the connection row with the password obscured. Note: Particular care should taken to ensure that the LiveMaster DB connection specified corresponds to the actual Tidal DB in use in the configured Master. A LiveMaster DB cannot be deleted from its parent Tidal Instance. Note: LiveMaster and Online Backup DB connection strings typically make use of the tidalrd account that should have read access to the Tidal DB.

Sample MSSQL Connection String based on tidalrd login

Data Source=localhost;Initial Catalog=admiral;Integrated Security=False;Persist Security Info=True;User ID=tidalrd;Password=mypassword;Connection Timeout=2;

Sample PgSQL Connection String based on tidalrd login

Host=localhost;Port=5432;Database=Admiral;Username=tidalrd;Password=mypassword;Timeout=15;

Sample Oracle Connection String based on tidalrd login

DATA SOURCE=(DESCRIPTION = (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = localhost)(PORT = 1521)) (CONNECT_DATA = (SERVER = DEDICATED) (SERVICE_NAME = orcl)));USER ID=tidalrd;PASSWORD=mypassword;Connection Timeout=2;

Create a New Online Backup DB in a Tidal Instance

Select the Create New DB Connection button located on the required parent Instance row.

The new Online Backup database appears under the LiveMaster database record in the instance.

Delete an Online backup DB in a Tidal Instance

Select the Delete DB Connection button located on the Backup DB definition row.

This action deletes the Online Backup DB configuration and removes references to the deleted DB from User configurations.

All Online backup DBs can be deleted from an instance.

Editing an Online Backup DB in a Tidal Instance

Online backup DB definitions are edited in the same way as the LiveMaster DB described previously.

Editing Explorer Users

Selecting the Tidal Explorer Users tab displays the configured users for the Explorer Service.

Create an Explorer User

Select the Create New User button located on the Tidal Explorer Configuration row at the top on the hierarchy.

Delete an Explorer User

Select the Delete User button located on the User definition row to be deleted.

This action deletes the Explorer user on that row.

Because an environment must contain at least one Explorer user, the last remaining Explorer user in an environment cannot be deleted.

Editing an Explorer User

Select the Edit button on a user row to edit properties for that user.

User Properties	Description
Name	Name of the user is required and is used to authenticate the Explorer Client users in this text-entry field. The format of the name depends on the authentication mode is use. For integrated sign-on or ActiveDirectory, the user name has the form domainname\username. For LDAP, the user name has the form username.
Description	This text-entry field is used to enter optional information about the user.
Is Global Super User	Explorer users normally require SuperUser rights on the Tidal DBs, as defined in the usrmst table, to allow them to access the data in the DB. An Explorer user can be granted GlobalSuperUser rights. This grants the user read access to all configured DBs and does not require the user to explicitly be configured as a SuperUser in the Tidal DB usrmst table.
Access All Connections	When an Explorer user is granted AccessAllConnections rights, the user can access all configured DBs in order to verify their SuperUser rights in the usrmst table. If the user is not an SuperUser in the usrmst table, then the user is denied further access to the DB in the Explorer Clients.
Enabled	A user can be enabled or disabled by selecting the Enabled check button. A disabled user can authenticate but does not have access to features requiring other Explorer Services on the Explorer client.
Add DB to User	Select this button to add a new DB access association to the user.
Delete User	Select this button to delete the user and any child DB association for the user from the Explorer configuration.

An Explorer user can be granted connection access to one or more specific DBs in the configuration. The user is then granted read access to the specified DBs to verify their SuperUser rights.

Add a Specific DB Access Connection Association for an Explorer User

Select the Add Specific Connection button on the target user row.

Expand the User Db Connections tab under the User and select a database from the selection list provided.

The selected Tidal DB is now available to the user for SuperUser checking.

Delete a Specific DB Access Connection Association from an Explorer User

Select the Remove Connection from User button on the User DB Connection row to be deleted.

Rights Granted to Explorer Users

Rights granted to User

Description

Enabled = true

GlobalSuperUser = true

User has read access to all configured Tidal DBs even if the user is not referenced in the usrmst table in the configured Tidal DB.

User will have access to Explorer features for all DBs as well as all dashboards for all Masters and instances.

