How to block BILLmanager

Description

You may need to stop BILLmanager without shutting down the server or other services.

Solution

Two blocking options are available:

• complete — use when you need to fully stop all BILLmanager processes;
• partial (maintenance mode) — use when you only need to restrict functional changes while keeping information accessible.

Complete block mode

This method completely stops the platform and blocks access to the web interface for all users. The system displays a page with the message: “The platform is temporarily unavailable while it is under maintenance”.

In complete block mode:

• the platform is fully stopped;
• the web interface is unavailable to all users;
• automatic or manual platform startup is blocked;
• all BILLmanager background processes are terminated;
• the server and other installed services continue to run.

To completely block the platform:

1. Connect to the server with the platform via SSH. For more information about connecting via SSH, see Workstation setup.
2. Run the command:
   

   /usr/local/mgr5/sbin/mgrctl -m billmgr -l

To unblock the platform, run the command:

/usr/local/mgr5/sbin/mgrctl -m billmgr -u

Partial block mode (maintenance mode)

The platform supports partial suspension via maintenance mode. This mode is used, for example, when migrating BILLmanager to a new server. For more details, see Migration between servers.

In partial block mode:

• the BILLmanager web interface remains accessible;
• service processing modules pause operations;
• mail gateways do not send notifications;
• users can view information and order services, but cannot perform service-related operations.

To switch BILLmanager to maintenance mode:

1. Connect to the server with the platform via SSH. For more information about connecting via SSH, see Workstation setup.
2. Create an empty file:
   

   touch /usr/local/mgr5/etc/billmgr.DoNothing

To disable maintenance mode, delete the file:

rm /usr/local/mgr5/etc/billmgr.DoNothing