6 Managing Bulk Load from the LSMS

This chapter describes how to initiate and manage an electronic bulk download at the LSMS. Bulk loading completely replaces an LNP database at a network element. Electronic bulk loading from the LSMS is available only if certain optional features are installed at the LSMS and at the network element.

Introduction

This chapter describes the features required for electronic bulk load and how to initiate and manage electronic bulk load from the Local Service Management System (LSMS). Bulk loading completely replaces an LNP database (all subscription version, number pool block, NPA Split, Translation Type Service, default Global Title Translation, and override Global Title Translation data) at a network element.

When to Perform a Bulk Load

Bulk loading is required when the network element is being initialized for one of the following reasons:

• Bringing the network element into the system for the first time

• Modifying the network element’s area of service by reconfiguring EMS routing

• The network element’s LNP database is corrupted and cannot be recovered using other synchronization methods

For information about procedures that may be used instead of bulk loading, see Choosing a Synchronization Procedure.

Bulk Load Restrictions

A maximum of two bulk loads (of different network elements) can be performed simultaneously. For more information about the maximum number of synchronization operations that can occur simultaneously, see Maximum Number of Simultaneous Synchronization Operations.

Bulk Load Overview

Bulk loading is the process of extracting the LNP database from the LSMS and sending the extracted data over a communications link to the network element, where it is loaded into the main LNP database. The bulk load fully replaces the network element’s main LNP database.

Figure 6-1 illustrates how data is sent to a network element before, during, and after a bulk load.

Figure 6-1 Bulk Load Timeline

The bulk load stages occur as follows:

T1 Initial bulk load stage begins: The LSMS user and network element operator decide to initiate a bulk load as a result of:

• One of the reasons listed in Introduction.

• Receiving a notification that NE database maintenance is required. For more information, see Notifications that Database Maintenance Is Required and Choosing a Synchronization Procedure.

  To start the bulk load at the LSMS, see Managing Bulk Load from the LSMS.

  During the bulk load, the network element’s LNP database is cleared (all LNP database entries are deleted), and the entire LSMS LNP database is downloaded to the network element.

  Some differences between the LSMS and NE databases (such as capacity) may cause the NE to reject some of the downloaded commands. These rejections would also during a normal update. All commands rejected by the network element are recorded in the bulk load log file (see Bulk Load Log File) and can be viewed by clicking the View Log button on the Bulk Load dialog (see Figure 6-4).

  At any time during this stage, the LSMS user can choose to abort the bulk load. If aborted, this operation can be either restarted or terminated.

T2 Automatic resynchronization stage begins: As soon as the previous stage completes, the LSMS automatically begins a resynchronization to update the network element with any updates received from NPACs or any data locally provisioned since stage T1.

This stage can also result in download commands being rejected by the NE. All commands rejected by the network element are recorded in the bulk load log file (see Bulk Load Log File) and can be viewed by clicking the View Log button on the Bulk Load dialog (see Figure 6-4).

When this stage is complete, the user has the option to commit or discard the LNP data downloaded to the network element. If the user chooses to commit the changes, the DBTS is set to the time that this stage began. If the user chooses to discard the changes, the network element’s LNP database is left in a Database Maintenance Required (DMR) state.

T3 Network element database distribution stage begins: If the LSMS user chooses in the previous stage to commit the data downloaded to the NE’s database, the ELAP operator copies the newly restored ELAP RTDB to the mate ELAP, and then distributes the data to the Service Module cards as described in Distributing the LNP Database after LSMS-Based Operation or RTDB Copy.

T4 Automatic resynchronization stage begins: At this stage, the bulk load procedures are complete, and the LSMS and network element reconnect and begin the normal automatic resynchronization described in Automatic Resynchronization Process. During this stage, the LSMS sends all NPAC updates or locally provisioned data updates that have occurred since stage T2.

T5 Normal operations resume.

Managing Bulk Load from the LSMS

This section describes how to perform a bulk load, view bulk load log files, and understand bulk load error messages.

Bulk Load Procedure

Use the following procedure to manage a bulk load from the LSMS user interface.

Note:

Before starting this procedure, contact unresolvable-reference.html#GUID-4DCE85D7-E15B-482F-B188-B54BBCAD7463 to be available for assistance if any problems are encountered while performing this procedure.

