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Oracle Application Management Pack for Oracle E-Business Suite User's Guide
Release 3.1
Part Number E14597-03
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Cloning an Oracle E-Business Suite System

Cloning an Oracle E-Business Suite System

One of the key features of the Oracle Application Management Pack for Oracle E-Business Suite is the ability to clone an Oracle E-Business Suite system automatically.

The key highlights of the cloning process include:

For information on cloning a Release 12 system on a RAC database, see My Oracle Knowledge Document 559518.1, "Cloning Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12 RAC-Enabled Systems with Rapid Clone".

Note: Database tier cloning with AMP is not supported from n to n DATA_TOP where n > 1 and n<=4) if

Terms

The following table lists some cloning terms used in this document.

Term Meaning
Source Oracle E-Business Suite system being cloned.
Target Oracle E-Business Suite system being created as a copy of the source system.
Image Packaged copy of the source system ready for deployment to a target.
Stage Location to store the image created from the source system.

Note: This stage directory must be outside the $COMMON_TOP/clone (for the source Applications node) or $RDBMS_ORACLE_HOME/appsutil/clone (for the source Database node).

Scramble Process to obfuscate or remove sensitive data.
Hot mode cloning Cloning an applications system without shutting it down. Also referred to as "hot cloning".
Smart Clone Smart Clone allows you to use a database target cloned using an external solution as an input to the AMP cloning procedures. See the next chapter for more information on Smart Clone.

Note: Smart Clone can be used with only Release 11i Oracle E-Business Suite instances.

Group Membership for Cloning

Successful cloning using a shared stage location requires that group membership be established such that the target system user(s) has group membership in the same group(s) used to create the stage or cloning image on the shared disk resource.

For example, say the source system has a user "applmgr1" with a primary group of "appldba1". There also exists a user "oracle1" with a primary group of "oradba1". In this case "applmgr1:appldba1" owns the $APPL_TOP and you have user "oracle1:oradba1" who owns the database file system on the source system.

On the source system, the EM Agent user is "agent1" with a primary group of "agentgrp1".

On the target system, you wish to have a user "applmgr2" with primary group of "applmgr2" owning the $APPL_TOP. You wish to have user "oracle2" with primary group "oradba2" owns the target database file system.

On the target system EM agent is "agent2" with a primary group of "agentgrp2".

For cloning to be successful using a shared stage area in this above scenario, the user groups will require the following memberships:

Source:

Target:

In the above example, only the target requires group membership for inclusion of those groups that created the source area on the shared stage. Without these permissions, reading of files from the shared stage will fail.

Additional cloning limitations are detailed in Known Product Limitations.

Additional Setup Steps

The Cloning Pages

Cloning can be accessed from the following pages:

Cloning Types

Different types of clone jobs can be performed. Click on Clone Status in the Oracle Application Maintenance page and then on the Cloning Procedures subtab to see these types.

Note: Customizations of the seeded cloning procedures are not supported. However, existing cloning procedures may be copied and those copies then edited. See "Custom Clone Procedure" below.

In addition to the above options, the Smart Clone procedures described in a later chapter can be used to a database target cloned using an external solution as an input.

Note: Smart Clone is supported with Release 11i Oracle E-Business Suite instances only.

Considerations for Hot Mode Clone Flows

In Hot Mode Clone interview flows, only archive log-enabled Release 12 instances are displayed in the List of Values (LOV) as possible sources. If an instance is discovered in OMS when its archive log is not enabled and at a later stage its archive log is enabled, that instance will not be displayed in the LOV of hot mode clone flows until this change is reflected in the OMS.

Note: After you turn on the archive log in OMS, you need to wait for OMS to update the configuration or you should rediscover the database component for the Oracle E-Business Suite target (only the database).

In the Deploy Image to Target flow, only "hot" images are shown in a hot mode flow and only "cold" images are shown in a cold flow. If the cloning procedure is launched from the Clone Images tab in the Cloning home page, based on the type of the image (Hot/Cold), then the Hot Mode Deploy Image to Target or Deploy Image to Target would be launched.

Clone Status Page

The Clone Status page can be accessed from the Oracle Applications System page or from the Oracle Applications Maintenance page.

The Clone Status page provides an enterprise-wide view of the statuses of clone jobs. This page is divided into the following sections:

In all the above sections, you can click Add in the "Notes" column to add comments to a specific clone job.

