1. Implementation Guide
  2. Configure Spreadsheet and Background Processing
  3. Background Process Configuration

Background Process Configuration

Certain processes within Merchandising can be run in the background, periodically throughout the day. For these background processes, there are configurations that can be made to control how they will run. The configurations are managed in Merchandising through spreadsheet upload and download processes. These processes are accessed through the main Merchandising task list under Foundation Data > Download Foundation Data and Foundation Data > Upload Foundation Data.

To update the configurations, you will select the template type of Administration from the Download Data screen and then the template Background Process Configuration. Click the Download button and when prompted, choose to either open the .ods file that is generated or save the file and open it separately in the spreadsheet application of your choice. Once opened, there will be one sheet that can be modified - Merch Batch Params.

Update Background Process Configuration

The structure of the data that is downloaded is such that each process name/parameter combination are listed in the rows in the spreadsheet template. The only action for these configurations is Update, new processes or parameters cannot be added. Additionally, only certain parameters can be updated. For each process listed, the following parameters can be updated:

  • NUM_THREADS - Indicates the maximum number of threads that the job should execute each time this background process runs. Valid values are whole numbers greater than or equal to 1, with a maximum value of 30.

  • NUM_DATA_TO_PROCESS - Indicates the maximum number of rows that the job will process per thread, each time it executes. This can be used to throttle the amount of data processed each time it runs. Valid values are whole numbers between 1-10,000.

  • COMMIT_MAX_COUNTER - Indicates the maximum number of records that will be processed before committing the records in the database. Valid values are whole numbers between 1-10,000.

    Should be set to be less than or equal to the NUM_DATA_TO_PROCESS parameter.

  • ARCHIVE_IND - Indicates whether the data from this process should be archived or just purged. If set to Y, data will be archived. Only those programs that have a Y value for parameter ARCHIVE_JOB_IND are eligible for archiving. Valid values are Y or N.

All other values are shown for reference only and are managed by the Oracle Cloud Operations team. If you would like to update any details for a background process, download the spreadsheet, and then navigate to the row where you would like to make your updates, filtering the spreadsheet by the Batch Name or Param Key column, as needed.

The following columns can be updated in each row:

  • Param Value - enter the valid value for the Param Key in the row based on the descriptions above

  • Comments

In the row where you make your updates, select the action type of Update, and then update the value in the spreadsheet.

Uploading Changes

Once all the updates have been made to the data in the spreadsheet, save the file and close it. Then, return to the Merchandising screens and select Foundation Data > Upload Foundation Data from the main task list. In this screen, select the template type Administration and the template Batch Process Configuration. This will generate a process description automatically, but this can be updated if desired. Lastly, select the Browse button and navigate to the directory where you saved the updated spreadsheet.

To review the status of the upload and check whether any errors occurred, select the Foundation Data > Review Status task from the main task list.

See also "Download/Upload Data from Spreadsheets" and "View Data Loading Status" in the Oracle Retail Merchandising Do the Basics User Guide.