Enabled = true

GlobalSuperUser = false

AccessAllConnections = true

User has read access to all configured Tidal DBs in order to check if they are defined as SuperUser in the usrmst table.

A user who is a SuperUser on the DB can access Explorer features for that database.

The user can access dashboards for all Masters and instances that contain configured DBs where they are SuperUsers.

Enabled = true

GlobalSuperUser = false

AccessAllConnections = false

Specific DB access = true

User has read access to the specific set of configured Tidal DBs to check if they are defined as a SuperUser in the usrmst table.

A user who is a SuperUser on the DB will have to access to Explorer features for that database.

The user can access dashboards for all Masters and instances that contain configured DBs that they have been granted access to and where they are a SuperUser.

Considerations when Repointing a Tidal Instance at a Different Master

Repointing a TidalServer at a Masters New Location

After relocating a Tidal Master to a different machine or IP address, you must update the Explorer Service Configuration to point at the new Master IP address and new LiveMaster DB location.

Save the changes and refresh the Explorer Service with the updated configuration.

This allows for retention of the historical information for the original master stored in the Data area and append the new information received from the relocated master.

Relocating a LiveMaster DB to a different server also requires the LiveMaster configuration in Explorer to be updated and applied to the Explorer Service.

To repurpose an existing configured Tidal Server to collect data from an unrelated master, perform the following steps:

Stop the Explorer Service.

Delete the data associated with the original master from Explorer\data\<tidalserver>.
Edit the service config to point <tidalserver> at the different master and save the configuration.
Restart the Explorer Service.

This procedure ensures that no historical information for the original master is associated with the new unrelated master.

Alternatively, you can delete the existing Tidal Instance and create a new Tidal instance with a different TidalServer Folder Name.

Explorer License and License View

Explorer License File

The explorer license file named explorer.lic must exist in the installation folder for the administered Explorer Service. For remote Explorer Services, the license file must exist on the remote install folder on the remote host.

The explorer.lic file is encrypted and contains the following information:

License information	Description
MaxConcurrentClientSessionCount	The maximum total number of concurrent Explorer client applications connecting to the Explorer Service that can acquire a license slot. Value may be unlimited.
MaxTidalEnvironmentCount	The maximum total number of Tidal environments that can be configured. Value may be unlimited.
MaxTotalTidalInstanceCount	The maximum total number of Tidal instances that can be configured. Value may be unlimited.
MaxTotalOnlineBackupCount	The maximum total number of Online DB backups that can be configured. Value may be unlimited.
AllowCompareWithinTidalEnvironment	true – Allow comparison operations between DBs within an environment false – Restrict comparison operations between DBs to those within the same Tidal Instance. Note: Comparison between DBs in different environments is not supported with the exception of Schema Compare.
IsEvaluationLicense	true – License is for evaluation purposes only false – License is not an evaluation license
LicenseExpiryDate	Absolute expiry date for the license. Value may be unlimited
LicenseGeneratedDate	Date the license was generated.
IsNodeLocked	true – Service is node locked false – Service is not node locked
NodeLockInfo	Information used to identify one or more host machines that are licensed to run the Explorer Service. This is a comma separated list of fully qualified domain names FQDN or hostnames for the allowed hosts. NodeLock to single machine examples TWA-EXPDEV-01.dv.local TWA-EXPDEV-01 Node Lock to 2 machines TWA-EXPDEV-01.dv.local,TWA-EXPDEV-02 TWA-EXPDEV-01,TWA-EXPDEV-02 To access the FQDN of a Windows host machine, use the command shell on the applicable machine and enter the command: ping -a localhost To access the hostname of a Windows host machine, use the command shell on the applicable machine and enter the following command: Hostname

Explorer License View Tab

The Explorer License Tab lets you check the contents of the explorer.lic license file and apply an updated license to the service without restarting the service.

Check License File button

Checks the contents of the explorer.lic file and displays the results in the text area.

Apply License File to Service button

Applies the explorer.lic file to the running service.

Explorer Client Licensing Behavior

Explorer clients acquire a license from the Explorer Service if a license slot is available when they initially connect to the service. Explorer clients connect to the Explorer Service on a regular basis (every few seconds) to renew their license or acquire a license slot should one become available.

