Administrative tools

Two tools for administering Big Data Discovery exist — the Enterprise Manager plug-in, and the bdd-admin script. This topic introduces these administrative tools and discusses when to use each.

The Enterprise Manager plug-in for Big Data Discovery

The Enterprise Manager plug-in lets you monitor, diagnose, and manage Big Data Discovery components. The plug-in includes three targets: a target for the entire Big Data Discovery cluster, as well as targets for Studio and the Dgraph.

For information on performing administrative tasks through the plug-in, see Using the Enterprise Manager for Big Data Discovery.

The bdd-admin script

The bdd-admin script lets you perform a number of administrative tasks for the Dgraph, the HDFS Agent, Studio, and the Dgraph Gateway from the command line.

For information on performing administrative tasks through the script, see Administering Big Data Discovery with the bdd-admin Script.

Administrative tool comparison

This table illustrates which administrative tasks you can perform using the script or the Enterprise Manager plug-in. Use these guidelines:

  • The bdd-admin script is available to you regardless of whether you are using the Enterprise Manager plug-in. Use it for all administrative tasks, or for those that you cannot do in any other way. For example, you can use it to perform administrative tasks for the Dgraph and HDFS Agent, including starting and stopping, logging, updating the configuration, and running administrative operations (such as merge, ping, stats, statsreset, log-status, and logroll).
  • The Enterprise Manager plug-in is optional. The plug-in is desirable especially for monitoring and log access, thus it is recommended to be used if you have the license for it and have installed it.

This table compares these tools.

Administrative task Enterprise Manager bdd-admin Notes
Starting and stopping Big Data Discovery (all components) No Yes

Enterprise Manager plug-in: You can only use it after Big Data Discovery is already up and running.

Script: After you install Big Data Discovery, you use the script to start and stop the entire stack (Dgraph, Dgraph HDFS Agent, Studio, Dgraph Gateway).

Starting and stopping the Dgraph Yes Yes

Enterprise Manager plug-in: You can start and stop the Dgraph targets.

Script: You can start and stop the Dgraph instances.

Starting and stopping Dgraph Gateway and Studio No Yes

Enterprise Manager plug-in: You cannot start and stop Dgraph Gateway and Studio.

Script: You can use the script to start and stop both Dgraph Gateway and Studio. Note that both must be stopped and started at the same time.

Starting and stopping CDH nodes (used for Data Processing) No No

Enterprise Manager plug-in: You cannot start and stop CDH nodes.

Script: You cannot start and stop CDH nodes.

Adding and removing nodes in the cluster (Dgraph nodes, Studio nodes, CDH nodes) No No

Enterprise Manager plug-in: You cannot add or remove nodes in the BDD deployment.

Script: You cannot add or remove nodes.

Exploring Dgraph logs Yes Yes

You can use bdd.conf to specify the location of the Dgraph and HDFS Agent output files and the Dgraph Gateway log level.

You can use the bdd-admin script to enable, disable, and check the status of extended logging features and perform a log roll for the Dgraph.

Monitoring node status Yes Yes

Enterprise Manager plug-in: Node status indicator lets you see if the node is up or down.

Script: You can use the bdd-admin script to check the current status of the Dgraph, the HDFS Agent, Studio, and the Dgraph Gateway.

Creating and deleting services No No

Script: You cannot use the bdd-admin script or Enterprise Manager plug-in to create or delete services.

Enabling and disabling auto-start No Yes You can use bdd.conf to enable the entire cluster to automatically restart after a reboot.
Refreshing configuration No Yes

Enterprise Manager plug-in: It does not have an option to refresh the configuration.

Script: You can use the bdd-admin script to copy an updated version of bdd.conf to all servers in the BDD cluster deployment.

Running administrative operations (such as ping, merge, logroll, view and reset Dgraph statistics) Yes Yes You can use administration operations for the Dgraph through the Enterprise manager plug-in and through the bdd-admin script.