PeopleSoft Administration Interview Questions

PeopleSoft Admin Interview Questions Answers. 

Professionals are invited to share Answers for these PeopleSoft Admin Questions.

What is the Tux IPC Helper?

• IPC – Inter Process Communications Helper helps facilitate messaging between the server processes. 
• It is only installed for windows, since the inter process communications capabilities are already built into UNIX. 
• The Tuxedo IPC Helper must be running on a windows system or the application server will fail. The service should be set to Automatic Setup.

What is an Application Server Domain?

An Application Server Domain is nothing more than a set of server process. 

What utility do you use to create and configure Application Server domains and where is it located?

Utility:   Psadmin

Location:  <PS_Home>appserv

PeopleSoft offers two tools for monitoring the status of batch processes. What are they & Explain it?

Report Manager

is a comprehensive management tool for following the path of any reports that are published by the Process Scheduler server.

Process Monitor allows you to view the status of all processes – reports or otherwise – plus a page for looking at the status of all process scheduler servers.

Both of these tools can be accessed through the PeopleTools menu structure.

What file created when you choose to create a domain in psadmin? From what order files is it created? Where is it located?

Name: Psappsrv.cfg

Location: <HOST_PS_HOME>/APPSERV/<DOMAIN_NAME>

What other files are copied to this directory? What is the purpose of each?

jrepository : This is the file used by Jolt to determine what services are available to Java clients, and to translate those services for the BBL.

psappsrv.cfg : This is the PeopleSoft configuration file.  It contains the settings that you are encouraged to change to tune your specific environment.  The initial settings are determined by the template that you choose when creating the domain.

psappsrv.psx : This file contains the configuration settings for the application messaging processes that are performed on the application server.  You should not attempt to directly edit this file.

psappsrv.ubx: This is the Tuxedo configuration file You should not attempt to directly edit this file.

psappsrv.val : This is the validation file.  Depending on the contents of this file, you may be restricted in what you are allowed to enter as a setting when in PSADMIN.  Depending on your platform, this file is created from the Windows or UNIX base file.

What is Spawn Threshold? 

• This allows the dynamic decay of spawned server processes as the transaction volume decreases.
• The value can be loosely translated to mean if in 600 seconds there is less than or equal to one job in the queue the decay process begins. 

You’ve manually edited the psappsrv.cfg file.  Will the domain recognize the changes?

Depends on the type of change that you have made, there are few changes which can be done dynamically. For others, you would need to reconfigure application server to activate those changes.

What is Web Server clustering?

• Web server clustering is when multiple copies of the HTTP software running on either the same host or other host systems are started, and share configuration and security.
• To share configuration information, multiple copies of the   PIA client software need to be installed, one for each server that is part of the cluster.
• Once installed, the administration tool for either WebLogic or WebSphere is used to identify which servers are part of the cluster.

What is Batch Environment?

Batch environment is an all-inclusive term.  The environment includes the databases, the batch servers, the process files (located on the batch servers or elsewhere), any clients that run batch routines, and all process scheduler servers. 

What is The process scheduler server ?

The process scheduler server is a single instance of a set of server agents which connect to one Peoplesoft database on a  host.  A batch server can have one or more process scheduler domains – each dedicated to a single PeopleSoft database.  Think of a process scheduler domain as the batch server equivalent to an application server domain.

Define The Server Agent(PSPRCSRV.EXE)?

The Server Agent is responsible for starting all server processes.  Every fifteen seconds, it looks in the Process Request Table for server processes that are scheduled to run.  If nothing is scheduled, the Server Agent “sleeps” for fifteen seconds, and then checks again.

What is PSPRCSRQST?

The Process Request Table (PSPRCSRQST) resides at the center of all process scheduler activity.  When a process is initiated, a row is added to the table with details describing the process.  The information here is also replicated in the PSPRCSQUE table which is read by the process scheduler agent.  Finally, the Process Monitor and Report Manager use this table to report process activity. 

What is PSPRCSQUE?

The Process Queue Table (PSPRCSQUE)is used by the Process Scheduler Agents to find new requests and to manage the status of those requests.  When a process is initiated, a row is added to the table with details describing the process.  The server agent reads the table at regular intervals, and starts processes that are run on the server side.  The processes themselves update the status field. 

What is the Server Definition Table(PSSERVERDEFN)?

The Server Definition Table (PSSERVERDEFN) maintains a list of parameters that are used by the Server Agent to setup up the Process Scheduler Domain when it starts.  Each row contain information which an agent will use to determine what types of processes can be run, timings, where information will be distributed, and so forth.  What definition an agent will use is determined by the configuration file for that agent on the batch host. 

What are other Server Agents? 