The maximum number of Explorer Client license slots available is set by the MaxConcurrentClientSession property defined in the Explorer License.

The Explorer Service tracks all Explorer Client sessions. If an Explorer Client does not connect to the Explorer Service within a designated timeframe, that client’s license is marked as expired. Expired licenses can be acquired by other clients. Expired licenses may be purged from the Explorer Service after an additional designated timeframe.

Explorer Clients View Tab

The Explorer Clients View is available in the Admin Tool on the Explorer Clients tab.

Explorer Clients ToolBar Controls

Remove All Button

Equivalent to calling ‘Remove’ action on all Client Records.

Purge All Button

Purges all tracked client sessions that are in state ‘Is Purgable’=true.

Connected Clients Grid

The Clients Grid shows the connected Admin and Explorer client sessions:

Grid Column	Description
Admin Icon	Indicates the session is an admin client, if present. Note: Admin Clients do not acquire license slots.
Key Icon	Indicates if the Client has a license slot.
Clock Icon	Indicates when the license slot has expired (red).
AcquiredAt	The time that the Explorer Client session initially acquired a license slot from the service.
UserName	Windows user name for the user running the Explorer Client.
AppName	Name of the client application being run (TE-Admin or TE-Client).
Machine Name	Name of machine running the client.
Process ID	Process number of the running client application.
Process Start Time	The time that the client process started on the machine.
Expires In	The time until the client license slot expires. Each time a client connects to the service, its license slot is refreshed if it has acquired a license and the expiry count down is reset.
First Registration Time	The time that the Explorer Client session initially connected with the service.
Last Registration Time	Time the Explorer Client session last re-connected with the service.
At Service Time	Time that the service updates this record.
Is Purgable	Indicates that an expired session is eligible to be purged from the service.
Action Button	Revoke/Expire the license for this client. Forced Revoke/Expiry of the license currently to be used by the client. If the client is still active, it may acquire a license when it next connects to the service if one is available.
Action Button	Remove this client from the Explorer clients grid. Completely removes the tracking information about an Explorer client session from the service and frees up its license slot. If the client session is no longer active, the client row is removed. If the client session is still active, then the client session row will re-appear after the client reconnects to the service (at which point it will acquire a new license slot if one if available). Removal is not influenced by the current expiry or ‘Is Purgable' state of the record.

The columns in the Clients grid can be sorted, filtered, and grouped. The Clients grid supports selection of multiple noncontiguous Client rows by using the Ctrl button when selecting. The selected rows can be copied and pasted as text.

When the mouse is focused inside the grid, press Ctrl + P to display a Print Preview dialog to export/print the view.

Explorer Clients that do not acquire a license slot are not prevented from running. Rather, they can run but are unable to access any features that require access to the Explorer Service APIs.

If an Explorer license slot becomes available, then it may be acquired by the Explorer Client in which case all tools become available to that Client.

Note: The Explorer Client also displays a limited version of the Explorer Clients view that does not contain the admin actions available in the Admin Tool.

Explorer Data Space Manager Tab

The Masterlink component in the Explorer Service produces data files related to connected Tidal Masters. See the section on Master Link performance data collection for details. Over time, these data files will consume increasing amounts of disc space in the configured DataStore location.

The Data Space Manager has two tabbed views, the Data Space view and the Raw Data view.

The Data Space View can help manage this data space growth by defining data space management rules for each connected Tidal Server and viewing the current data space usage and historical data space growth trends.

The Data Space view is split into two panels.

A Space Rules panel on the left hand side
An Explorer Data Space Dashboard on the right hand side.

Space Rules

Explorer data Space Rules are stored in the encrypted file Explorer/config/TeAllDataSpaceRules.dat located in the Explorer Server installation that is being administered.

When run for the first time a default space rule is created for each Tidal Server configured in the Explorer.

The Space Rules panel has three section top to bottom:

Archive Store Location [Top]

A text-entry field that defines the location to store Archived data files for the administered Explorer Server. This field is required if any Tidal Server rule uses an Archive space operation.

The archive storage location must exist and be readable/writable by the user account running the administered Explorer Service on Linux or Windows.

