Optimizing local workspace configuration

The configuration of the 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 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 (the size can also be set in the CacheSize value described in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Cyco\AutoManager Meridian\CurrentVersion\AMSync\Settings)

Meridian application server performance can be adversely affected when large numbers of documents are stored in users’ local workspaces and synchronization 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 folders. Verifying the synchronization of excessive numbers of documents can cause poor performance of the Meridian application server, resulting in poor client performance.

We recommend that you 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. A size 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 with the Meridian application server, especially during periods of heavy usage when performance is most important.

Note    The local workspace and Windows TEMP folders are used on Meridian Enterprise Server rendering computers but the disk space is not reclaimed automatically as it is on normal client computers. To prevent errors caused by running out of disk space, you should periodically clean these folders. We recommend that you schedule a task to clean the local workspace for the Meridian system account as described in Cleaning the local workspace.

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.