The HEPDB package comes in two distinct parts: the main part operates on the database objects themselves, and a subsidiary part communicates database changes to multiple copies of the database at various locations (see Fig. 1). Database objects (e.g., a ZEBRA bank) may be manipulated in a variety of ways. In normal operations, these objects are read, written and/or modified. The communication package allows one to implement a variety of schemes in which database modifications are propagated to collaborating institutions.
The fundamental ways database objects may be manipulated are well documented in the HEPDB manual so they will not be discussed further here. The same cannot be said for the communication package, so we are providing more detail in Section 3 for the interested reader.
This document is organized as follows. Appendix A describes in detail how to install and locally configure the SNO database. Users are strongly urged to install the database prior to reading this manual. Section 2 describes the basic internal and external structure of the database. Section 3 describes the networking aspects of SNODB and also includes a description of the protocol used to insure that updates are made in a controlled fashion. Section 4 describes how the database is maintained, concentrating on how we will insure that updates have been properly propagated to the entire collaboration and how we will keep the database from getting cluttered with outdated information. Section 5 gives a description of how we will verify that the data submitted to the database is correctly inserted in their entirety. Section 6 details the way in which backups of the database need to be made. Section 7 details how the database interacts with SNO systems such as DAQ and CMA, and gives the general procedure for writing to and reading from the database via automated external processes. This is in contrast to the manner in which individuals implement updates, make a local private version of database file(s) for testing purposes, or find out information about the status of various aspects of the database, described in Section 8.