Note: If the Archive location is on a Network File Store then the Windows TidalExplorerService must be run as a domain user account with access to that network location. Refer to the Admin install guide for more information.

Examples:

Windows Local Folder Path: E:\dataarchive
Windows Network Folder path: \\mydata\explorer\archive
Linux Folder Path: /mnt/archive

Space Rule Grid [Middle]

A grid containing a Space Rule definiton row for each Tidal Server configured in the Explorer.

Grid Column	Description
Tidal Server Name	The folder name giving to the Tidal Server in the main Explorer configuration. Read-only in this view.
Server Enabled	Indicates if the Tidal Server is enabled in the main Explorer configuration. Read-only in this view.
Rule Enabled	The Space Rule is applied to this Tidal Server, if enabled.
Operation	The Space Rule operation to be applied to this Tidal Server. Data Files that exceed the defined space rule constraint are eligible for the operation. The following operations can be selected. None – No data file operation is defined. Delete – Remove each eligible data files from the %DATASTORE%/data folder Archive – Store each eligible data file in a compressed zip archive file in the %ArchiveStore% Location, then delete the file from %DATASTORE%/data. Note: Archive zip files are delineated by Tidal Server name and month and use the naming convention: %ARCHIVESTORE%\<tidalservername>_yyyymm.zip Entries in the zip files are named relative to the %DATASTORE%/data folder and include the subfolders for easy restoration.
Space Constraint	If enabled, this Tidal Server has a maximum disc space allowance in %DATASTORE%. If disabled, this TIdal Server no allowed maximum disc space is specified.
Max Space GB	Maximum allowed disc space storage, in GB. For this Tidal Server. Default 1024 GB Minimum value is 0.1 GB This value applies if the Space Constraint is enabled. Running space totals are computed such that older stat files become eligible for deletion or archiving before newer data files.
Retention Period	The data file retention period for this Tidal Server. The following periods can be selected: Infinite – There is no date-based retention period. Month – Retain N months of data. Week – Retain N weeks of data N is defined by the Period Count. Note: Date retention calculations are based on the production date associated with the data file name and the current date on the Explorer Server.
Period Count	Period count applied to the Retention Period. An Integer Value >= 0 A value of 0 implies there is not retention constraint based in the file production dates. This is equivalent to an infinite retention period.
Edit	Press the Edit button to display an edit form for the Space Rule for this Tidal Server.

A Tidal Server space rule can use a Space Constraint or a date Retention Constraint or both. If both constraint types are used. the data file eligibility for deletion or archiving is met if either constraint is true for the data file.

When the mouse is focused inside the rules grid, press Ctrl + P to display a Print Preview dialog to export/print the view.

Space Rule Actions [Bottom]

Space Action Button	Description
Load Rules	Load the last saved Data Rules from the Explorer Server file config.TeAllDataSpaceRules.dat.
Save Rules	Save the current Data Rules to the Explorer Server file.
Run Rules	Launches the Data Rules processing based on the Space Rules last saved to the Explorer Server and return immediately. Tip: Use the Dashboard Reload Button to refresh the dashboard and track progress of the Run Rule processing. Note: The Run Rules processing runs the ‘ExplorerConfig.exe archive’ command via the administered Explorer Service. When the service is running on windows the TidalExplorerService must be run using a Domain user account having read/write access to the ArchiveStore location. The log of the rules processing is saved to logs/archive_yyyyMMdd.log.

Explorer Data Space Dashboard

The Data Space Dashboard displays information about the data space usage in the configured %DataStore%\data location based on the Space Rules last saved to the Explorer Server. The dashboard has five display areas, indicated 1 to 5 in the diagram below.

Dashboard Panel 1 : Tidal Server Space Rules

A grid showing summary Space usage vs Max allowance and the count of files Exceeding any date retention constraint for each Tidal Server with an Enabled Space Rule.

Dashboard Panel 2 : Max Space vs Used GB

A chart showing Space Usage vs Max space by Tidal Server. A green bar (positive value) indicates the Tidal Server has not exceeded its space allowance. A Red bar (negative value) indicates the Tidal Server has exceeded its space allowance.

Dashboard Panel 3: File Count Exceeding Retention Date

A chart showing the count of files Exceeding a Retention Period by Tidal Server. A red bar indicates a Tidal Server has files exceeding the Retention constraint.

