Note: This topic was updated for 9.3.1.
NOTE: Applies to geodatabases created with an ArcGIS Server Enterprise license only The following sections are covered in this topic:
◦ What are configuration keywords?
◦ How are configuration keywords used?
◦ Where are configuration keywords stored?
◦ Types of configuration keywords
◦ Default configuration keywords common to all implementations
◦ Custom configuration keywords
◦ Configuration keywords for archiving
◦ Geometry and raster storage keywords What are configuration keywords?
Configuration keywords are words or phrases that are used to group together parameters and parameter values (called config_strings in the DBTUNE table), which specify how data and database objects are stored in the database. Parameters and their configuration strings define the storage configuration of database objects such as tables, indexes, feature classes, network classes, and raster columns. SeeDBTUNE configuration parameter name-configuration string pairsfor information about configuration parameters.
How are they used?
Configuration keywords provide a convenient way to define multiple storage settings at once. You specify a configuration keyword when
◦ Loading or creating new datasets using ArcCatalog or ArcSDE administration commands
◦ Creating ArcIMS metadata server documents
◦ Building ArcGIS features such as geometric networks or topologies
ArcSDE searches the DBTUNE table for the parameter name–configuration string pairs associated with the specified configuration keyword. The necessary configuration strings are incorporated in the CREATE TABLE or CREATE INDEX statement ArcSDE submits to the database.
For example, if you create a new feature class in ArcCatalog by right-clicking a geodatabase stored in SQL Server, pointing to New, then clicking Feature Class, one of the New Feature Class dialog boxes gives you the opportunity to specify a configuration keyword to use to create your data.
You could choose the WKB_GEOMETRY configuration keyword, which has a parameter,
GEOMETRY_STORAGE, which is associated with a configuration string of OGCWKB. This means the geometry storage method used for this feature class will be the Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc. (OGC), well-known binary (WKB) type, rather than the default geometry storage type.
NOTE: To make a configuration keyword available on the ArcGIS Desktop dialog boxes, specific user interface parameters need to be present under that configuration keyword. See Making configuration keywords available in ArcGISfor more information.
One configuration keyword—DATA_DICTIONARY—is used when the geodatabase is created because it defines the storage of certain ArcSDE geodatabase system tables. If you want to customize the storage of these system tables and their indexes, you must alter the values for the parameters grouped under the
DATA_DICTIONARY keywordin thedbtune.sde filebefore you create your geodatabase. You would never specify this keyword when creating datasets.
Where do they come from and where are they stored?
The initial source of configuration keywords and their parameter name–configuration string pairs can be the dbtune file. If specified, this file populates the DBTUNE table when the DBTUNE and all the other ArcSDE geodatabase system tables are created.
If you are using ArcSDE for Oracle or DB2 (all platforms), there are certain configuration strings you should alter in the dbtune file before you create the ArcSDE geodatabase schema. These fall under the
DATA_DICTIONARY configuration keyword and specify tablespaces or databases for table storage. See "The dbtune file" section ofThe dbtune file and the DBTUNE tablefor more information on this file.
From then on, the configuration keywords and parameters are stored in the DBTUNE table. New keywords can be created, values for existing parameters can be altered, and keywords and parameters can be removed using the sdedbtune administration command. For details on how to use this command, see the ArcSDE Administration Command Reference installed with the ArcSDE component of ArcGIS Server Enterprise.
Types of configuration keywords
Some configuration keywords are present by default in all database management system (DBMS)
implementations of ArcSDE. Others are present by default for only specific DBMS implementations. Still others can be created or customized by the ArcSDE administrator. Among the keywords that can be created by the ArcSDE administrator are keywords used to control the storage of archive tables.
The configuration keywords that are present by default in all DBMS implementations are described in the next section. Those that are only present in DB2, Oracle, PostgreSQL or SQL Server are described in the topics Default configuration keywords specific to DB2,Default configuration keywords specific to Oracle,Default
configuration keywords specific to PostgreSQL, andDefault configuration keywords specific to SQL Server. Creating new configuration keywords is covered in the sectionsCustom configuration keywordsand
Configuration keywords for archiving.
