Berkeley DB Reference Guide: Distributed Transactions

XA FAQ

1. Does converting an application to run within XA change any of the already existing C/C++ API calls it does?

   When converting an application to run under XA, the application's Berkeley DB calls are unchanged, with two exceptions:

   • The application must specify the DB_XA_CREATE flag to the db_create interface.
   • The application should never explicitly call txn_commit, txn_abort or txn_begin, as those calls are replaced by calls into the Tuxedo transaction manager. For the same reason, the application will always specify a transaction argument of NULL to the Berkeley DB functions that take transaction arguments (for example, DB->put or DB->cursor).

   Otherwise, your application should be unchanged.

   ---

2. Is it possible to mix XA and non-XA transactions?

   Yes. It is also possible for XA and non-XA transactions to coexist in the same Berkeley DB environment. To do this, specify the same environment to the non-XA DB_ENV->open calls as was specified in the Tuxedo configuration file.

   ---

3. How does Berkeley DB recovery interact with recovery by the Tuxedo transaction manager?

   Recovery is completed in two steps. First, each resource manager should recover its environment(s). This can be done via a program that calls DB_ENV->open or by calling the db_recover utility. If using the db_recover utility, then the -e option should be specified so that the regions that are recovered persist after the utility exits. Any transactions that were prepared, but neither completed nor aborted, are restored to their prepared state so that they may be aborted or committed via the Tuxedo recovery mechanisms. After each resource manager has recovered, then Tuxedo recovery may begin. Tuxedo will interact with each resource manager via the __db_xa_recover function which returns the list of prepared, but not yet completed transactions. It should issue a commit or abort for each one, and only after having completed each transaction will normal processing resume.

   Finally, standard log file archival and catastrophic recovery procedures should occur independently of XA operation.

Copyright Sleepycat Software