How do I limit the properties of caches (size, expiry, etc.)?

You can configure Coherence to automatically configure the properties of a cache by adding new <caching-schemes> and <caching-scheme-mapping> elements to the <local-cache-factory-config> element present in the tangosol-coherence.xml file (located at the root of coherence.jar). Reference the coherence.dtd file, also located at the root of the coherence.jar, in the same jar to understand the XML structure.

Example:

<caching-schemes>
  <scheme>
  <scheme-name>default</scheme-name>
  <high-units>-1</high-units>
</scheme>

<!-- keep 1000 items and hold each one only for 30 minutes -->
<scheme>
  <scheme-name>max-1000-expiry</scheme-name>
  <high-units>1000</high-units>
  <expiry-delay>1800</expiry-delay>
</scheme>

<!-- keep 100000 items and flush the cache once a day -->
<scheme>
  <scheme-name>max-100000-flush</scheme-name>
  <high-units>100000</high-units>
  <flush-delay>86400</flush-delay>
  </scheme>
</caching-schemes>

Now map those to your caches:

<caching-scheme-mapping>
  <cache-name>message*</cache-name>
  <scheme-name>max-100000-flush</scheme-name>
</caching-scheme-mapping>
<caching-scheme-mapping>
  <cache-name>threads</cache-name>
  <scheme-name>max-1000-expiry</scheme-name>
</caching-scheme-mapping>
<caching-scheme-mapping>
  <cache-name>*</cache-name>
  <scheme-name>default</scheme-name>
</caching-scheme-mapping>

Now when you ask for any cache with the cache name starting with "message", it will be size-limited at 100000 entries and flush entirely once every day. Similary, if you ask for a cache by the name "threads", it will be size-limited to 1000 entries and each entry will expire 30 minutes after it has been last updated.

Configurable Cache Properties

• <high-units> - The number of units to allow the cache to grow to before pruning.
• <low-units> - The number of units to prune the cache down to.
• <expiry-delay> - The number of seconds that a value will live in the cache.
• <flush-delay> - The interval between full cache flushes, in seconds.

Do not replace the "default" scheme unless you want to replace the behavior of ALL the caches obtained through Coherence.