Creating a VOB on a VOB server host

You can use the command-line interface or GUI tools to create a VOB. The GUI tools provide complete procedural guidance and integrated online help.

1. Choose a location for the VOB storage directory.
   You can use an existing VOB server storage location, create a new server storage location, or use any other directory that has the proper characteristics for VOB storage as described in Access requirements for VOB storage.
2. Log on to the VOB host.
   Unless the VOB storage is created on a supported NAS device, the VOB host is the host where the VOB storage directory you selected in Step 1 resides. Log on as a member of the same primary group as all other users who must access the VOB. The identity of the user who creates a VOB is used to initialize VOB access permissions. If a VOB is created by a user whose primary group is different from the primary group of other users who must access the VOB, you must edit the VOB’s supplementary group list before those users can access VOB data. For more information, see Adjusting the VOB's group ownership information.

   Note: Although you can create a VOB from a remote host of the same type, you should run VOB creation commands on the VOB host itself to simplify the process of deriving the local storage path.
3. Choose a VOB tag.
   As described in VOB and view tags, a VOB tag is a unique name by which all hosts in a DevOps Code ClearCase registry region refer to a VOB. Choose a tag name that indicates what the VOB contains or how it is used.
4. Create the VOB.
   When you run the following command on Windows® host pluto, the command creates a VOB with the VOB tag \lib whose storage is in the directory shared as \\pluto\vobstg.

   cleartool mkvob –co "library sources" –tag \lib \\pluto\vobstg\lib.vbs
   Host-local path: c:\vobstg\lib.vbs
   Global path: \\pluto\vobstg\lib.vbs
   VOB ownership:
     owner vobadm
     group dev

   The comment is stored in the new VOB’s database and displayed by cleartool describe and various GUIs.

   For more information about options you might need to use when creating a VOB, see Creating a VOB on a NAS device, Creating a VOB on a remote Windows host, and Public and private VOBs.

5. Verify that the VOB is accessible from typical hosts in the region.
   When it is first created, a VOB has no elements other than the VOB root directory and a special directory called lost+found (see The lost+found directory). You can use a dynamic view, a snapshot view, or a Web view to verify VOB access:

   • To use a dynamic view, mount the VOB, activate the dynamic view, and from within the view run a command such as this one:

     cleartool ls vob-tag

     You should be able to see the VOB root and lost+found directories
   • To use a snapshot or Web view, add the VOB to the view’s load rules and verify that the VOB root directory can be loaded into the view.

   Because a dynamic view requires network access to the file system of the VOB host, a VOB that is accessible from a Snapshot or Web view might not be accessible from a dynamic view. For more information, see Access requirements for VOB storage.