Dashboard Panel 4: Running Total of Space GB by File Type over time

A stacked area chart showing the growth of space by file type over time for all Tidal Servers.

Dashboard Panel 5 : Running Total of Space GB by Tidal Server over time

A stacked area chart showing the growth of space used by Tidal Server over time.

Each display panel contains two buttons in the Top Right corner.

Export To button – Allows Print Preview and Export of the displayed data to PDF, Excel, and other formats.
Maximize button – Maximizes the displayed panel to cover the entire dashboard area. When the panel is Maximized, a Minimize button is displayed that returns to the default layout.

The dashboard Title bar also contains two buttons in its right corner.

Export To button – Allows Print Preview and Export of the entire dashboard to PDF, Excel and other formats.

Reload Data button – Recalculates the data space usage on the Explorer Server and refreshes the dashboard. Use this button to track space cleanup progress when the Rule Processing is being run on the server.

Tidal Automation of Space Rule Processing

To automate Rule Processing, set up a Tidal Agent on the Explorer Server and schedule a Tidal job that executes an archive command on the Explorer Server. In each case, the Space Rules defined in config/TeAllDataSpaceRules.dat on that server will be applied.

Automating Archive Processing when Explorer Service is installed on Windows:

Create a Tidal Agent on the ExplorerService windows host.

Ensure the Tidal Agent runs under a Windows domain user account with access to the Network file store used for the archive location. This would normally be the same domain user account used to run the TidalExplorerService. In the example shown, the domain user is bob\rgardne2

Create a Tidal Connection to the Windows TidalAgent from the Tidal Client Manager.

Set the Runtime user to the domain user account running the agent. The connection in the example is named ’TE-Archive’.

Create a tidal job to run the Archive process using the Windows Tidal Agent as follows

Program Command	C:\Program Files\TIDAL\Explorer\ExplorerConfig.exe
Command Parameters	archive Note that these parameters appear as lowercase.
Run => Agent Name	TE-Archive
Run => Runtme user	Name of the runtime user. bob\rgardne2 in this example
Run Tracking ExitCode	Normal = 0 to 0
Options Save Output	Save output if required Note: A log of the rules processing is output to stdout and saved to logs/archive_yyyyMMdd.log

Schedule the archive job as required.

Automating Archive when Explorer Service is installed on Linux

Ensure the Tidal Agent runs under the Linux user account with rea/write access to the archive Network file store location. This would typically be the same account used to run the explorerservice on linux.

Create a tidal job using the Tidal Agent on linux as follows:

Command: /opt/TIDAL/explorer/explorerutil

Argument: archive

Check for Exit code == 0 under normal operation

Save output if required

Note: A log of the rules processing is sent to stdout and saved to logs/archive_yyyyMMdd.log.

Restoring Archived Files to the Data Store

The following manual procedure can be used to restore archived files to a DataStore

Restore Archived Files on Explorer Server on Windows

Assume

Explorer ArchiveStore is E:\ArchiveStore

Explorer DataStore is C:\Program Files\TIDAL\Explorer

Wish to restore the archived data for Sep 2021 for a tidal server named tidalserver123.

Stop the explorer service on windows.
Run command from a window command shell (running as administrator).

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -command "& { Expand-Archive -PATH E:\ArchiveStore\tidalserver123_202111.zip -DestinationPath 'C:\Program Files\TIDAL\Explorer\data' -FORCE }"

Restart the service.

Restore Archived Files on Explorer Server on Linux

Assume

Explorer ArchiveStore is /mnt/archive

Explorer DataStore is /opt/TIDAL/explorer/data

Wish to restore the archived data for Sep 2021 for a tidal server named tidalserver123.

Stop the explorer service on Linux.
Run command from a bash shell:

unzip /mnt/archive/tidalserver123_202109.zip /opt/TIDAL/explorer/data
Restart the service.

The Raw Data View

The Raw Data view can support diagnostic checking of the Data Space Manager by displaying the raw Explorer data space data results in a grid format. The grid supports the Ctrl + P option to display a Print Preview dialog to export/print the grid data to Excel.

Diagnostics View

The Diagnostics View in the Admin tool can help with troubleshooting issues.