Click on Refresh icon to refresh the data. You may need to click on this icon several times to refresh the data.

Clone Image View

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The Image View lists all the images that were created from a source system. From this page you can either deploy the images or create a new image for a source system.

Clone Procedure View

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Clone Procedures are best practices provided by Oracle for cloning Oracle Applications. Clone Procedures provide a step-by-step interview process for initiating a clone job. For more information on concepts mentioned here, including configuring a Software Library and Target Systems, see the Enterprise Manager online help.

The Oracle Application Management Pack for Oracle E-Business Suite ships with the following clone procedures:

Important: You cannot delete or modify the default procedures. However, you can create a custom copy of the default procedure.

Important: Before starting cloning procedures for Release 12 instances ensure that “s_base” Database Context variable is not null and its related path also exists in the “s_db_oh” Database Context variable.

If the s_base value is not in the source context file or not part of the s_db_oh value, then these should be modified in the context file and AutoConfig should be run on the database tier so that the new value will be updated in the database.

Custom Clone Procedure

To create a custom clone procedure, follow these steps:

  1. Select a default procedure from the Clone Procedure view by clicking on the procedure name.

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  2. Click on the Create Like button.

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  3. Enter a unique name and fill in the relevant details. Click Save to create a new custom clone job.

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    The details that need to be entered are:

The table at the bottom of the page lists the possible tasks to be performed by clone job in chronological order. You can:

For each step you can specify the Run Privilege and the Error Handling Mode. Click Save and the custom clone procedure is created. You can then access this new custom clone job from the Clone Procedure view.

Clone Source to Target - Advanced Cloning

In a Source to Target clone job, the source system data is extracted and applied on to a target system. Upon completion of the clone process, the source and target systems will have the same data and patchset level. The benefit of this procedure is that it creates an identical copy of production system.

The advanced clone can be initiated from the following pages:

To perform an advanced clone procedure

  1. Enter general clone information.

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    Enter the name of the clone run and a brief description, along with the job priority. Only the Clone Name is required.

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    Select source and target systems.

    Select a source system, enter the target system details, and choose the target port pool. Note that the source database must be running at this point. You have a choice to clone either the entire system, the database tier, or the application tier.

    Note: In the Components Selection section for hot clone mode flows (for non-RAC source instances), you can select only the following components

    The subcomponents selection is disabled.

    For cloning the application node only (or application technology stack or $APPL_TOP), you must ensure that whichever database node is to be referenced as the database to be used for the new $APPL_TOP/Application Node is specified during the Clone Automation UI interview process for the application node (or application technology stack or APPL_TOP). This database node must also be up and running at the time of the clone flow submission.

    Note: For RAC source instances, the Target Applications System name (Global or Service name) must have 7 or fewer characters. The node number will be appended to this name for the SIDs of the individual nodes that will be displayed in the Specify Database Node Details Page. The character limitation is due to the fact that the SID string must not be more than 8 characters.

    For example, for a 3-node RAC system:

    Target Applications System Name - GLBNAME
    SID for Node1 - GLBNAME1
    SID for Node2 - GLBNAME2
    SID for Node3 - GLBNAME3
    

    Note: If the source instance has a RAC database, only the entire application system should be selected. Selecting other options and proceeding will result in a validation error.

  3. Specify node type details.

    During this step you will specify the details for the target database and application nodes.

    Note: For RAC instances, you can select any of the source nodes listed in the Source System Nodes list and that node name will be displayed in the "Source Node" column of the Target System Nodes.

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    1. Specify database node details. Note that what you have specified for your source system node determines what you can enter for the target system nodes.

      Important: If you are cloning a RAC instance for Release 12, you cannot scale up or down.

      Specify the following information for the target database.

      • Target host name

      • Port - The port value defaults in. You can change this value, but the port value for all target nodes must be the same.

      • SID - This value defaults in and cannot be changed.

        Note: For an individual node for a RAC instance, the SID is the Target Application System name with the node number appended to it.

      You have the option to specify further details as well.

      Also in this page you have the option to add nodes in addition to the primary one.

      You can use the Collapse to Single Instance button to clone a RAC instance to a non-RAC instance.

      Note: You can clone a 2-node RAC source instance to a single non-RAC instance. You cannot clone a 2-node RAC instance to a single-node RAC instance.

