Why would I need to run a COLD restart or truncate the MQ tables in Automic OM?

Products

• CA Automic Workload Automation - Automation Engine

Issue/Introduction

Why would I need to run a COLD restart or truncate the MQ tables in Automic OM?

Resolution

Detailed Description and Symptoms

We are preparing for a Disaster Recovery test and want to know what we might need to prepare the database.

Investigation
MQ stands for "Message Queue".  The Message Queue tables basically act as a workspace for all of the information travelling between Automic components.  There are 11 MQ tables in 6.00A:
MQCP001
MQCP002
MQCP003
MQCP004
MQCP005
MQDWP
MQLS
MQMEM
MQPWP
MQSRV
MQWP

and 14 in 8.00A.
(the above plus)
MQOWP
MQRWP
MQQWP

Sometimes, old messages can be left in the MQ tables causing the Automic system to not be able to start correctly, or freeze.  The most common reason for this is if the Automic system has been brought down ungracefully.  The best example is if the server that Automic is on has been rebooted or crashed unexpectedly as in a Disaster Recovery (DR) scenario.
When the machine stops suddenly, the messages in the MQ tables are left.  When Automic attempts to start the system in "Normal" mode, it will try and process these messages.  Because they may no longer have valid information, the WPs or CPs will not connect properly and the system will be unable to start.

Solution

In most cases, a "Cold" restart is done either by setting the startmode=COLD in the ucsrv.ini file or by right-clicking the WP process in Service Manager Dialog and selecting "Start Service with"? "Coldstart"

If the Cold restart does not solve the issue, please contact support for further information.