Understanding the File Transmitter

The File Transmitter obtains information about new and updated Native-II files and cacheable database objects by scanning the vault cache when it first runs and from events it receives from the StarTeam Server. It logs this information into the journal file, CacheJournal.dat. It periodically trims the CacheJournal.dat file to keep the file’s size manageable.

Root MPX Cache Agent uses this information and broadcasts files directly from the Native-II Vault.

In this topic:

File Transmitter Startup

The first time a server configuration uses the File Transmitter, the File Transmitter generates a new CacheJournal.dat file. File content transmission begins as soon as new file revisions are checked into the StarTeam Server. If any errors occur, they are reported in the server’s log file.

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File Transmitter XML File Format

The general format of the File Transmitter XML file is as follows:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no" ?>
<StExternHandlerModule version="2.0"
  <Handler>
    <Name>ActiveMQ MPX File Transmitter</Name>
    <Description>File transmitter for the MPX Cache Agent. (This event handler does not use profiles.)</Description>
    <Properties></Properties>
    <Profiles />
  </Handler>
</StExternHandlerModule>

Note that in this example, the ellipses (…) denote information where some details have been left out. All File Transmitter-specific properties are optional. By default, the File Transmitter gets its mandatory parameters from the server.

The following optional properties should rarely need to be overridden.

Parameter	Description
JournalPath	Specifies the location of the cache journal file, which is created and maintained by the File Transmitter. The default is 'CacheJournal.dat' in the configuration's 'repository path' folder.
MaxJournalAge	Integer; number of days. The default is 180. Specifies the maximum age in days of journal records within the cache journal file. The minimum value is 1.
JournalTrimInterval	Integer; number of hours. The default is 24. Specifies how often (in hours) the File Transmitter trims the cache journal file of records that are older than the configured age. The cache journal is trimmed of aged records when the server first starts and every trim-interval hours. This parameter ensures that the CacheJournal.dat file will be periodically trimmed if the server runs for a long time without restarting. Minimum value is zero, which disables the feature.
DataTransferRate	Integer; file transmission rate in kbps (kilo bits per second). The default is 256. This value should be set to a rate that the remote MPX Cache Agent location can handle. Tests indicate even though the communication link is at 512 kbps, it is shared and therefore StarTeam would transfer at 128 kbps or lower rate. The allowable range is 64 kbps - 4096 kbps.

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