Performance Tuning for Content Manager

Chapter 13. Case study 391

13.4 Configuring Document Manager cache

As background reference information for the case study, this section describes

configuring Document Manager cache. We assume you have some basic

knowledge of Document Manager components, its servers, and services.

13.4.1 Cache Manager overview

Cache objects are small files that contain configuration information about things

such as menus, action dialogs, and folders. The cache files are stored on the

Document Manager server. As changes are made to the Document Manager

configurations through Designer, the Cache Manager updates those

configurations in the library and to the cache files, which are stored on the

Document Manager server.

The use of cache files enhances Document Manager Desktop performance by

reducing the resource utilization that occurs in client/server applications.

Document Manager compares the time and date stamp of the cache objects

stored on the user’s desktop to the cache objects stored on the Document

Manager server. If the Document Manager server has a cache object that is

newer, it is delivered to the Desktop. If the cache object is the same time and

date, it is not updated. The Document Manager Desktop reads the configuration

information from these local cache objects instead of continually accessing the

library for the information. This improves performance and reduces network

traffic between the Document Manager Desktop and the repository.

13.4.2 Cache Manager considerations and strategies

The Cache Manager default is set to a login frequency of every 30 seconds.

Every time this service runs, it consumes every available server resource to

process the cache update. During the initial configuration setup, you can use this

short frequency because of the ongoing changes made in the Document

Manager Designer. However, when the system reaches a point where the

changes are less frequent, you no longer need to have such a short frequency.

Optimal server-desktop performance can be achieved by completely turning off

the cache server and setting client cache to update after a large interval of time,

such as every four weeks.

When planning the frequency of cache, determine how often you want the client

desktop to check for more recent cache information. By default, the client

desktop checks the cache at the start of every session. When Internet Explorer is

launched and the Document Manager Desktop is started, Document Manager

compares the local cache date and timestamps against those on the Document

Manager server. If the server-side cache files are more recent, they are pulled to