Db2 Replication Heartbeats Test

A 'heartbeat' is a signal sent between a primary database and standby database. This signal is taken as a sign of vitality. If there is no response to the signal, then it is understood that there are certain health issues/ technical problems with the primary database.

If the standby database does not receive any heartbeats from a primary database for a certain timeout period, then a 'Heartbeat Lost' condition occurs and the corresponding standby database is deemed to be dead/unavailable.

To avoid the loss of heartbeats and the consequent failure of a standby database, administrators must keep a close watch on the heartbeats sent by the primary database to each standby database, detect issues in the transmission of heartbeats, and clear the bottlenecks well before the configured timeout period expires and the standby database is declared dead. This can be achieved using the Db2 Replication Heartbeats test!

This test monitors the heartbeats that each DB2 UDB primary database sends to the standby database. In the process, the test reports the count of heartbeats that were missed during a measure period, the count of heartbeats expected during a measure period and the percentage of heartbeats missed between the primary and standby database. Alerts are promptly sent out if too many heartbeats are missed. This way, administrators can proactively detect problems in heartbeat communication and can resolve them before the standby databases die.

Target of the test : A DB2 database server

Agent deploying the test : An internal/remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for each database instance created on the target database server being monitored

Configurable parameters for the test

Parameter	Description
Test Period	How often should the test be executed.
Host	Specify the IP address of the DB2 server in this text box.
Port	Specify the port at which the target host is listening. The default port is 50000.
Username, Password and Confirm Password	To monitor Db2 UDB database server, the eG agent should be configured with the credentials of a user with any of the following privileges SYSADM or SYSCTRL or SYSMAINT or SYSMON. Specify the credentials of such a user in the User and Password text boxes. Confirm the Password by retyping it in the Confirm Password text box.
Database	The test uses a database on the monitored Db2 UDB server. Specify the name of the database in the Database text box.
SSL	If the target database server is SSL-enabled, then set the SSL flag to Yes. If not, then set the SSL flag to No.

Measurements made by the test

Measurement	Description	Measurement Unit	Interpretation
Heartbeats missed	Indicates the count of heartbeats missed by this database during the last measurement period.	Number	If the value of this measure is zero, it indicates that no heartbeats have been missed and the connection is healthy. The higher the value, the worse the condition of the connection.
Heartbeats expected	Indicates the number of heartbeats expected by this database during the last measurement period.	Number
Miss ratio	Indicates the percentage of heartbeats missed by this database.	Percentage	A low value is desired for this measure. A sudden/gradual increase in the value of this measure indicates that the standby database is losing its connection with the primary database.