What are DBTUNE configuration keywords and parameters?
Configuration keywords are words or phrases that are used to group together parameters and parameter values (called config_strings in the sde_dbtune table). The parameters and their associated values specify how data and database objects, such as tables, indexes, feature classes, network classes, and raster columns, are stored in the database.
Configuration keywords and parameters always go together; you cannot specify just a parameter without its keyword, and a keyword that contains no parameters is useless.
Configuration keywords provide a convenient way to define multiple storage settings at once. As shown in What is the dbtune file?, one configuration keyword groups together multiple parameters. By specifying a particular keyword, you are actually specifying the whole group of parameters and settings grouped under the keyword.
You specify a configuration keyword in the following situations:
- Loading or creating new datasets using ArcGIS Desktop, geoprocessing tools, or ArcSDE administration commands
- Creating ArcIMS metadata server documents
- Building ArcGIS features such as geometric networks, terrains, or topologies
ArcSDE searches the sde_dbtune table for the specified configuration keyword. Then it reads the parameter name-value pairs associated with the specified configuration keyword. The necessary configuration strings are incorporated in the CREATE TABLE or CREATE INDEX statement ArcSDE submits to the database.
As indicated in What is the dbtune file?, the initial source of configuration keywords and their parameter name-config string pairs can be the dbtune file. If specified, this file populates the sde_dbtune table when the sde_dbtune and all the other ArcSDE geodatabase system tables are created.
From then on, the configuration keywords and parameters are stored in the DBTUNE table. New keywords can be created, values for existing parameters can be altered, and keywords and parameters can be removed from the table using the sdedbtune administration command. For details on how to use this command, see the Administration Command Reference provided with ArcGIS Server Enterprise.
Unlike configuration keywords, which you can create yourself, there are specific, standard parameter names and values you must use; you cannot invent new ones. However, most parameters have multiple values you can use. See DBTUNE configuration parameters in PostgreSQL for a list and descriptions of valid configuration parameters.