Click the Diagnostics button to run a series of system checks including file access, service license and configuration, requesting information from the Explorer Service APIs for a configured Tidal instance system and the current user’s security profile.

Troubleshooting Explorer Admin Issues

Issue

Description

Master Dashboard is not displayed in Admin Tool

This may be caused by a number of issues. To diagnose the issue, you should:

Ensure the Tidal Explorer Service is running, is configured and licensed and has completed initialization following startup.

If you have made changes to the Explorer configuration, ensure the configuration has been saved and applied to the Running Service.

Ensure that the current user running the Admin Client has been added as a user to the Explorer Configuration and been granted IsGlobalSuperUser permissions.

Running the diagnostics check in the Admin tool can help identify root causes. See the sample outputs from the diagnostics check below.

Here the check has established that the service is running but has not yet completed initialization. Re-running the diagnostics will identify when the initialization has been successfully completed.

Here the check has established that the current user has not been authorized to view any Instances.

Further down the output the check has established that the current user is not defined in the Explorer configuration being used by the Service.

In this example, the check shows that the service is not running at the address supplied.

MasterLink stays in Failed State but Master is Running

If a MasterLink Client connection stays in the Failed state but the Master has since been recovered and is running correctly, there are two options to reset the MasterLink Client status:

Option 1: Using the Admin tool

In the Configuration Editor, disable the Tidal Server that is in the Failed State.
Save the Modified configuration.
Apply the configuration to the running service.

Steps a-c will unregister the Failed Client in MasterLink.

In the Configuration Editor, enable the Tidal Server that was disabled in step a.
Save the Modified configurationApply the configuration to the running service

Steps d-f will re-register the Client in MasterLink.

OR

Option 2: Stop and Start the TidalExplorerService.

Explorer Service Operation and Data Management

MasterLink

MasterLink is installed with the Explorer Service and provides data integration between one or more Tidal Masters and Tidal Explorer.

MasterLink Functions

Tidal User Authentication for AD and LDAP

Tidal Scheduler user authentication supporting AD, LDAP, and AMQ for both non-SSL and SSL.

Master performance data collection

Master Status
Job Run Statistics.
System Activity Messages
Connections/Agents
Queues
Fault Monitoring (FM) Log Messages

Management and filtering of performance data

Object value changes for Statistics, Connections, Queues, and FM Log.
Object deletion for Connections and Queues.
State changes for Connections, Queues, and FM Log.

MasterLink Data Storage

Data collected by MasterLink is organized and stored in the file system in the Explorer/data folder. These files are subsequently accessed by the Tidal Explorer.

MasterLink can support connection to one of more Tidal Masters. Each Tidal Master may be configured in Standalone or Fault Tolerant Mode.

The following diagram illustrates the MasterLink folder/file structure related to a standalone Master with folder name tidalserver1.

The following diagram illustrates the MasterLink folder/file structure related to a Fault Tolerant Master with folder name tidalserver2.

MasterLink File Naming Conventions

In general, files created by MasterLink use the following naming convention:

<datatype>-<master-proddate-yyyyMMdd>-<masterlink-file-created-yyyyMMddHHmmss>.dat

For example, fmlog-20190808-20190808113528.dat

Connection and Queue state-change files are named as:

<datatype>-state-changed-<master-proddate-yyyyMMdd>-<masterlink-file-created-yyyyMMddHHmmss>.dat

Connection and Queue object deletion files are named as:

<datatype>-deletion-<master-proddate-yyyyMMdd>-<masterlink-file-created-yyyyMMddHHmmss>.dat

MasterLink Data Format

Each file contains a line-based format where each line adheres to the following structure

<local-UTC-date-time>,<master-UTC-date-time>,<json-format-string-of-an-object>

Examples of the line outputs for each file type are:

MasterStatus

2019-09-04 16:29:04.265,2019-09-04 16:28:00.052,{"id":0,"masterCurrentTime":"20190904092550","masterStartTime":"20190902104642","masterProdDate":"Sep 4, 2019 12:00:00 AM","masterProdDateAsString":"20190904","masterPaused":false,"databaseConnected":true,"masterPausedByClient":false,"numberClientsConnected":0,"backupVersion":"6.5.1.187","arbiterVersion":"6.5.1.187","activeNodes":"Y:1 Y:-1 Y:-2","masterTZOffset":-25200000}

