Administration Guide › Features and Concepts › CA VM:Director Directory Database

CA VM:Director Directory Database

The CA VM:Director directory database consists of a set of files that reside on the CMS–formatted DRCT minidisk. These files contain directory source statements that are compatible with the CP directory statements. However, unlike the single card–image directory file format used in CP, CA VM:Director directory entries are kept in individual files. One or more of these directory entry files are combined to form a virtual machine definition which specifies the configuration and characteristics for a virtual machine or VM user ID. There are two types of virtual machine definition:

Single configuration

This type is formed from a USER directory entry, optionally combined with an included PROFILE directory entry.

Multiconfiguration

This type is formed from an IDENTITY directory entry, optionally combined with an included PROFILE directory entry, and merged with all associated SUBCONFIG directory entries.

In the CA VM:Director directory database, each USER, PROFILE, IDENTITY, or SUBCONFIG entry is contained in a separate CMS file. The entries are combined to form the definition for each user ID on the system. For USER and IDENTITY entries, the file name of an entry is the name of the user ID it defines. PROFILE entry files are named by the identifier on an INCLUDE statement used to reference the entry. SUBCONFIG entry files are named by the identifier on a BUILD statement used to reference the entry. The file type of each file is the name of the directory manager for that directory entry.

Another directory database minidisk, the BKUP minidisk, is allocated on a separate volume, and receives copies of the directory entry files whenever they are modified. The files on this disk serve as a backup and enable you to recover the current status of the CA VM:Director directory database in the event the DRCT minidisk is lost.

A third directory database minidisk, the HOLD minidisk, holds directory entry files of user IDs that have been temporarily removed from the CP directory. In this way, the actual disk space allocated for a held user’s minidisks is retained in the system while the directory entry for the user ID is not. You can easily restore the user ID to its original state.

Note: For information about how the directory database is created, see VMXGNR Utility in the chapter "Utility Reference" in the Reference Guide.