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Product Administration Guide > Cache Management >

Understanding Snapshot Mode

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When you start a configuration session, eConfigurator looks to see if the customizable product is cached in memory. If not, eConfigurator looks in a cache directory (CFGCache) for the product. This directory, located in the Siebel file system, maintains a history of the customizable products that have been loaded into the memory cache. If the customizable product is not in CFGCache, then the customizable product is loaded from the Siebel database. When the product is loaded from the database, it is added to the memory cache and to CFGCache.

Thereafter, when a configuration session starts, the customizable product is loaded from the memory cache or CFGCache. Before loading the customizable product from CFGCache, the system checks the Siebel database to make sure each item in the product is the current version. If it is not, the current version of the item is loaded from the database. This ensures that the most recent version of a customizable product and its contents are loaded.

When the Product Administrator releases a new version of a customizable product, the changes are written to the Siebel database. They are not written to the memory cache or to CFGCache. The CFGCache directory is updated with the changes when the next configuration session is requested for the customizable product.

Snapshot Mode adds an additional memory cache. In Snapshot Mode, when you start a configuration session, customizable product items are loaded from the Snapshot Mode cache. No checking is done to see if the items are the current version. This causes the configuration session to load more quickly and improves performance. If an item is not in the Snapshot Mode cache, the item is retrieved from CFGCache, which verifies the item is the current version. The item is then added to the Snapshot Mode cache.

When Snapshot Mode is On, it works as follows:

When you go to validate mode, the work space version of the customizable product is used rather than the version in the Snapshot Mode cache.
When you release a new version of a customizable product, the Snapshot Mode cache is updated with the new version.
When the Snapshot Mode mode size limit is reached, the oldest or least frequently accessed items are deleted. This means the Snapshot Mode cache contains the most recently requested or most frequently requested customizable product items.

The term users refers to Siebel Web Client users, Siebel Dedicated Web Client users and Siebel Mobile Web client users. Siebel Web Client users are those that access the Siebel application through a URL in a Web browser. No application is installed on the client machine. Siebel Dedicated Web Client users are those that have the Siebel application installed on the local machine. This application simulates a Siebel server and Siebel Web engine. These users access a remote Siebel database. Siebel Mobile Web Clients have both the Siebel application and a Siebel database installed on the local machine. These users obtain updates to the local database by synchronizing it with a remote Siebel database.

You can manually refresh the Snapshot Mode cache is one of several ways:

Selecting the Refresh Cache menu option in Customizable Products > Versions. Refresh Cache erases the entire Snapshot Mode cache on all the servers connected to the database. Starting a configuration session refreshes the Snapshot Mode cache by loading the most recent version of the product from CFGCache. Since the customizable product loads from CFGCache as part of updating the Snapshot Mode cache, performance is slower for this first configuration session. All sessions thereafter load from the Snapshot Mode cache. This applies to Siebel Web Clients, Siebel Dedicated Web Clients.

For Siebel Mobile Clients, selecting Refresh Cache erases the Snapshot Mode cache on the local machine. If synchronizing has copied a new version of a customizable product to the local database, this version will be loaded at the next configuration session. The local CFGCache and Snapshot Mode cache will also be updated.

Restarting the Siebel database server erases the Snapshot Mode cache on the server. The next configuration session is loaded as if the user had selected the Refresh Cache menu option. This applies to Siebel Web Clients and Siebel Dedicated Web Clients.
For Siebel Dedicated Web Clients and Siebel Mobile Web Clients, the Snapshot Mode cache and CFGCache reside on the local machine. Exiting the Siebel application is functionally the same as stopping a Siebel server. This erases the Snapshot Mode cache on the local machine.
Editing a product record and then selecting Refresh Product Cache. This erases from the Snapshot Mode cache all the customizable products containing the product. The next time a user requests an affected customizable product, the Snapshot Mode cache is refreshed with a new instance of the product.
Editing a class record and then selecting Refresh Class In Configuration Cache. This erases from the Snapshot Mode cache all the customizable products containing products from the class. The next time the user requests an affected customizable product, the Snapshot Mode cache is refreshed with a new instance of the product.

Snapshot Mode is highly recommended if you have large numbers of Siebel Web Client or Siebel Dedicated Web Client users, and you release new versions of customizable products relatively infrequently.

Observe the following guidelines for using Snapshot Mode.

If a user selects the Refresh cache in Customizable Products > Versions, the Snapshot Mode cache is erased on all servers connected to the same Siebel database. This includes the Snapshot Mode cache on Siebel Dedicated Web Clients. Turn on Snapshot Mode only on servers and Siebel Dedicated Web Clients where it is needed. This limits the number of users that can refresh the Snapshot Mode cache.
If the customizable product development environment and the production environment are on the same machine, and Snapshot Mode is turned On, the Product Administrator should refresh the Snapshot Mode cache frequently in order to see changes during development. Doing so, also refreshes the Snapshot Mode cache for production users.
Siebel Dedicated Web Client users should leave Snapshot Mode turned off on their local machines if Snapshot Mode is turned on for the Siebel Server to which they connect.
When a customizable product contains rules that have start or end dates, the arrival of these dates does not cause the revised declarative portion of the product to be loaded into the Snapshot Mode cache. You must refresh the cache manually on the effective date to load the revised declarative portion of the product.

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