IBM Software Group

Mastering Rational ClearCase Administration

for Windows
Appendix: ClearCase Processes

ClearCase Environment and Processes

Multi-Versioned Filesystem (MVFS)
Services
Location broker (albd_server)
Lock manager (lockmgr)

Servers
Database server (db_server)
View server (view_server)
VOB server (vob_server)
RPC server (vobrpc_server)

Multi-Versioned Filesystem (MVFS)

Provides transparent access to versioned files as
selected through a view.
Performs build auditing for clearmake targets.
Maintains several caches to maximize performance.
Provides tools to monitor the efficiency of MVFS
operations.
Uses NFS-like RPCs to obtain information from the
view.

Atria Location Broker (albd_server)

Master server
Handles license requests
Runs on each ClearCase host
Configured as a logon service with a dedicated
user and group
Starts when ClearCase starts

Lock Manager (lockmgr)

Receives RPC requests for locks (read/write
operations on database).
Polled by client programs (db_server and
vobrpc_server) to determine whether to grant it
access to VOB data.
Runs on a VOB host.
Starts when ClearCase starts.

Database Server (db_server)

Created as needed by albd_server to process
VOB transactions.
One for each client accessing a VOB.
Terminated by albd_server when idle.

View Server (view_server)

Performs version selection for a view
Started by albd_server, as needed, on the host
where view storage resides
Remains active until one of the following occurs:
You shut down ClearCase
You use the cleartool endview_server command
You use the cleartool rmview command

VOB Server (vob_server)

Creates, deletes, and controls Windows NT
permissions on data containers
Started by albd_server as needed on the host
where the VOB storage resides
Remains active until ClearCase is shut down or
the cleartool rmvob command is issued

RPC Server (vobrpc_server)

Handles requests from view_server
Forwards storage pool access requests to the
vob_server
Started by albd_server as needed
Accesses the VOB database in exactly the same
way as a db_server
Terminated by albd_server when idle

Determining Service State

You can use the Windows Task
Manager to determine the state
of ClearCase services:
Start the Task Manager by
pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete and
clicking Task Manager.
Select the Processes tab to
view service process status.

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Controlling ClearCase Services

Check service status in
the Services Startup tab
of the ClearCase control
panel.

Start or stop a service

under Services in the
Windows control panel >
Administrative Tools
section.

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