Default configuration keywords common to all DBMS implementations include the following:
◦ DEFAULTS —Contains all the parameters ArcSDE needs, at a minimum, to work
Parameters in this group are used whenever an expected parameter from another specified group is missing or whenever you don't specify a configuration keyword.
If a needed parameter is missing from the DEFAULTS parameter group, ArcSDE detects this and adds the missing parameter. For instance, if you edited the DBTUNE table with the sdedbtune delete_data operation and you deleted one of the parameters in the DEFAULTS parameter group, ArcSDE would add it.
SeeThe DEFAULTS keywordfor more information.
◦ DATA_DICTIONARY —The parameter group that defines storage for the ArcSDE geodatabase system tables, which are created during the ArcSDE postinstallation setup
SeeThe DATA_DICTIONARY keywordfor more information.
◦ LOGFILE_DEFAULTS —Holds the parameter group for all users who do not have their own keyword created
You can create individual log file keywords for specific users by appending the user's name to the LOGFILE_ prefix to form the keyword name.
For example, if the user's name is EMARROW, ArcSDE will search the DBTUNE table for the LOGFILE_EMARROW configuration keyword. If this configuration keyword is not found, ArcSDE will use the storage parameters of the LOGFILE_DEFAULTS configuration keyword.
The storage parameters you would use for this keyword depend on which type of log files the server has been configured to use.
For more information on ArcSDE log file tables, seeLog file configuration options. For additional information on creating and using log file keywords, seeLog file keywords.
◦ TOPOLOGY_DEFAULTS * and TOPOLOGY_DEFAULTS::DIRTYAREAS *—Control the storage of topology tables POINTERRORS, LINEERRORS, POLYERRORS, and DIRTYAREAS An ArcSDE instance must have a valid topology keyword in the DBTUNE table, or topology will not be built.
◦ NETWORK_DEFAULTS *, NETWORK_DEFAULTS::DESC *, and
NETWORK_DEFAULTS::NETWORK *—Contain the default storage parameters for the ArcGIS network class
◦ TERRAIN_DEFAULTS * and TERRAIN_DEFAULTS::EMBEDDED *—Contain the default storage parameters for the tables of the terrain dataset
* These keywords are composite keywords. SeeComposite configuration keywordsfor more information.
Custom configuration keywords
You can add new keywords with any valid name. For example, you might create a keyword to define the storage location of your raster data tables if one doesn't already exist:
##RASTER
AUX_INDEX_COMPOSITE "TABLESPACE RASTER_DATA PCTFREE 10 INITRANS 4"
AUX_STORAGE "TABLESPACE RASTER_DATA PCTFREE 10 INITRANS 4"
BLK_INDEX_COMPOSITE "TABLESPACE RASTER_DATA PCTFREE 10 INITRANS 4"
<other parameters>
END
Other examples of when you might create a custom configuration keyword include the following:
◦ When setting up the system for archiving
See the next section for details on archive keywords.
◦ To have log file tables created in different areas of the database depending on which user triggers log file table creation
See the topicLog file keywords.
◦ To specify storage locations for networks, terrains, or topologies that are different from the defaults See the topicComposite configuration keywords.
◦ To store feature classes in ArcSDE 9.3 geodatabases for Oracle using ArcSDE Binary geometry storage
◦ To allow users to store specific types of data in different locations than are specified in the DEFAULTS configuration keyword
To add a keyword to the DBTUNE table, you can export the contents of the table to a text file using sdedbtune –o export, edit the file, then reimport the text file using sdedbtune –o import, which will update the DBTUNE table's contents. Be sure when editing the text file to prefix the keyword with ## and close the parameter group with END. Also note that the maximum length for configuration keywords is 32 characters. If you plan to use archiving keywords, be sure your custom keyword is no more than 24 characters in length.
Alternatively, you could use the sdedbtune –o insert operation to add a keyword.