1. Perform the following substeps to ensure that no NPA Splits will activate during the bulk download procedure:
   1. As lsmsadm, enter the following lsmsdb commands to output the counts for both Subscription Version and Number Pool Block objects:

      
      %  cd $LSMS_DIR/../tools
      %  lsmsdb -c counts | grep SubscriptionVersion
      1,012,345 ... CanadaDB.SubscriptionVersion
      5,434,123 ... MidAtlanticDB.SubscriptionVersion
      7,111,222 ... MidwestDB.SubscriptionVersion
      6,333,999 ... NortheastDB.SubscriptionVersion
      8,044,000 ... SoutheaststDB.SubscriptionVersion
      4,999,800 ... SouthwestDB.SubscriptionVersion
      6,500,000 ... WestCoastDB.SubscriptionVersion
      5,250,500 ... WesternDB.SubscriptionVersion
      %  lsmsdb -c counts | grep NumberPoolBlock
      1,205 ....... CanadaDB.NumberPoolBlock
      10,400 ...... MidAtlanticDB.NumberPoolBlock
      8,005 ....... MidwestDB.NumberPoolBlock
      4,000 ....... NortheastDB.NumberPoolBlock
      7,500 ....... SoutheaststDB.NumberPoolBlock
      1,225 ....... SouthwestDB.NumberPoolBlock
      7,700 ....... WestCoastDB.NumberPoolBlock
      5,500 ....... WesternDB.NumberPoolBlock
      

   2. Total the counts listed in the first column of the output from both commands in substep a.
      Divide this total by 2 million, to determine the estimated number of hours for the bulk load.
   3. Generate an NPA Split Report.
      Select Pending for Status and All NPAC Regions for NPAC Region. For information about creating and viewing NPA Split Data Reports, refer to the Database Administrator's Guide for LSMS.
   4. Determine if NPA Splits are scheduled to be activated during the time the Bulk Load is to be performed:

      • If no Pending NPA Splits were listed in the report in substep c, or if none of the Pending NPA Splits has a PDP Start Date that occurs within the time period required to complete the Bulk Load, go to .

      • If any Pending NPA Split has a PDP Start Date that occurs within the time period required to complete the Bulk Load, continue with next substep.

   5. Determine the date on which you want the NPA Splits to be activated.
      This should be the next day after the expected completion of the Bulk Load Procedure (based on the start date/time anticipated and the estimated length of the Bulk Load procedure, from substep b). For example, if the Bulk Load is estimated to require 24 hours to complete and the Bulk Load planned to be performed starting at 12 noon on April 1st, the NPA Split should be postponed until April 3rd.
   6. Postpone the NPA Split (refer to the Database Administrator's Guide for LSMS).
2. Ensure that the network element is prepared to receive a bulk load by doing the following:
   1. Connect your web browser to the ELAP user interface (for more information, refer to the Administration and LNP Feature Activation Guide for ELAP).
   2. Log in with the user name and password for a user who is authorized to access the menu items shown in this procedure.
      The ELAP GUI is displayed, as shown in .

      Figure 6-2 ELAP Main Menu

      
      

      

      
      
   3. Select Maintenance > LSMSHS Bulk Download > Change Enabled.
      The window shown in is displayed.

      Figure 6-3 Enabling Change HS Bulk Download

      
      
      
   4. If the information field indicates that the Bulkload for the ELAP is currently enabled, click the Disable Bulkload for this ELAP button and this will allow the audit.
3. At the LSMS, log in as a member of the lsmsuser, lsmsuext, or lsmsall user group.
4. Start the Bulk Load window using either of the following:
   1. From the Main Menu on the LSMS Console window, select LSMS > LNPDatabase Synchronization > Bulk Load > <CLLI> , where <CLLI> is the Common Language Location Identifier for the network element that requires the bulk load.
   2. Right-click the LSMS Console window’s EMS status icon that corresponds to the network element requiring the bulk load, and select LNP Database Synchronization , and then Bulk Load.
      The Bulk Load window displays. An example of this window is shown in .

      Figure 6-4 Bulk Load Window

      
      
      
5. To initiate the bulk load, click the Start button.
   The Start button is replaced by the Abort button, and the View Log button becomes selectable. Progress is indicated by start time, elapsed time, numbers of successful and failed update commands, and status reported in the status field at the bottom of the window. When the bulk load phase completes (as indicated in the status field and by a value appearing in the End Date/Time field for the Bulk Load phase), the Re-sync phase begins and progress continues to be indicated in the same ways. All other buttons become non-selectable. shows the meaning of each of the fields that appears in this window.

