Analytics - Setting the Cleanup Interval on the AdHocDataCache Folder
Details
This article only applies to customers who have chosen to install Analytics locally. If is hosting your Analytics instance, we take care of this for you.
When generating Custom Reports temporary files are created in the AdhocDataCache folder. By default this folder is located under C:\ProgramData\VersionOne\Analytics\InstanceData\Analytics; however that location change depending on the Analytics instance name and if the person running setup choose a different root location.
The Custom Reporting application is responsible for cleaning up those temporary files. The clean-up routine only runs when a user request is received and it only removes files that are not being used. Therefore files created by a user when running, or previewing, a Custom Report are not cleaned-up until later. This is generally not a problem; however we have seen scenarios where an individual will preview a report and decide to close the tab/window before the report is visible. This can result in locked temporary files that cannot be cleaned-up in a timely manner. This situation is complicated when these reports are created without filters to limit the results being returned from the database server. This can result in some very large temporary files that are not always cleaned up properly or in a timely manner. When this happens, the Report Creator generally repeats this behavior several times, which only magnifies the problem. Regretfully, this problem can lead to out of disk space errors on the Analtyics web server.
The good news is that these problem can be minimized by doing one or more of the following:
- Create a scheduled task, that runs nightly, to removes all files that are older than 24 hrs from the AdhocDataCache folder. If you find that people in your organization are creating reports with lots of temporary data, you may want to try other parameters as well, such as removing files above a given size. If you are running the script when you are confident that no one is using Analytics, you may try simply deleting all files in this folder.
- Use disk monitoring tools that alert your IT personal when disk space is growing too fast or goes above a given threshold. When an error is reported, stop the Analtyics application pool and remove the temporary files.
- Educate your Report Creators on best practices for retrieving data in Custom Reports. The Services department offers classes on creating Custom Reports and there are refresher videos available as well.
Advanced Option
As mentioned above, the default location for the temporary files is C:\ProgramData\VersionOne\Analytics\InstanceData\Analytics. The Analytics installer supports a commandline option that allows you to change this location. This is an advanced option not available in the setup user interface. Some customers have chosen to put these cache files on a separate, larger, disk drive.
Temporary files are used in the report creation process; therefore drive speed does impact application performance.
Configuring Data Cache and Clean-up
The configurable parameters that control data caching and clean-up are kept in a file named _Settings.lgx. By default this file is located in C:\inetpub\wwwroot\Analytics\AdHoc\_Definitions. This file can be edited with any text editor (Notepad.exe for example).
The sub-directory for _Settings.lgx is comprised of 2 configurable parts. "c:\inetpub\wwwroot" is referred to as the web root. This part of the path is controlled by IIS. The "/Analytics/" part is controlled by how your Analytics instance is named. By default the name is Analytics, but that can be renamed. Again, your administrator will know if this has been renamed.
_Settings.lgs is an XML files with strict formatting requirements. If you make a mistake when editing this file your Analtyics instance will not work. Always make a backup before changing a file to reduce the amount of downtime when you make a mistake.
The table below describes the parameters that control data caching and clean-up. The Value column indicates the current values being set by the installer. If you have an older instance your values may be different.
| Name | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|
| rdTempFileCleanupInterval | The time, in minutes, between clean ups. A value of -1 disables the cleanup routine. A value of 0 causes the clean-up routine to run with every page request. | 0 |
| rdTempFileLifespan | The minimum file age, in minutes, before a file qualifies to be deleted when the clean up runs. | 60 |
Each attributes should only be present once in the AdHoc _Settings.lgx file and not at all in the Analtyics _Settings.lgx file.
The installer re-writes values on every upgrade. Therefore if you manually change either of these parameters, you will need to change them again after each upgrade.