For details on using the sdedbtune command to alter the DBTUNE table, read the sdedbtune topic in the Administration Command Reference provided with the ArcSDE component of ArcGIS Server Enterprise.
Configuration keywords for archiving
You can specify configuration keywords for history tables. This is done by appending _ARCHIVE to the end of a keyword, for example, DEFAULTS_ARCHIVE. For each archive keyword you create, change the parameters as needed.
The most common use for an archive keyword is to store your history tables and the indexes on those tables in a different location than the rest of your data. ArcSDE geodatabases stored in Oracle, DB2, or PostgreSQL allow you to store tables in different table spaces; therefore, it is in these geodatabases that you would most likely use archive keywords.
When a history table is created, ArcSDE records the configuration keyword for the dataset that is being archived, then searches for corresponding archive keywords in the DBTUNE table. It uses the parameters specified for
<keyword>_ARCHIVE when creating the history table. Therefore, if the DEFAULTS keyword was used to create a dataset that is enabled for archiving, ArcSDE will search for DEFAULTS_ARCHIVE for storage information to create the history tables for that dataset.
NOTE: As mentioned in the previous section, configuration keywords are limited to 32 characters. The appended _ARCHIVE counts toward the 32 characters.
For any given keyword, if the corresponding archive keyword is not found, ArcSDE will use the same keyword as was used for the original dataset. In the example above, it will use the DEFAULTS keyword, which means the history tables and indexes will be stored in the same logical storage spaces as the feature class that was enabled for archiving.
If the <keyword>_ARCHIVE is present but missing a given parameter, the value of the parameter found in the DEFAULTS keyword will be used. See the topicGeodatabase archivingin the "Data management workflows, transactions, and versioning" section of the help.
NOTE: If you create an archive keyword, there is no need to include a UI_TEXT parameter.
You would not specify the *_ARCHIVE keyword when the data is created; rather, the system will search for the keyword that matches the archiving table's configuration keyword.
Geometry and raster storage keywords
If you only want to use a different geometry storage type for a small portion of your data, you can use separate configuration keywords to specify this when the data is created or brought into the database. The DBTUNE tables and dbtune files for ArcSDE for Oracle, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server all contain keywords you can use to specify the geometry storage type when creating or importing data using the ArcSDE administration commands or in ArcCatalog.
NOTE: Datasets that participate in the same topology should be stored in the same geometry storage type. If they are not, you may experience some topology errors due to slight
variations in the way the data is stored for different storage types. These variations are extremely small (a matter of millimeters, for instance) but could cause a violation of one of your topology rules. For example, if you have polygon feature class A stored in
SDO_GEOMETRY and polygon feature class B stored in ArcSDE compressed binary (Long Raw), and you place them in a topology and specify the topology rule feature class A Must not overlap with feature class B, slight differences in the way the features are rendered could cause adjacent features from A and B to cross, thus violating this topology rule.
As mentioned in the topicThe DEFAULTS keyword, if you specify a keyword that only has a few parameters, the rest of the parameters are read from the DEFAULTS configuration keyword. Therefore, if you specify SDELOB when you create a feature class in a geodatabase in Oracle, the software uses the values for
GEOMETRY_STORAGE, ATTRIBUTE_BINARY, and RASTER_STORAGE parameters from the SDELOB keyword, then goes to the DEFAULTS keyword for values for all the other parameters such as B_STORAGE and UNICODE_STRING.
If you want to create a topology, terrain, or network that uses a geometry storage type other than what is stored under the DEFAULTS keyword, you need to create custom keywords that contain the desired geometry storage.
For example, if you create a roads feature class in an Oracle database using SDO_GEOMETRY, when you create a network that involves that roads feature class, you want the network to also use SDO_GEOMETRY. For that, you need to create a set of NETWORK composite keywords that specify SDO_GEOMETRY storage. See Composite configuration keywordsfor details on creating these custom keywords.
To see the configuration keywords provided for using a data type different from the default to store data in each DBMS, see the following topics:
Geometry and raster keywords for Oracle Geometry keywords for PostgreSQL Geometry keywords for SQL Server