Sync checks are an important part of maintaining replication confidence in an iCluster environment. Sync checks help administrators validate that source and target systems remain synchronized and help identify potential discrepancies before those discrepancies become operational concerns.
Full sync checks remain a core part of replication validation. Full sync checks provide comprehensive verification across a replication group and help administrators maintain confidence that source and target systems remain aligned.
As replication groups grow, however, the number of objects included in a sync check can grow as well. In some situations, administrators may want to focus validation efforts on the objects that have changed recently rather than validate every object in a group.
With iCluster Web 9.4.1, administrators can now take advantage of Priority Audit Sync Check, a capability that focuses synchronization validation on recently modified objects. Instead of checking every object in a replication group, Priority Audit Sync Check can limit validation to the objects that have changed within a configurable timeframe.
The Challenge: Not Every Sync Check Needs to Scan Everything
Full sync checks provide broad validation across an entire replication group, making full sync checks an essential tool for verifying replication consistency.
However, not every validation activity requires the same scope.
Consider a replication group that contains hundreds or thousands of objects. Since the last full sync check, only a subset of those objects may have changed. When administrators want to review recent activity, validating only recently modified objects may be more relevant than scanning the entire group.
Administrators need the flexibility to focus validation efforts on the areas of the environment that have experienced recent change while continuing to use existing sync check workflows.
A More Focused Validation Strategy
Priority Audit Sync Check works alongside existing sync check capabilities by keeping track of objects that have changed since the last full sync check for a data group.
When a sync check is initiated, iCluster evaluates only the objects that satisfy both of the following conditions:
- The selected sync check criteria.
- The configured change-duration range.
Rather than validating every object in the group, validation efforts can be focused on the objects that have experienced recent change.
Introducing Priority Audit Sync Check
Priority Audit Sync Check introduces a new parameter called ONCHGDUR (On Change Duration). The ONCHGDUR parameter controls how recently an object must have been modified to be included in a sync check.
| ONCHGDUR Value | Behavior |
|---|---|
| 0 | Priority Audit Sync Check is not applied |
| 1–24 | Includes objects modified within the specified number of hours |
For example, if ONCHGDUR is configured with a value of 8, the sync check evaluates objects that were modified within the previous eight hours and that satisfy the selected sync check criteria.
This approach allows administrators to define a validation window that aligns with recent activity in the environment.
Available Within Existing Sync Check Workflows
One of the advantages of Priority Audit Sync Check is that it integrates directly into existing sync check workflows.
The new On Change Duration (Hours) setting is available in both the Sync Check and User Sync Check dialogs in iCluster Web.
Administrators can access the feature from:
- Monitor → Sync Check
- Monitor → User Sync Check
- Groups → Sync Check
The On Change Duration (Hours) slider corresponds directly to the ONCHGDUR parameter and allows values from 0 to 24 hours. A value of 0 disables Priority Audit Sync Check, while values between 1 and 24 enable validation based on recent object modifications.
Because the capability is integrated into existing workflows, administrators can use Priority Audit Sync Check without learning new interfaces or administrative processes.
Prioritize the Objects That Changed
Priority Audit Sync Check provides administrators with an additional option for validating synchronization activity.
By focusing on recently modified objects, administrators can:
- Validate objects that have changed within a defined timeframe.
- Reduce the number of objects included in a sync check.
- Perform more focused synchronization reviews.
- Supplement existing full sync check strategies.
Rather than applying the same scope to every validation activity, Priority Audit Sync Check allows administrators to tailor validation efforts to recent changes within a replication group.
The Bottom Line
Full sync checks remain an important part of replication validation, providing comprehensive verification across replication groups.
With Priority Audit Sync Check in iCluster Web 9.4.1, administrators can focus validation efforts on objects that have changed within a configurable time window. By tracking objects modified since the last full sync check and filtering validation using the ONCHGDUR parameter, Priority Audit Sync Check provides a targeted approach to synchronization validation.
Integrated directly into existing sync check workflows, Priority Audit Sync Check gives administrators another way to monitor replication health and maintain confidence in synchronization across IBM i environments.
See Priority Audit Sync Check in Action
Watch the demo below to see how Priority Audit Sync Check helps administrators focus validation efforts on recently modified objects directly from iCluster Web.