   Table 6-1 Fields in Bulk Load Window

   Field	Description	Possible Values
   Bulk Loaded	Total number of LNP commands that were successfully transmitted and applied to the NE’s LNP database during the initial download phase of the bulk load operation.	0 — 99,999,999
   Resynced	Total number of LNP commands that were successfully transmitted and applied to the NE’s LNP database during the resynchronization phase of the bulk load operation.	0 — 99,999,999
   Download Total	Total number of LNP commands that were successfully transmitted and applied to the NE’s LNP database during initial download and the resynchronization phases of the bulk load operation.	0 — 99,999,999
   Errors	Total number of commands that were successfully transmitted but rejected by the NE during the initial download and the resynchronization phases of the bulk load operation.	0 — 99,999,999
   Bulk Load Start Date/Time	Time at which the initial download phase of the bulk load operation was started by the user.	MM/DD hh:mm:ss1
   Bulk Load End Date/Time	Time at which the initial download phase of the bulk load operation completed successfully or terminated abnormally.	MM/DD hh:mm:ss1
   Bulk Load Elapsed Date/Time	Amount of time the initial download phase of the bulk load operation took to complete or the amount of time it ran before the user aborted it.	MM/DD hh:mm:ss1[A|F]2
   Re-sync Start Date/Time	Time at which the resynchronization phase of the bulk load operation was started by the user.	MM/DD hh:mm:ss1
   Re-sync End Date/Time	Time at which the resynchronization phase of the bulk load operation completed successfully (with or without command rejections at the NE) or terminated abnormally.	MM/DD hh:mm:ss1
   Re-sync Elapsed Date/Time	Amount of time the resynchronization phase of the bulk load operation took to complete or the amount of time it ran before the user aborted it.	hh:mm:ss1[A|F]2
   Status	Appears as text at the bottom left of the window to indicate the current status of the resynchronization operation.	Varies
   1 MM indicates month, range 01—12 DD indicates day, range 01—31 hh indicates hour, range 00—23 mm indicates minute, range 00—59 ss indicates second, range 00—59 2 A is appended at the end of the time if the operation is aborted. F is appended at the end of the time if the operation fails.

   The time required to download a database from the LSMS to the network element varies depending on the number of records provisioned in the database and the quality of the transmission and connections. To view the bulk load log file, see Bulk Load Log File. To abort during either the bulk load phase or the resynchronization phase of an electronic bulk load is in progress, click theAbort button. A confirmation dialog displays, as shown in Figure 6-5.

   Figure 6-5 Abort Bulk Load Operation Dialog

   
   
   
   1. Click the Yes button to immediately terminate the operation in progress.
      Go to 7 as if the bulk load had completed.
   2. Click the No button to close the Abort confirmation dialog and return back to the main Bulk Load window with no other effect.
6. When the bulk load operation completes, the information dialog shown in Figure 6-6 displays.

   Figure 6-6 Bulk Load Complete Information Dialog

   
   
   

   Click OK.
7. When the bulk load operation completes or is aborted, the Abort and Close buttons are replaced by Commit and Discard buttons, as shown in Figure 6-7 .

   Figure 6-7 Bulk Load Complete

   
   
   
   Commit before you click the Discard button, you can view the bulk load log file by clicking the View Log button (for more information about the file, including how to view it at other times, see Bulk Load Log File). To conclude the bulk load operation, you must click one of the following buttons:

   • Click the Discard button to end the bulk load application (closing the Bulk Load window) and to send the NE a discard command that results in changes to the ELAP RTDB that cannot be undone. (For whatever reason you are performing this procedure, the ELAP RTDB is now in a state of requiring database maintenance, but the bulk load application is no longer running.)

   Note:

   On the active MPS, verify that the DB Status is Coherent and the RTDB Level is greater than zero before copying the newly downloaded database to the mated ELAP.
8. The NE operator must continue with the following steps to cause the RTDB to be distributed and return the NE to normal operation as follows:
   1. Copy the newly restored RTDB to its mate ELAP RTDB, as described in Copy RTDB from RemoteCopy RTDB from Remote.
   2. Distribute the data to the Service Module cards, as described in Distributing an RTDB to Service Module Cards.

Support ELAP Reload Via Database Image Function

The Support ELAP Reload via Database Image (SERVDI) function performs bulk data downloads (BDD) that significantly reduces the time needed to reload an ELAP database.

The SERVDI function is executed on the LSMS system and creates an ELAP RTDB image file directly from the LSMS LNP databases. See Figure 6-8. The SERVDI download file must be transferred to the ELAP system backup directory. Once transferred, the file is activated by using the Restore RTDB on ELAP process in the ELAP GUI.

