Tips to Optimize Performance

This content is intended to help administrators improve the performance of their NetSuite application and address performance issues that their NetSuite users may experience.

Optimize NetSuite Preferences

NetSuite includes many preferences that users can set to configure the system for optimum performance. Users can review available preference options at Home > Set Preferences.

Users can adjust the following preferences to speed up page loading:

On the Appearance subtab, in the Centers & Dashboards section, set the Landing Page preference to open NetSuite to a page other than the Home page. This preference can be set to open NetSuite on the page that a user visits most frequently.
On the General subtab, in the Optimizing NetSuite section:
- Check the Delay Loading of Sublists box to initially load NetSuite pages without data on subtabs.
  
  When this box is checked, the data on each subtab is loaded only when the subtab is clicked, which shortens the initial page loading time.
- Set the Number of Rows in List Segments field to a lower number to speed the loading of pages containing long lists.
  
  A segment size of 50 is a balanced option. When a page includes a long list of records, the list is divided into segments, with one segment loaded at a time. Lowering this preference decreases the size of each segment.
- Set the Maximum Entries in Dropdowns field to a lower number to speed the loading of pages containing dropdown lists with lots of options.
  
  You should use a setting of 50 or less, unless larger menus are required. Any list with more results appears in a popup instead of a dropdown list. Using popups speeds page load time.
  - With dropdown lists, all values in a list are loaded when a user accesses a page.
  - With popup list fields, the lists are not loaded until a user searches for an item or clicks the list icon. Users can quickly search and automatically complete fields by entering the first few letters of the item and pressing the Tab key.

Optimize Search and Performance Reporting

NetSuite provides powerful search capabilities that enable retrieval of the precise information needed, from a potentially vast amount of stored data. However, searching a large number of stored records can slow the retrieval of search results.

Important:

Keep in mind:

Use scheduled searches where possible, even for integrations where performance is currently acceptable. Scheduled searches run in the background and can help ensure results are delivered reliably even as data sizes grow over time.
Perform searches and reports on a limited time range (smaller is always better).
Avoid including system notes in your searches because they contain a lot of data. If you have any logic based on the record history, it is preferable to have a custom field on the record itself.

For information about different types of NetSuite searches, see Search Overview. For details about preferences you can set for searches, go to Home > Set Preferences, and click field names on the Analytics subtab.

Avoiding the “Contains” Condition in Searches

The contains condition is one of the most resource-intensive search mechanisms. Try to replace this condition wherever possible to improve search performance:

If all of the records you want to retrieve begin with the value you are attempting to match, use “starts with” or “keywords” instead of “contains”.

For example, if you are searching for all records for customers with names beginning with “PennyPack”, such as “PennyPack Systems-NY” and “PennyPack Systems-SF”, you can define search criteria of “Name/ID starts with PennyPack”, rather than “Name/ID contains PennyPack”.
If all of the records you want to retrieve contain words beginning with the value you are attempting to match, use “has keywords” instead of “contains”.

For example, if you are searching for all records for customers with the word “Toys” in their names, you can define search criteria of “Name/ID has keywords TOYS”.

Scheduling Exceptionally Long Saved Searches

NetSuite offers the option to schedule saved searches and have results sent as an email to the recipients you choose, so you do not have to stop your work to wait for exceptionally long searches. On the Email subtab of a Saved Search definition page, you can choose the date or dates when you want to run the search, and you can select one or more recipients for emailed search results. Scheduled saved searches are run at 2 a.m. Pacific time on the dates specified. For more information, see Enabling Saved Search Scheduled Email.

Scheduling Exceptionally Long Reports

If you discover that a report takes a long time to return results, you can click Schedule in the footer of the report. Clicking the Schedule button opens the Schedule Report page where you can create a schedule to automatically send the report as an email. Schedules can be created for standard and saved reports and can be sent to other users.

On the Schedule Report page, you can select recipients, enter a message, and select attachments to include with the emailed report. You can then use the options on the Recurrence tab to define how often you want this report sent as an email to the recipients.

For more information, see Scheduling a Report.

If performance of a scheduled report or saved search is abnormally slow, use Application Performance Management (APM) to analyze the search performance of users. For details, see Analyzing Search Performance. If you require further assistance, submit a case to NetSuite Customer Support. For details, see Gathering Performance Details.

Warning:

If your report is not returning results quickly enough, do not repeatedly attempt to run it during the time that the original report is still running. Executing multiple reports at the same time can cause significant performance issues.

Optimize Firewalls and Proxy Servers

The following tips can be useful when setting up firewalls and proxy servers for optimal use.

Firewalls and NetSuite

A firewall is generally set up to protect your network or computer from unwanted internet traffic. The primary function of a firewall is to let good traffic pass through and block bad traffic. If your company uses a firewall to monitor internet traffic, your network manager may need to modify the firewall to use NetSuite successfully.

If you are experiencing performance issues, pages that load slowly, or frequent time-outs, try accessing NetSuite from a location outside of the firewall. If you determine that the firewall may be a problem, try making the following changes to the firewall:

Set up the firewall to allow all traffic to and from www.netsuite.com and any of the applicable URLs found in Understanding NetSuite URLs.
Open the following ports:
- Port 80 for non-secure HTTP pages
- Port 443 for secure HTTPS pages
- Port 1708 for SuiteAnalytics Connect access

Proxy Servers and NetSuite

You should not access NetSuite using a proxy server, if possible.

When your company uses a proxy server for internet traffic, and you visit a web page from your computer, a request is sent to the proxy server for that page. The proxy server retrieves the page from the internet and forwards the page to your computer. The page may then be cached, or saved, on the proxy server's disk drive for future use. For subsequent requests of the same page, the proxy server may return the cached version of the page stored on its drive instead of accessing a current version of the page from the internet.

Cached pages returned by a proxy server can cause problems when using NetSuite, because you need to view accurate and up-to-date information about your company.

Optimize Dashboard Portlets Configuration

NetSuite provides great flexibility for dashboard configuration, giving you the freedom to include many portlets on each page. Be aware that the loading of real-time data for portlets can increase page loading times. For example, Key Performance Indicators portlets and custom saved search portlets may be slow to load.

When you are setting up a dashboard, consider the following ways to manage page loading performance:

If you want access to a portlet's information but do not need to see it on a dashboard, consider adding a shortcut in the shortcuts portlet. For details, see Shortcuts Portlet.
If you want to include slow-loading portlets on a dashboard, you can avoid loading their data at initial page load by minimizing them.

To minimize a portlet, click the portlet's title.

The portlet stays minimized the next time you log in or refresh the dashboard. You need to click the title of the minimized portlet to display the data.