Creating a snapshot with the deployment assistant

Use the deployment assistant to create a snapshot of a running Informix® database server instance without shutting it down. You can reduce the snapshot footprint by selecting which features in the template instance to omit. You can include or exclude associated data spaces.

Before you create a snapshot, you must meet the following prerequisites:

A supported Java™ runtime environment must be on the system and must be set in the PATH environment variable.
You are able to run the deployment assistant on the computer that hosts the Informix instance to be used for the snapshot. (The deployment assistant cannot capture a snapshot from a remote computer.)
You must have the CONNECT privilege on the sysadmin database to include any data spaces in the snapshot.
Data spaces that you want to include in the snapshot must be stored in chunks that use buffered files (also known as cooked files).
There must be sufficient disk space to save the snapshot in a file. You can store the snapshot in a compressed archive file.

The deployment assistant has two modes: the GUI mode and the command-line mode. You can only omit components and features by using the GUI mode.

To create a snapshot with the deployment assistant in GUI mode:

Run the ifxdeployassist command without options from the %INFORMIXDIR%\bin (Windows) or $INFORMIXDIR/bin (UNIX or Linux) directory to start the deployment assistant GUI.
If the deployment assistant does not detect the instance from which you want to create a snapshot, enter the connection information that pertains to the instance that you want to use as a template.
Specify the path, file name, and archive format for the snapshot that you are creating.
Select components and features that you want to include in or exclude from the snapshot.
Important: The deployment assistant does not enforce functional interdependencies between product components and features.
If there are data spaces associated with the instance, select whether or not to include the data spaces in the snapshot. The deployment assistant GUI displays each data space, along with the chunk locations in each data space.
Confirm that the snapshot settings are correct.

To create a snapshot with the deployment assistant from the command line:

Run the ifxdeployassist -c command along with any other appropriate command options.

If data spaces are included in the deployed snapshot, the deployment assistant summary displays the full path name of the data spaces package.