ClearCase Support: How to Make a VOB
Here are the procedures to create a new VOB in ClearCase on UNIX.
- The first step, before creating any VOB, is to collect this information that you will need:
- New VOB Tag: You will need the new VOB's name.
- Data Owner: You will need the manager's name of who will be the data owner for the VOB.
- Project Name: You will need the project that this new VOB is being created for.
- Permissions: Either the new VOB can have the same permissions as an existing VOB, or the (primary and secondary) groups and directory permissions need to be specified ahead of time.
- VOB Size: You will probably need the estimated VOB size after a year or two of data growth.
- Second, find a VOB storage directory that has sufficient disk space to store the estimated VOB size from the previous step. I typically just run "cleartool lsvob" to find all of the VOB storage directories. Then, I run "df –k VOB_STORAGE_DIRECTORY" on each VOB storage directory to find the storage directory with the most disk space available.
- Log into the VOB Server of the chosen VOB storage directory as root using this command:
rlogin SERVER_NAME -l root
I typically determine the VOB Server's name by running "cleartool describe vob:VOB_TAG", but this involves knowing a VOB that exists on that same VOB storage directory. - Go to the VOB storage directory chosen.
cd VOB_STORAGE_DIRECTORY
- Create or make a new VOB using this command:
/usr/atria/bin/cleartool mkvob NEW_VOB_TAG -public -password REGISTRY_PASSWORD -host SERVER_NAME -hpath NEW_VOB_STORAGE_PATH -gpath NEW_VOB_STORAGE_PATH NEW_VOB_STORAGE_PATH
As the VOB's comment, be sure to add the VOB's data owner and project information for future reference. Trust me, you will need this information in a couple of years. - Now that the VOB has been created, set the permissions of this new VOB. First, you can see the existing permissions of the VOB at any time with this command:
cleartool describe –vob vob:VOB_TAG
To change the VOB owner and primary group, run this command:
cleartool protectvob –force –chmod VOB_OWNER -chgrp PRIMARY_GROUP VOB_STORAGE_PATH
You can also add and remove secondary groups using this command too:
cleartool protectvob –force –add_group GROUP1,GROUP2 -delete_group GROUP3,GROUP4 VOB_STORAGE_PATH
- Next, set a View, mount the VOB, enter the VOB, and change the permissions of the directories in the VOB. I recommend permission numbers of either 770 or 775.
cleartool setview VIEW_NAME
cleartool mount VOB_TAG
cd VOB_TAG
cleartool protect –chown VOB_OWNER -chgrp PRIMARY_GROUP -chmod PERMISSION_NUMBER -recurse .
- Using the "Region Synchronizer" in the "ClearCase HomeBase" on any Windows computer that has ClearCase installed, synchronize or add this new VOB so any Windows computers can access it.
- At this point the VOB is ready to be used by any user, but I recommend first installing all required ClearCase triggers that your administrators' require. This step is optional.
- I strongly recommend mounting this new VOB on all shared servers. This step is optional too.
- Finally, alert your users that the VOB is ready to be used once mounted on their machines.
by Phil for Humanity
on 10/15/2008