Managed Resources Directories
A managed resources directory is a data directory controlled by the Model Manager server itself. The directory contains binary and text data that are deemed too large to store directly inside a SQL database. The Managed Resources Directories page, opened by clicking Resources Directories in the System navigation sidebar, shows a table with the configurations of all such managed resources directories. A single configuration — Default managed resources directory — is initially shown in the table. This default managed resources directory is automatically created by the Model Manager server when the server is started for the first time — see also The Default Managed Database.
Click on the label of a managed resources directory in the table to show more details for that directory. Click the Add button to add a new managed resources directory.
Unlike Managed SQL Database Servers and Managed Search Index Servers, a managed resources directory cannot be shared between Model Manager databases. You need to create a new managed resources directory for every Model Manager database you add to the Model Manager server.
Adding Managed Resources Directories
You can add a new managed resources directory to Model Manager server. This is useful if you, for example, want to use different options than the default ones for the automatically added managed resources directory but at the same time want to keep it around as a reference.
To add a new managed resources directory:
1
Write a label for the resources directory in the Label field.
2
Write the path on the file system where the directory will be created in the Data directory field.
The parent directory to the data directory must already exist on the file system. If not, open a system file explorer on the server computer and manually create it.
The data directory may be placed on either a physical disk or a network disk.
3
Select the Enable backup check box to enable backups of the data directory. Write the path on the file system where the backup will be written to in the Backup directory field. The backup directory will be automatically created if it does not already exist on the file system. See also Backup of a Managed Resources Directory
4
In the Trigger mode list under Restore, select Automatic if the data directory should be automatically restored from backup if it is missing on disk, or a previous restore has not yet finished, when activating the Model Manager server database using the directory — see The Database Configuration Page. Select Manual if a restore requires manual triggering on The Managed Resources Directory Page. See also Restore of a Managed Resources Directory.
5
Click Save to add the new configuration.
The specified data directory must be empty if you want to initialize a new managed resources directory. A nonempty data directory is assumed to belong to an existing managed resources directory that you want to add a configuration for in the Model Manager server.
Place the backup directory on a physical disk different than the disk containing the data directory. Otherwise, you might risk complete data loss in case of a server disk crash.
You may want to consider placing the data directory for managed resources on a file server whose file system is mounted by the server computer running the Model Manager server. The same goes for the backup directory using a second mounted file server. See Installation Planning.
The Managed Resources Directory Page
The Managed Resources Directory page contains details on the configuration of a managed resources directory added to the Model Manager server — see Adding Managed Resources Directories. The configuration fields are:
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Label. The label of the managed resources directory. Used for display purposes in the Model Manager server web interface.
•
Data directory. The file system path to the managed resources directory.
The currently available disk space on the file storage containing the directory is shown below the path.
•
Used by. The Model Manager database using the managed resources directory, if any.
To edit the configuration for a managed resources directory, proceed as follows:
1
Deactivate any Model Manager server database using the resources directory, if any — see also The Database Configuration Page.
2
Click the Edit button.
3
Enter the new configuration settings. If you change any directory paths, manually move the corresponding directories on the file system via, for example, a system file explorer before saving.
4
Click the Save button.
5
Activate the database using the resources directory, if any.
Deleting a Managed Resources Directory Configuration
Click the Delete Permanently button to permanently delete the configuration.
Clicking Delete Permanently will only delete the configuration for the managed resources directory; it will not delete the directory itself. You can add the managed resources directory again using a new configuration that points to the directory and its backup directory.
Backup of a Managed Resources Directory
If you enable backup for a managed resources directory, the Model Manager server will continuously back up any files written to the resources directory to the backup directory. The Backup directory field on the Managed Resources Directory page shows the directory path for this backup.
You can also trigger a complete backup of the whole resources directory — this will back up all files in the resources directory to the backup directory. Click the Trigger Backup button on the Managed Resources Directory page. A backup will then be scheduled to begin if and when the Model Manager server database using the resources directory is activated.
Restore of a Managed Resources Directory
If you have configured a managed resources directory with Trigger mode set to Automatic, a missing directory will be automatically restored from the backup directory when a Model Manager server database using the managed resources directory is activated.
You can also manually restore a managed resources directory by clicking the Trigger Restore button on the Managed Resources Directory page. A restore will then be scheduled to begin when the Model Manager server database using the resources directory is activated. A confirmation dialog box is shown, informing you that the following steps will be taken once the restore has begun:
1
The SQL database component of the Model Manager server database will be queried for all files expected to be present in the resources directory.
2
All expected files that are missing from the resources directory are copied from the backup directory.
A triggered restore of a managed resources directory only begins once a Model Manager server database using the resources directory is activated — see The Database Configuration Page.