Networking tasks‌

For details on network configuration, see Network administration.

 Network nodes types

  • Server node

    Accesses the database, can host item libraries and work/deployment areas, and includes the command-line client.

  • Listener node

    Can host item libraries and work/deployment areas but has no access to the database. Includes the command-line client.

  • Client node

    Clients only.

Optimize network performance‌

Database processes should run on the fastest node in the network and, if possible, the node should have no Dimensions CM logins on it. Also, the OS parameters should be optimized with as much RAM as possible for each Dimensions CM network node in the network. If a single user workstation is used on the network, appropriate resources may need to be significantly increased to reduce paging/swapping.

In addition to providing networking facilities to permit operations across both a homogeneous and heterogeneous environment, a Dimensions CM network is able to spread the processing load. See the section on using and configuring library cache areas in the Administration Guide.

Network disk distribution‌

Disk access speed can significantly affect performance. We recommend splitting server configuration across multiple disks to improve performance.

Summary of Multi-Disk Configurations

To provide the best disk performance, do the following:

  • Windows Microsoft SQL Server, four disks:

    Disk1 Windows System disk

    Disk2 Page and swap file

    Disk3 User files

    Disk4 Database files only (RDBMS)

  • With Oracle Enterprise on Windows or UNIX, five disks:

    Disk1 UNIX or Windows System disk

    Disk2 Page and swap file

    Disk3 User files

    Disk4 Database files only (RDBMS)

    Disk5 Redo log files (RDBMS), if applicable

Detailed Multi-Disk Configurations

The following tables display recommend disk usage in a number of configurations. The goal is to balance the load across all available disks.

  • Windows Microsoft SQL Server RDBMS.

      One Disk Two Disks Three Disks Four Disks
    System disk D1 D1 D1 D1
    Page and Swap files D1 D1 D3 D3
    User files D1 D2 D2 D2
    Database files D1 D2 D3 D2
    Dimensions CM programs D1 D1 Any Anywhere but the system disk.
    Item libraries D1 D2 Not D1 Anywhere but the system disk.
    Database programs D1 D1 Any Anywhere but the system disk.

  • UNIX or Windows Oracle Enterprise RDBMS

      One Disk Two Disks Three Disks Four Disks Five Disks
    System disk D1 D1 D1 D1 D1
    Page and Swap files D1 D1 D3 D3 D3
    User files D1 D2 D2 D2 D2
    Database files D1 D2 D2 D2 D5
    Redo log files D1 D1 D3 D4 D4
    Dimensions CM programs D1 D1 Any Anywhere but the system disk. Anywhere but the system disk.
    Item libraries D1 D2 Not D1 Anywhere but the system disk. Anywhere but the system disk.
    Database programs D1 D1 Any Anywhere but the system disk. Anywhere but the system disk.

    The database files are associated with separate tablespaces PCMS_TEMP, PCMS_RBS, PCMS_DATA, and PCMS_IDX.

Item library host performance

Item libraries should be hosted on nodes that can handle the load and that are local to the users that most often require access to them.