Setting message type control parameters

Each message link has several parameters that govern aspects of its behavior. The parameters differ from message system to message system, but all are managed in the same way.

When you first use the Message Agent for a particular message link, it displays a window showing a set of parameters that control the behavior of the link. These parameters may be a user ID for the message system, a host name where ftp messages are held, and so on. The parameters you enter are saved by the Message Agent. You can also set these parameters explicitly.

Message link parameters stored in the database

The message control parameters are held in the database. You can set the options as follows:

To set a message control parameter

  • Execute the following statement:

    SET REMOTE link-name OPTION
    [username.]option-name = option-value

You can see the current message link parameters by querying the sys.sysremoteoptions view.

Holding the message link parameters on disk

Earlier versions of this software stored the message link parameters outside the database. You can still use this method, but storing the parameters inside the database is recommended unless you have specific reasons to choose otherwise.

The message link control parameters are stored in the following places:

  • Windows   In the registry, at the following location:
    \\HKEY_CURRENT_USER
       \Software
          \Sybase
             \SQL Remote

    The parameters for each message link go in a key under the SQL Remote key, with the name of the message link (4, smtp, and so on).

  • Unix   The FILE system directory setting is held in the SQLREMOTE environment variable.

The sqlremote environment variable holds a path that can be used as an alternative to one of the control parameters for the file sharing system.

The parameters available for each message system are discussed in the following sections. Each section describes a single message system.

When the Message Agent loads a message link, the link uses the settings of the current publisher or, if a setting is not specified, of groups to which the publisher belongs. On Windows, the first time a version of the Message Agent is run that supports storing the message link parameters in the database, it copies the link options from the registry to the database.