1. Rev. 6.2012 SYBASE ASE: MDA TABLE ASSISTANT Sybase Administration Tools available at: http://andrewmeph.wordpress.com mailto: andrew.me.ph@gmail.com

2. The tools posted on the blog will require the same setup: 1.Sybase Client installed (for tools connecting to ASE server). 2.Administrative login user (for tools doing ASE administration). 3.A set of two or more.dll files supplied with the installation – performing licensing and environment operability checks. All the tools have been tested to run bug-free. Nonetheless, the tools are provided as is. Responsibility for running a tool lies with the user. Comments and bug reports are welcome. They will be addressed and rectified. Please send the comments either directly by mail or through the blog. As with any tool, it is recommended to start using it in the development environment before trying it on the Production Server. NOTE AND DISCLAIMER:

3. The tool is designed to make the use of Sybase MDA tables easier. It has multiple aspects to it. On the face side, it make the MDA tables more visible and thus more easily searchable. The tools allows to see at a glance the configuration of the ASE from the MDA point of view. The tools makes it easier to locate the desired MDA counter, assist in constructing an SQL Query on MDA tables, and run it, collecting results, or inspecting them as a graph. The tools side effect is that it may be used as a general query execution engine. But its true force is in mining MDA tables hidden value. MDA ASSISTANT: QUICK INFO

4. [Configurations] tab is designed to inspect ASEs configuration. It has two modes: MDA configuration or an overall (Full) ASE Configuration. It is possible to reconfigure MDA settings from the tool itself. General ASE configuration may not be changed, though. It makes it easy to turn on/off MDA pipes or other monitoring switches. MDA ASSISTANT: CONFIGURATION PANE

5. [Mon. Tables] tab is designed to mine into ASEs MDA tables. Click Get Monitoring Tables. Browse through the tables, inspecting its columns and the required switches. Write a partial column name in the Lookup field (say CPU) and Double Click: all the columns containing the pattern will appear on the left with their descriptions. Right click on column name to add it to SQL tab. MDA ASSISTANT: MON. TABLES

6. [Log] tab is designed to log temporary result sets / queries / &c. Available Options: Log Configuration. Log Results (the result set displayed in the SQL tab). Save Results and Auto Save allow to save the result set to an external file (manually or one per interval of time). MDA ASSISTANT: LOG

7. Line by line allows writing several queries and executing them together line by line (each line representing a query), collecting the results together (with/without displaying column names). Auto Exec… allow to execute the query at specified interval of time. Templates: Load/Replace/Append queries to the query template file to be loaded on the application startup. Right click on the column in a grid make available options to add the column name to the SQL editor, kill SPID, or show SPID stack-trace. It is possible to change font definition {f}. Hide left/right panes { }. &c. MDA ASSISTANT: SQL PANE [SQL] tab has many functions around query execution: Execute, Locate string in result set, Collect result sets, Display data in graph, Auto save/run query and/or result set, Load template queries &c. It is a query engine in a nutshell.

8. It is possible to select several columns from the result set and display the data in graph: Click on the graph icon. Select one date (or data) column for the X axis. Select one (or two) columns for Y axis, and click Display to see the data as a graph. If the query is being executed automatically at an interval, the graph WILL NOT be refreshed. MDA ASSISTANT: SQL PANE - GRAPHS

9. The tool is being reworked from time to time to address changes in the ASE and align it better with ASE administrators needs. In order to make the software better and more convenient your feedback is encouraged. Feedback and bug reports may be made either directly to andrew.me.ph@gmail.com or posted as comments to the tool page published on the wordpress.com blog. andrew.me.ph@gmail.com The blog is available at http://andrewmeph.wordpress.com.http://andrewmeph.wordpress.com More tools are available there, as well as general comments on Sybase ASE, RS (and in future IQ) products. You are welcome to post your own ideas there which may be later transformed into customized tools and posted there for download. MDA ASSISTANT: FEEDBACKS