Understanding administrator functions

Administrators of a Rational® ClearQuest® environment, are typically responsible for installing the software, creating a release area and installing fix packs, creating and managing schema repositories and user databases, configuring Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) user authentication, managing user accounts, and setting up Rational ClearQuest Web.

Install and configure the database management system

Before installing the Rational ClearQuest software, administrators install and configure a relational database management system on a dedicated machine that will serve as the Rational ClearQuest database server. Rational ClearQuest uses relational databases to store the data about process and forms (metadata) and the data (records) entered by Rational ClearQuest users.

Rational ClearQuest requires at least two databases:
  • A schema repository to store schemas.
  • One or more user databases to hold user data.

Administrators have a choice of several database management systems. Depending on the platform, these systems might include Microsoft Access, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle RDBMS, IBM DB2 or the set of DB2 functionality available as part of IBM DB2 UDB components for Rational.

For information about system requirements and configuring vendor databases, see the IBM Rational ClearQuest and ClearQuest MultiSite Installation and Upgrade Guide.

Install Rational ClearQuest software

Administrators must set up the IBM Rational License Server and get the license key for the Rational ClearQuest software, then install that software on the client and server systems as required to support the users.

These tasks require the IBM Rational License Server and the IBM Rational Setup Wizard, which prompts you through the Rational ClearQuest installation. The wizard also supports several deployment methods.

For more information, see the IBM Rational ClearQuest and ClearQuest MultiSite Installation and Upgrade Guide.

Create and manage schema repositories and connections

Administrators create new schema repositories with the Maintenance Tool. Prior to creating the schema repositories, administrators must create an empty vendor database container to house the schema repository.

When you create a new schema repository, you create a connection that allows users to access the schema repository and its associated user databases. You use the Maintenance Tool to modify these connections.

Administrators also use the Maintenance Tool to create sample user databases, to move the Rational ClearQuest databases to other vendor databases and to upgrade them to new feature levels or metaschema versions.

For more information, see Manage databases.

Administer national language support and code pages

Every client that accesses a Rational ClearQuest database uses a local character set, also called an operating system code page. A code page specifies the set of characters that are valid in a Rational ClearQuest environment. In a multilingual environment, Rational ClearQuest clients can run different language-based operating systems that use different local character sets, and the user databases and schema repositories can also run on servers that use multiple local character sets.

To protect these multilingual environments and ensure data integrity across your databases, administrators can set a Rational ClearQuest data code page value for schema repositories and user databases. A CharacterSetValidation package can be used to configure environments that include clients from older versions of Rational ClearQuest software. Administrators can configure their environment to take advantage of these features.

For more information, see Code pages and national language support.

Create and manage user databases

Administrators use the Designer to create and associate a user database with a predefined schema. Administrators also use the Designer to manage and upgrade user databases. Prior to creating a user database, administrators must create an empty vendor database container to house the user database.

For more information, see Manage databases.

Enable Web access

Administrators can set up the Rational ClearQuest Web Application and the Rational ClearQuest Server on a Web server. Users can perform many functions available in Rational ClearQuest Web by using an Internet browser.

For more information, see the IBM Rational ClearQuest and ClearQuest MultiSite Installation and Upgrade Guide, and "Administering Rational ClearQuest Web" in the Rational ClearQuest Online Help.

Manage user accounts

Administrators create user accounts, subscribe users to databases, create groups, subscribe groups to databases, and set up user authentication from LDAP-compatible directories and user databases. These tasks are performed using the User Administration tool, the installutil command utility and the IBM GSkit utility.

For more information, see the IBM Rational ClearQuest and ClearQuest MultiSite Installation and Upgrade Guide and Administering users.

Delegate administrative functions

Administrators have privileges that allow them to perform all administrative functions available through Rational ClearQuest tools.

To keep their workload manageable and avoid becoming a bottleneck for development teams, administrators can delegate some administrative functions.

For more information, see Administering users.

Set up Rational ClearQuest MultiSite

Administrators can install and configure Rational ClearQuest MultiSite software, which replicates data across multiple locations. This capability permits developers in different buildings, cities, and countries to work on the same project.

For more information, see the IBM Rational ClearQuest MultiSite Administrator's Guide.

Enable e-mail notification through the Rational E-Mail Reader

Administrators can set up the Rational E-Mail Reader to submit and modify change requests by e-mail instead of using a Rational ClearQuest client.

The Rational E-Mail Reader runs as a Windows® Service on an e-mail server. To configure it, administrators must set up at least one dedicated e-mail account.

For more information, see Administering the E-Mail Reader.



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