Administering Satellites Guide and Reference

The Model Office

A model office is a special member of the test satellites in the group. Typically, you will have one model office for each version of the end-user application that you have deployed in the group. You can use a model office for a variety of purposes:

• To model your initial deployment of the group.

  When the model office is set up, you can create a response file that is based on the model office. You can use the response file to install large numbers of satellites. For more information, see Chapter 10, Performing a Mass Deployment.

• To test the changes that are required to the database definition and data that supports a version of the end-user application that is already in production.

  The model office provides a representative database, which you can work with using tools such as the Control Center and the Satellite Administration Center. Using the model office, you can generate scripts from the different SmartGuides, notebooks, and windows available in the Control Center. You verify the behavior of the scripts by submitting them to execute against the model office. This means that the production environment is almost entirely isolated from the changes that you make to the model office. When you are satisfied with the database definition changes that the scripts produce on the model office, you can promote the scripts to production. The changes will then be executed by the group's production satellites.

• To provide a representation of a typical satellite in the group.

  Because the model office represents a typical satellite, it can be useful for problem determination. If an end-user experiences a problem, you can use the model office, or a copy of it, to reproduce the problem and determine how to fix it.

• To deploy a new version of your end-user application. You can use the model office to verify that the installation of the new version of the application provides the correct results, and that the setup, update and cleanup batches produce the expected database definition and data for the end-user application. For more information, see Create a Test System to Test the Deployment of the New Application.

Figure 1 provides an overview of how the Control Center, the DB2 control server, and the model office can interact.

Figure 1. Model Office

For more information, see Chapter 6, Working with the Model Office.

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