      Note: If you choose Collapse to Single Instance, the page shows the same fields as for a non-RAC target system. The SID for the target system node is the Target Application System name entered earlier.

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      Note: For RAC target system nodes, ensure that you enter the Cluster InterConnects and Virtual host names correctly.

      Specify target database node details such as the mount points for the data files.

      Note that in the case where the source application system's database files reside in multiple mount points/directories, it is important that they be mapped to the clone target as well. You can refer to the Database Context file variables “s_dbhome” (1-4) in order to synchronize the target database file mount point configuration with the source.

      For example, consider this structure in the Database context file:

      <db_sysfiles 
      oa_var="s_dbhome1">/d10/oracle/VIS/db/apps_st/data_sys</db_sysfiles>
      <db_logfiles 
      oa_var="s_dbhome2">/d10/oracle/VIS/db/apps_st/data_log</db_logfiles>
      <db_datfiles 
      oa_var="s_dbhome3">/d10/oracle/VIS/db/apps_st/data_dat</db_datfiles>
      <db_ndxfiles 
      oa_var="s_dbhome4">/d10/oracle/VIS/db/apps_st/data_ndx</db_ndxfiles>
      

      The Database Files Mount Point(s) inputs would be as follows:

      APPL_TOP Mount Point(s)
      Mount Point Value
      APPL_TOP mount point /d10/oracle/VIS/apps/apps_st/data_sys
      Auxiliary mount point 2 /d10/oracle/VIS/apps/apps_st/data_log
      Auxiliary mount point 3 /d10/oracle/VIS/apps/apps_st/data_dat
      Auxiliary mount point 4 /d10/oracle/VIS/apps/apps_st/data_ndx

      Important: For RAC target systems, the Port value should be the same for all the database nodes.

    2. Specify application node details.

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      Specify the target system node details for the application node. In this page you have options to add nodes in addition to the primary one.

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      Note: This type of cloning flow does not support multi-node applications tier cloning.

      Click the icon corresponding to each application tier node to enter the details. You can specify target application node details such as the COMMON_TOP locations and other details.

      Scroll down the page to enter information in the Ports section.

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      Note: With Release 11i instances, the default Port Pool value shown is '0' and is dependent on the value of "s_port_pool" in the source applications context file. To change the value shown by default, change the value of "s_port_pool" in the source applications context file.

      Note: Clarification: The Data Port listed in the Port Values section is not the same as the database listener port which was specified earlier in the Database Node Details. Instead, this "Data Port" refers to the Forms Metrics Server Data Port. This ambiguity is resolved in Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.0.4.

  4. Configure data scrambling (Optional).

    Configuring data scrambling is an optional step. In this step you can specify the data scrambling options required to remove sensitive data from the source system. Also, you can specify where the interim stage environment should be for scrambling. If data scrambling is not enabled, this step will be skipped.

    See Data Scrambling for more information.

    Note: Data scrambling is not supported for RAC systems.

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    Click the "Specify Details" icon corresponding to Data Scrambling to select the Policy Set and other details. Click OK to save the details and go to the previous page.

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    Under "Scrambling Stage", select the "Use the Target System Database as Stage Environment" option if you want the target system database to be used as the interim database where scrambling should be performed. Additionally, if you would like to specify a separate stage environment you can choose the "Specify a Different Stage Environment" option. This option will create a separate interim database where scrambling is performed. The interim database is then cloned to create the target system database.

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  5. Specify clone staging options (Copy Parameters).

    Cloning using the Oracle Application Management Pack for Oracle E-Business Suite requires that the source environment be prepared for the cloning process into a stage area. This step allows you to specify the details for the stage, such as its location and method of transfer to the target system.

    Note: The stage directory must be outside the $COMMON_TOP/clone (for source Applications node) or $RDBMS_ORACLE_HOME/appsutil/clone (for source Database node).

    Note: For hot mode cloning, the file mounting options for the stage directory must comply with RMAN recommendations for a Source or Target that has a RAC database on NFS storage.

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    The following are some definitions for terms used.

    Some example scenarios are given below. For each scenario specified, the options selected are in this order: Source Stage Area > Transfer from Source > Transfer to Target > Target Stage Area.

    1. User chooses to create a local stage and then copy it to a shared location which is an NFS mounted location visible across both source and target nodes.