System Activities

2019-09-04 16:52:36.090,2019-09-04 16:52:00.047,{"timestamp":"Sep 4, 2019 11:50:49 AM","polltimestamp":"Sep 4, 2019 11:50:49 AM","message":"Job j1[1] completed status [Completed Normally].","lastChangeTime":"Sep 4, 2019 11:50:49 AM"}

Connections

2019-09-04 16:28:04.264,2019-09-04 16:28:00.016, {"active":"Y","activeJobs":0,"id":60,"agentload":0,"name":"twa-devts-06","jobLimit":10,"lastChangeTime":"Sep 2, 2019 1:25:42 PM","cacheLastChangeTime":"Sep 4, 2019 11:25:30 AM","connectionActive":"Y"}

Statistics

2019-09-04 16:13:07.251,2019-09-04 16:13:00.020, {"id":0,"numAdhocJobs":0,"numCarryOverJobs":0,"numJobsDone":0,"numJobsCancelled":0,"numRerunJobs":0,"numCarryOverToGoJobs":0,"jobstotal":0,"jobswait":0,"jobstogo":0}

Queues

Connection State Changes

Queue State Changes

2019-09-16 20:46:25.066,2019-09-16 20:46:00.022, {"id":6,"name":"Short Unscheduled Jobs","active":"Y","available":"Y","bump":"N","description":"Unscheduled jobs that run under one hour","fullpath":"\\System Queue\\Unscheduled\\Short Unscheduled Jobs","highPriority":"N","lastChangeTime":"Sep 16, 2019 3:44:22 PM","limit":100,"niceValue":21,"parentId":3,"priority":50,"numWaitingJobs":0,"numRunningJobs":0}

Queue Deletions

2019-07-24 09:58:14.247,2019-07-24 14:58:14.248,{"id":11,"parentId":0}
Connection Deletions

2019-07-24 09:58:14.247,2019-07-24 14:58:14.248,{"id":11}

FMLog

2019-09-17 13:30:29.109,2019-09-17 13:29:59.488, {"id":"BM","timestamp":1568726999488,"message":"Backup OK. [ Standby Mode ]","lastChangeTime":1568727019190}

FMLog State Changes,

2019-09-17 13:47:29.117,2019-09-17 13:46:50.040, {"id":"BM","timestamp":1568728010040,"message":"Backup [ Stop ].","lastChangeTime":1568728010040}

Logging and Troubleshooting MasterLink

Log Files and Location

All log files associated with MasterLink are stored in the explorer\logs folder.

Each registered environment has its own log file for storing debugging information.

<registered-tidalserver-name>-<masterlink-timestamp>.log

MasterLink creates two log files:

Standard out and standard error are written into

masterlink-<masterlink-timestamp>.out

All other logging information is written into

masterlink-<masterlink-timestamp>.log

Explorer Data Management

The Explorer Service generates data and log files that are stored in Explorer\data and Explorer\logs, respectively.

Log File Management

Log files are created by the running Explorer service and MasterLink and are saved into the Explorer\logs folder. Each log file name contains the file’s creation datetime information to aid sorting by date.

Log Verbosity Level

The amount of data logged depends on the logging levels configured for the Explorer Service and MasterLink.

Verbose logging can produce very large amounts of log data and should only be enabled for short periods while diagnosing or troubleshoot issues.

Log Files Management

You may wish to consider moving log files from the Explorer\logs folder into a network file store on a regular basis. For example, moving logs files that are older than one month to another location.

Data File Management

The MasterLink component creates Data files. Data files are saved into an Explorer\data\<tidalservername> folder for each Tidalmaster connected.

MasterLink data file names contain the file’s creation datetime information to aid in sorting by date.

You may wish to consider moving data files from the Explorer\data\<tidalservername> folders into a network file store on a regular basis. For example, you may wish to move data files that are older than one month to another location.

In addition, if you have removed a Tidal Server from your Explorer configuration, you can delete the corresponding data folder Explorer\data\<tidalservername>or move it to a network file store.