There are a number of other Process Scheduler Servers in the domain, which perform a variety of tasks.  We will be looking at the configuration of these agents in more detail later in the chapter.  The activation of any or all of these servers is optional in the Process Scheduler environment.

PSDSTSRV.EXE  : The Distribution Agent posts reports and system log files to the Report Repository. When the PSPRCSRV server detects that a process has finished, it sends the PostReport BEA Tuxedo service request to the Distribution Agent to initiate the transfer of the report.

PSAESRV.EXE : Processes Application Engine requests.  This server must be configured to run if any application engine requests are to be processed by this Process Scheduler Domain.

PSAEOSRV.EXE : PSAEOSRV is a specialized Application Engine server to run Application Engine-based programs with a process type of Optimization Engine. Using a BEA Tuxedo request, the PSAEOSRV server communicates to the PSOPTENG server. This processes the majority of the program logic.

PSOPTENG.EXE : Processes the core tasks in an Optimization Engine program.

PSDAEMON.EXE : A new daemon process that can be set up to run continuously when the Process Scheduler is running, and is intended for recurrent Application Engine jobs.

PeopleSoft Admin Interview Questions.

• What is the difference between sysadm other oprid, when we login into datamover 
• What are parameters you know in Datamover 
• Have you applied patches? 
• A Customer wants to use a new Image in HRMS, where it is stored? 
• What are the People Tools available for Integration Broker? 
• How do you mover your projects, other then using application designer 
• What did you know about application server tuning 
• What is your knowledge in web servers? 
• How to set trace in web level? 
• What are the erorrs you came across starting application servers? 
• How will you see, how many users are connected to Peoplesoft? 
• What is DDDAUDIT and SYSAUDIT 
• What are the differences between RowClass and RowSet in PeopleSoft? 
• Where do you need to install connectivity software? 
• What are Menu types available? 
• How will you get a single ouptut by combining two or more queries? 
• What is the purpose of state records? 
• PeopleSoft tracks object changes using a system table. Which PeopleTools System table is used to track object changes? 
• How do you set up table-sharing in PeopleTools applications? 
• What is the default Crystal Report that PeopleSoft Query tool creates? 
• Can a PeopleTools 8.4 and a PeopleTools 8.1x database run on the same machine? 
• Which command is valid in both bootstrap and regular mode when operating the data mover? 
• What are the status available in PeopleSoft Domain Status Menu 
• What BEA product is used for DB transaction in PS 
• How do you login into BS mode? 
• What commands are valid in BS mode? 
• What event gets fired after DB Update? 
• PS Query definition is stored on which server? ? 
• What are the People Tools available for Integration Broker? 
• What are the Search Keys you use to find Patches and Fixes 
• What views available in Application Designer project workspace? 
• Where do you need to install connectivity software?

Peoplesoft Server Build General Questions. 

• Walk through the process of how a request from the client gets processed and returned to the client from a data perspective? 
• Explain the PeopleSoft architecture at a high level.what are the communication software applications, protocols? 
• Assuming that the database is installed and properly configured, how do you configure the remaining components to connect 2-tier, 3-tier, 4-tier(via web)?

Peoplesoft Scenario Questions.

• Two web servers are used in the production environment for load balancing/failover. How would you configure both web servers to share a single Report Repository? 
• How would you set up the environment to allow running a report to a printer? 
• What are the various ways to optimize performance for any and all components of the PeopleSoft application? 
• You have multiple Process Schedulers running against a single database. How do you configure the environment such that a user can submit a process without having to identify a specific Process Scheduler process to complete the process request?

Debugging Peoplesoft Server Admin Issues.

• How do you check the status of the Application Server Process? Process Scheduler Processes? 
• What are the different ways to trace a PeopleSoft AE program? SQR? COBOL? 
• What is TraceSQL? TracePC? TracePPR? TraceAE? Where is this set? How do you set the values? 
• How do you reset the Access ID/Password? 
• On occasion, the Report Manager status for a report will be inconsistent with the Process Monitor status resulting with the inability for the user to view the report. How can this be resolved? 
• If you can to manual purge reports from the system, which database tables do you need to clean up? 
• You want to move all the data from table X in environment 1 to environment 2 and replace all existing data in environment 2. How would you do this? 
• You have just recovered a database after the system experienced a failure. You try and boot the Application Server but it fails? What do you do? 
• How can we connect to PeopleSoft database in 2-tier mode? What is the purpose of application designer? 
• You want to change some parameters of Application Server? How will you do it? 
• You change the PeopleSoft owner schema password will there any effect? If yes now will you resolve it? 
• What are the steps to migrate changes from a development to a test an environment (compare, check Audit flags, migration, validate)? 
• How will you enable PeopleCode debugging? Define steps?

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