      Common Stage → Copy to Shared Location → No Copy → Common Stage

      OR

      Local Stage per Node → Copy to Shared Location → No Copy → Local Stage per Node

      For best use of this option, User can set target stage location, specified in “Common stage”or “Local Stage per Node”, to the location same as that of “Copy to Shared Location”, which is an NFS-mounted location visible across both source and target nodes.

    2. User chooses to create the stage at an NFS-mounted location, which is visible across both source and target nodes.

      Common Stage → No Copy → No Copy → Common Stage

      OR

      Local Stage per Node → No Copy → No Copy → Local Stage per Node

      Stage location must be an NFS mounted location, which is visible across both source and target nodes, for both “Common Stage” and “Local Stage per Node” options.

    3. User chooses to have the stage created in a location, which is not visible to target nodes. This stage is then transferred over the network via secure agent communications to the target node.

      Common Stage → No Copy → Remote File Transfer → Common Stage

      OR

      Local Stage per Node → No Copy → Remote File Transfer → Local Stage per Node

    4. User chooses to save an image copy to a shared location after having selected the “Clone Source to Target” cloning flow. (Just to store an image backup on the shared location.)

      Common Stage → Copy to Shared Location → Remote File Transfer → Common Stage

      OR

      Local Stage per Node → Copy to Shared Location → Remote File Transfer → Local Stage per Node

      Note: The extra copy operation in this flow will affect the performance for this flow.

  6. Specify final system tasks.

    Choose the finishing tasks that need to be performed on the target system after the image has been deployed. The selected Product Setup programs are run automatically as part of the clone operation. The Data Purge programs can be scheduled at the end of the clone operation. Similarly, the diagnostic tests for the selected products under the Check List can be executed at the end of the clone operation. (Refer to Monitoring a Clone Operation/Manual Finishing Tasks for the detailed steps).

  7. Enter Custom Properties (Optional).

    If you have any custom jobs, then you can enter the custom parameters for these jobs.

  8. Specify source and target authentication information.

    Specify the credentials for the clone process to access the source system and to set the credentials for the target system.

    Note: The APPS schema password on the target system must be set the same as that on the source system. There is currently no way of changing the APPS schema password on the target during the clone procedure.

  9. Schedule the clone job.

    The clone job can either be run immediately after the final review and submission or it may be deferred to some later time.

  10. Review the clone job details.

    Review the clone job details and ensure the information is correct. Submit the clone job by clicking Finish.

Clone Source to Target - Simple Cloning

Simple cloning (also referred to as simple clone) is a three-step process (unlike the ten-step process of advanced cloning) to create an exact clone of the source system. Simple clone is very beneficial while creating mirror copies of the source system for high availability.

The simple clone can be initiated from:

The following are required in order to perform a Simple Source to Target clone operation.

Follow these steps to perform the Simple Source to Target clone operation

  1. Specify these details:

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  2. Specify the credentials needed for clone job to access the source system. Also to be specified are the target system credentials. A test button is available for testing these credentials.

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  3. Review the details entered before submitting the clone job.

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Clone Source to Image

Clone Source to Image can be used to create an image or backup of a source Oracle Applications system. The image is registered with Enterprise Manager and can be later used to create a target system using the Deploy Image to Target flow (See: Deploy Image to Target).

Note: When performing a Source to Image clone operation on a source system with multiple applications nodes that share the file system, select only a single application node to be included in the image.

A Clone Source to Image operation can be invoked from the following places:

After launching the wizard, specify the clone operation details in the "General" step.

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In the “Source/Image” step, select the source Oracle Applications system. Also specify a name for the image and select the component that you would like to be included in the image.

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From the "Node Type Details" step, select the nodes to be included in the image for database and application node types.

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For the database node type, select the database node to be included in the image.

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Similarly, for the application node type, select the application nodes to be included in the image.

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In the "Stage Environment Tasks" step, specify data scrambling-related information, if required. If data scrambling is not enabled, this step will be skipped (Refer to Data Scrambling on how to enable data scrambling). Click on the "Specify Details" icon for the "Data Scrambling" task in order to specify the related details such as the policy set to be used for scrambling.

