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Optimize Your Sun Connection Cache

Eran Steiner, July 2007

This tech tip can improve the cache performance of Sun Connection's satellite deployment architecture in your environment. Go to the Sun Connection hub for more information about using Sun Connection.

Cache Feature

Sun Connection automatically manages downloads from Sun, Red Hat, and SuSE. When a job is sent to 100 machines, each machine requests the proper patch or RPM from the management server. The management server then goes to the Internet once, downloads the patch or RPM, caches it, and provides it to all the machines. The cache size is limited to make sure that the disk is not getting full. The default value, however, is relatively small — only 512 Mbytes, so if you have a big baseline to download, it's probably not going to be enough. This procedure allows you to increase the cache size so that you can optimize the cache operation.

Configuration Files

All server components have two configuration files: the uce.rc file with default values, and the .uce.rc file with values that you customized. The configuration files are in the following directories:

• For the Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS):

  • /opt/SUNWuce/server/cgi-bin/uce.rc

  • /opt/SUNWuce/server/cgi-bin/.uce.rc

• For the Linux Operating System:

  • /usr/local/uce/server/cgi-bin/uce.rc

  • /usr/local/uce/server/cgi-bin/.uce.rc

Note - Before performing this procedure, make sure you do not already have the following line in the .uce.rc file:

( all ) ( invisible.server.__general.cache_size, 512000 );

Increasing the Cache Size in Sun Connection

This procedure is for at least version 1.1 of Sun Connection.

Before You Begin

Before performing this procedure, make sure that the following line isn't already in the .uce.rc file:

( all ) ( invisible.server.__general.cache_size, 512000 );

Never change the uce.rc file. Instead, copy the relevant line from the uce.rc file, paste it into the .uce.rc file, and modify it there.

In addition, make sure that you have enough disk space available in the directory where the cache is stored.

The directory location is:

• Solaris OS - /opt/SUNWuce/server

• Linux OS - /usr/local/uce/server/

To Change Cache Size

1. Change to the correct directory.

   • For the Solaris OS:

     # cd /opt/SUNWuce/uce/server/cgi-bin/

   • For the Linux OS:

     # cd /usr/local/uce/server/cgi-bin/

2. Copy the relevant line from the uce.rc file and save it in the .uce.rc file.

   # grep general.cache_size uce.rc >> .uce.rc

3. Change the value in the .uce.rc to increase the cache size. You should have between 2.5 to 5, or even 10, Gbytes of cache.

   The following example increases the cache size to about 2.5 Gbytes:

   ( all ) ( invisible.server.__general.cache_size, 2500000 );

4. Restart the server.

   • If the management server is installed on a Solaris system, type the following:

     # svcadm restart SUNWuce/server

   • If the management server is installed on a Linux system, stop and then restart the server.

     # /etc/init.d/uce_server stop

     # /etc/init.d/uce_server start

More Information

For more information about Sun Connection, go to the Sun Connection information hub.

To get an inside perspective of Sun Connection, Sun Management Center software, Sun N1 Service Provisioning System, and Sun N1 System Manager, visit the Sun Connection blog. Contributors to this weblog include members of the Sun Connection Field Enablement team. The goal of this weblog is to share information with customers who have either implemented these products, or will implement them in the future. The blog also provides important information around training and other key enablement activities.

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