Configuring the data archive

To optimize performance, configure the length of time that IBM® Operations Analytics Log Analysis stores data in the archive.

About this task

You must configure the archive period before you load any data.

To facilitate query performance, IBM Operations Analytics Log Analysis uses data tiers to prioritize the retrieval of the most recent information.

IBM Operations Analytics Log Analysis divides data into two tiers, the current tier and the archive tier. Data is held in the current tier for the specified period. After this time elapses and more data is loaded, it is moved to the archive tier. Data that is stored in the current tier is stored in memory. Therefore, the queries can access this data more quickly than data in the archive tier.

You use the HOT_TIER_PERIOD parameter to specify the number of days that data is held in the current tier. For example, if the HOT_TIER_PERIOD parameter is set to 2, data is held in the current tier for two days until the next ingestion of data.

The length of the time period that you specify for the HOT_TIER_PERIOD parameter affects the amount of memory that IBM Operations Analytics Log Analysis uses. The longer the period, the greater the memory used.

Procedure

  1. To stop the IBM Operations Analytics Log Analysis server, use the following command: 
    <HOME>/IBM/LogAnalysis/utilities/unity.sh -stop
  2. Open the unitysetup.properties file that is in the <HOME>/IBM/LogAnalysis/wlp/usr/servers/Unity/apps/Unity.war/WEB-INF directory.
  3. To specify the number of days that data is stored in the current tier, change the value for the HOT_TIER_PERIOD parameter. The default value is 2: 
    HOT_TIER_PERIOD=2
  4. Save the file.
  5. To start the IBM Operations Analytics Log Analysis server, use the following command: 
    <HOME>/IBM/LogAnalysis/utilities/unity.sh -start

Results

Data is held in the current tier until the next data ingestion for the specified period.