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If you choose to run data scrambling during a Source to Image operation, you must also specify details for a stage environment database where scrambling will be executed. An interim database will be cloned from the source to the specified stage environment and scrambling executed on this database. Upon completion of scrambling, the interim database is staged and included as part of the final image.

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In the "Copy Parameters" step, specify the stage area location and file transfer options for creating the image.

Note: The stage directory must be outside the $COMMON_TOP/clone (for source Applications node) or $RDBMS_ORACLE_HOME/appsutil/clone (for the source database node).

Note: For instances where the source or target has a RAC database on NFS storage, you should ensured that the file mounting options for the stage directory comply with by RMAN recommendations.

In the “Credentials” step, specify the OS and APPS schema credentials for the source system. Additionally, you may also need to specify OS credentials for the image host. Click the Test button for each credential to ensure that it is valid.

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If you are using data scrambling, you need to specify the OS, APPS schema, and the privileged schema credentials for the stage environment database. The privileged schema should have a “RESTRICTED ACCESS” privilege. You can also use the SYSTEM schema as the privileged schema for scrambling.

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In the "Schedule" step, specify if you would like the clone operation to execute immediately or at a later time.

Finally, review the cloning details information and click Finish to submit the clone operation. Alternatively, click the Save For Later button to save the information and submit the operation later.

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Deploy Image to Target

Deploy Image to Target can be used to create a cloned Oracle Applications system from an image created by a Clone Source to Image operation.

Please read Group Membership for Cloning for important information on group membership.

A Deploy Image to Target operation can be invoked from the following:

After launching the wizard, specify the clone operation details in the “General” step.

In the “Image/Target” step, select the Image from which you would like to clone. Also specify the target system name and port pool value.

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On the “Node Type Details” page, specify the target system details for Database and Application node types.

For the database node type, specify the target system database host.

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Click on the "Specify Details" icon to provide and review additional details about a particular target system database node.

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Note: The Add Primary and Add Shared buttons are reserved for future use.

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For each application node, click on the "Specify Details" icon to update the node details such as the OS user and group, directory locations, APPL_TOP mount points, services, and ports.

Note: Ensure that you enter the correct OS User name for the Applications tier before submitting your clone request.

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In the "Copy Parameters" step, specify the file transfer mechanism and stage directory for the target system.

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In the Target System Tasks step, select the tasks to be performed on the target system. For each task, specify the details.

In the "Credentials" step, specify the OS and APPS schema credentials for the target system. You may also need to specify credentials for the machine from which image needs to be transferred. Use the Test button to test the credentials to make sure they are valid.

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In the "Schedule" step, specify if you want to execute the clone operation immediately or at a later time.

Finally, review and submit the clone operation.

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Monitoring a Clone Operation / Manual Finishing Tasks

After submitting a clone operation, you will see the operation on the Clone Oracle Applications page. Click on the operation name to view the status details.

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On the Status Details page select the view option to monitor the status of the clone operation. You can also switch to the Jobs view to drill into the status and output of each step of the operation.

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To perform the “Schedule Data Purge Programs” manual task at the end of the clone operation, click on the step name for the manual task.

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On the Step Status page, select the “Status” link to perform the manual task.

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On the Initiate Data Purge page, click the “Submit Request” icon to schedule a request for each of the selected data purge concurrent programs.

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After completion of this task, click the Back button to go back to the Step Status page. Click the Confirm button to indicate that the “Schedule Data Purge Programs” step has been completed and to move to the next step. Click Done to go back to the Status page.

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Follow similar steps to those above to navigate to the Review Checklist page in order to perform the “Run Diagnostics Tests” task. Select the “Diagnose” icon to run diagnostic tests for the selected products.

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After completion of this task, click the Back button to go back to the Step Status page and click on the Confirm button to indicate that the “Run Diagnostics Tests” task is completed. At this point your clone operation should be complete.

Monitoring Data Scrambling

If you have enabled data scrambling for a Source to Target or Source to Image clone operation, you can also monitor its progress during the scrambling execution. On the Clone Oracle Applications page, click on the running clone operation.

On the Status page, click on the “Execute Scrambling” step once it has started running.

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On the Step Status page, click on the Status link.

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On the Data Scrambling: Run Details page, review the scrambling status details. Click on the Unit ID link to view the details of work completed for each unit. You can also click on Retry to retry a stopped scrambling execution process.

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Review the unit details and click on the Back button to go to the previous page.

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