Figure 6-8 ELAP Reload Via DB Image Function

Note:

Although the SERVDI is run from the Active LSMS, the SERVDI backup is normally taken from the standby LSMS. If Standby LSMS is not available, the SERVDI takes the backup from the Active LSMS.

SERVDI Bulk Download

Use the following procedure to perform an ELAP bulk download from the LSMS.

Note:

SERVDI is part of the optional LNP feature. Contact unresolvable-reference.html#GUID-4DCE85D7-E15B-482F-B188-B54BBCAD7463 for more information.

Note:

The LSMS bulk download SERVDI creates the bulkload file, but cannot send it to the active ELAP unless the Secure Shell Keys (SSKs) have been exchanged. The procedure for exchanging the keys is part of the ELAP configuration procedure, and is illustrated in Copy RTDB from Remote. After the key exchange procedure is complete, the SERVDI bulk download can be sent from the LSMS to the active ELAP.

1. Log in to the LSMS GUI as a member of the permission group that is authorized to perform this operation.
2. From the LSMS Console window, select LSMS, and then LNP Database Synchronization, and then ELAP Reload Via DB Image, and then <CLLI> where <CLLI> is the ELAP network element that requires the bulk download.

   Figure 6-9 ELAP Reload Via DB Image

   
   
   
3. Click Generate Image.

   Figure 6-10 Generate Image

   
   
   
4. The LSMS creates a database file of the ELAP database image. When the process completes, a confirmation dialog appears.

   Figure 6-11 Database Image Completed

   
   
   

   Click OK to continue.

   Note:

   If necessary, you can stop the bulk download process before the database image is complete. To stop the bulk download process, click Abort. A confirmation dialog appears. Click Yes to terminate the bulk download in progress. Click No to continue with the bulk download.

   Figure 6-12 Abort Bulk Download

   
   
   

   Figure 6-13 Abort Confirmation

   
   
   
5. Click Transfer Image to transfer the bulk download to the ELAP.

   Figure 6-14 Transfer Database Image to ELAP

   
   
   
   When the transfer completes, a confirmation dialog appears. Click OK to continue.

   Figure 6-15 Image Transfer Complete

   
   
   
6. Click Close to return to the main LSMS Console window.

In order to complete this process, you must reload the ELAP database using the file generated in 4. For more information about how to reload an ELAP database, see Restore RTDB on ELAP.

Bulk Load Log File

This section describes the following topics:

• Viewing the Bulk Load Log File
• Bulk Load Log File Contents

Viewing the Bulk Load Log File

After a resynchronization has begun, you can view the electronic bulk load log file by clicking the View Log button. The browser window displays the log file LsmsBulkload.log.<MMDD>. The file is located in the directory /usr/local/LSMS/logs/<CLLI>. <CLLI> is the Common Language Location Identifier of the network element receiving the bulk load. < MMDD> is the timestamp that contains month and day that the file was created.

You can also use one of the following methods to open the window shown in Figure 6-16 to browse for this log:

• Select Logs > Other... from the main menu of the LSMS Console window.

• Click on the LSMS Console window’s EMS Status icon that corresponds to the network element receiving the bulk load so that the icon is highlighted. Right-click and select Logs > LNP Database Synchronization > Bulk Load.

  The Open Log Files window displays.

  Figure 6-16 Open Log Files Window

  
  
  

Scroll down to find the folder that has the <CLLI> name for the NE that was bulk loaded. Double-click the folder name, and then double-click the file name LsmsBulkload.log.<MMDD> that corresponds to the month and day you desire.

Note:

Log files are maintained for seven days and then automatically removed from the LSMS.

Bulk Load Log File Contents

When a bulk load is started, the bulk load log file for that day is appended (if this is the first bulk load of the day, the file is created). For each bulk load performed on that day, the bulk load log file contains information similar to the information displayed on the Bulk Load main window, such as start and end times for the bulk load, and numbers of successes and failures in various LNP categories.

The bulk load log file contains the following sections:

• Header Section

• Bulk Load Section

• Resynchronization Section

• Summary Section

• Download Commit/Discard Section

  Refer to Appendix C of LNP Database Synchronization User's Guide for more information on these sections.

Figure 6-17 shows an example of a bulk load log file.

Figure 6-17 Example Bulk Load Log File

Bulk Load Error Messages

For a listing of error messages that can appear on the GUI, along with explanation of possible cause and suggested recovery, refer to Appendix A in LNP Database Synchronization User's Guide.