Considering the remote location of clients, FMS configuration will be required that accesses and serves data requests without affecting performance.

LAN (Local Area Network) & WAN (Wide Area Network)

Remote location computers can be connected through WAN .Before further understanding this configuration, a short description on two types of networks that provides interconnectivity between computers is as follows:

 

LAN (Local Area Network) is group of computers and network devices connected together usually in same building. Connections are high speed and relatively inexpensive.

WAN (Wide Area Network) provides widespread connectivity and allows computers to be connected in different cities and countries. A WAN connects several LANs, and may be limited to an enterprise (a corporation or an organization) or accessible to the public.

LANs are typically faster and more secure than WANs.

Why default FSC Cached Configuration is not a good idea?

Please Note: symbol indicates any client or server at remote office location.

The first configuration shown in diagram above is of FSC Cached Configuration discussed in last post, that can also be used to upload/download files from clients at remote office location. But, for each data request from client at remote office location, WAN trip has to be made to the FSCCache at home (central) location. Files will be uploaded/downloaded for each WAN trip. This will decrease performance and increase cost of file transfer.

Configuration files will be same as discussed under the section of FSC Cached Configuration except that master configuration file will include WAN transport.

The second configuration shown in diagram above is the best practice that can be adopted .It introduces remote FSCCache at client’s remote office location. This remote cache server will cache files and can be shared between all clients at remote office location .Files are accessed directly from remote FSCCache in LAN network (LAN at remote location) for all the clients at this location. This will take care that WAN trip is not made every time for each data request from clients at this remote location. This increases performance and decreases cost for this configuration. The said configuration is discussed below:

FSC Cached Remote location Configuration

Clients Directly Connect to Remote Cache Server

Property FCC_EnableDirectFSCRouting enables clients to directly connect to any volume servers. In case there are both volume servers and cache servers in FSC group, this property needs to be disabled by setting it to false (default is true), so that clients can connect to assigned cache server and not to volume servers directly.

But, for current configuration in discussion, there is remote cache server but no volume servers at remote location, so this property enabled or disabled has no effect and need not be set. Clients will anyway connect to assigned remote cache server.

Sending Data Requests to Central Office Location

• Incoming data requests from remote office location are sent to cache server of central office. This cache server at home location performs as entry FSC for requests from FSC groups outside the central office FSC group.
• WAN acceleration is enabled from the remote office location to the central office location using the linkparameters fromgroup statement.

Accessing Files in Remote Location

• Remote office location clients are assigned remote cache server (shared cache to clients) in its LAN.
• When the new file is uploaded or downloaded to volume server (at central location) through WAN trip, a copy of this file is maintained in remote cache server. Next time, when the client needs to access this file, it does not have to make a WAN trip and can access it from its remote cache server in LAN network.

The configuration files for this configuration that contains remote cache server are as shown below:

FSC Cached Remote location Configuration with Volume Servers

In the above diagram, remote users (Remote Location 1) have access to requests from outside FSC Groups through its shared FSCCache (FSC Remote Cache 1). Locally served requests at this remote location are routed directly to FSCs with volumes (Volume Server). So basically at this remote location,

• Local Requests are handled by its Volume Servers.
• Outbound Requests & Incoming Requests are handled by its Cache Server.

Outbound request

It is a request originating mostly within the FSC group, for accessing data stored on a resource outside its FSC Group.

Roles of Cache Server at Remote Location

Remote FSCCache

Recently accessed files from other FSC Groups (central or other remote location FSC Groups) are populated in this remote FSCCache. The populated data is then served to its clients on request, in the LAN network. Serving data from its cache, prevents an unnecessary WAN trip.

This FSCCache can perform as exit FSC or entry FSC based on the way it is handling the request.

FSCExit

Outbound requests originating within the FSC group are routed to an exit FSC that routes this request on FSCs outside its FSC Group. Identifying exit FSC (here it is FSC Remote Cache 1) becomes important when there are also volume servers in its FSC Group.

FSCEntry

For any incoming requests from FSCs outside its FSC Group, the FSCCache performs as entry FSC. So for this remote location (Remote Location 1), exit FSC routes the requests to outside FSC Group’s entry FSC. Also, if an outside FSC Group is accessing data from this remote location (Remote Location 1) , the same FSCCache(FSC Remote Cache 1) would also have performed as entry FSC for the outside FSC Group.

Local Data NOT Cached in Remote FSCCache

In the FSC Group at remote location, there are both FSCs with volume (volume servers) and FSCCache, each serving different purpose. Remote FSCCache accesses and serves data only from FSCs outside its FSC Group. That means locally originated data should not be cached in this cache server. Local data can be accessed and served by volume server. To achieve this, in the configuration file FSC_CachePolicy element is set to CacheIfNotInLocalFSCGroup for the FSC Group.

The same setting may be required for FSC Groups of other locations.

Direct FSC Routing for Local Data Requests

Setting FCC_EnableDirectFSCRouting element to true will enable rich client’s local requests (for local volumes) to be routed to the FSC serving the local volume (volume server).

Outbound requests will be routed to FSCCache that is performing as exit FSC and it is the assigned FSC in the master configuration file.

Please Note:Referring to the diagram above for the current configuration, settings and configurations for blurred images are ignored in the below configuration files to decrease the complexity. Also, the layout of master configuration file has been changed for better understanding. In the configuration file, the content and settings will be one below the other.

Understanding local volumes

Local volumes are temporary storage volumes that stores files locally before they are automatically transferred to final destination volume. Local volumes at remote location, improves upload times for client’s file as they upload to temporary location in its LAN network and not to final destination volume making a WAN trip every time. Users can continue accessing the files from these temporary volumes.

FMS Transfer Dispatcher Server module (can be placed at remote location) acts as a trigger to transfer uploaded files from local volumes to final destination volume. The module is connected with bootstrap FSC and with the Dispatcher Scheduler to initiate the transfer.

This complete behavior of storing & accessing files from temporary volumes and forwarding it to final destination volume later on, is known as store and forward of files. To enable and use store and forward of files:

• TC_Store_and_Forward preference is set to true. User can define local volume in User Settings dialog box in rich and thin clients. If there are no local volumes defined for the configuration, then store and forward functionality is not used.
• FMS_SAF_Batch_Transfer_Enabled preference is set to true for moving files in batches (store_and_forward Dispatcher translator) from local volume to final destination volume. This is useful especially for moving files from remote locations. If this preference is not set, files move one at a time (fmstranslator Dispatcher translator) to destination volume.

Exit FSC & Local Volumes

After the file is transferred to final destination volume, it does not exist in local volumes of remote location anymore. For users to continue access to this file, it is prepopulated into exit FSC of this remote location’s FSC Group.

This action is known as side caching. Side caching is enabled by explicitly defining exit FSC .Other FSCs and entry FSC cannot be configured in configuration file for performing side caching.

 

Also Read:

Understanding FSC & FCC

FMS Configuration for Multiple FSCs & Cache Server

Troubleshooting FSC Failure to Start

Teamcenter Architecture & Communication Between Tiers

Structure Manager in Teamcenter

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