Optimizing Local Workspace configuration

The configuration of Local Workspace options is done on the client computers by users as described in the BlueCielo Meridian Enterprise User's Guide. However, these options can have an adverse impact on performance under specific circumstances, in particular with very large numbers of work areas or when the Local Workspace is larger than necessary. The primary options affecting overall system performance are:

• Start synchronization every
• Maximum amount of disk space to use for Local Workspace

Meridian application server performance can be adversely affected when large numbers of documents are stored in the Local Workspace and synchronization of Local Workspace is occurring at the default setting of every 30 minutes. Even with the Local Workspace option Synchronize recently accessed writable documents only enabled, the system will still verify the synchronization of every document in the Local Workspace folder. Verifying the synchronization of excessive numbers of documents and work areas can cause poor performance of the Meridian application server, resulting in poor client performance.

We recommend that the Meridian system administrator advise users to configure their Local Workspace options as follows:

• Local Workspace disk space should be reduced for users experiencing poor performance. Lowering the Maximum amount of disk space to use for Local Workspace setting will reduce the size of the Local Workspace on the user’s computer and the number of documents that need to be synchronized. The default of 750 MB is usually enough.
• The Start synchronization every setting can be increased to a number higher than the default of 30 minutes. This will reduce the frequency of Local Workspace synchronization attempts against the Meridian application server, especially during periods of heavy usage when performance is most important.

Changing these settings on a client computer will take effect immediately and will not cause any active documents in the Local Workspace to be purged from the disk. When the Maximum amount of disk space to use for Local Workspace setting is reduced for an active Local Workspace, the system will only remove documents that are not under change by the user.