Tech Tips

• New Features for Volumes


• Export Options


• Workflow 8 Highlights


• Multi-Value Template Fields


• Workflow 8 E-mail Notifications


• Using Search to Manage Documents
  
  
• Avoiding Bottlenecks in Server Performance
  
  
• Non-Retrievable File Deletion
  
  
• Customizing WebLink to Open to the Search Page
  
  
• Laserfiche Records Management: Terminology Guide
  
  
• Performing Image Enhancements for Basic Scanning and OCR Options
  
  
• Bypassing Repository Selection
  


• Dragging and Dropping Text in the Laserfiche Client


• Using Windows Authentication with Windows Groups

• Technical Glossary

Avoiding Bottlenecks in Server Performance:

Brian Sabin, June 2007

If you are encountering performance issues using your repository, it is useful to be able to figure out where the 'bottleneck' in performance is occurring. A bottleneck occurs whenever there is more load on the Laserfiche Server or SQL Server than it can quickly handle; it can cause delays as certain processes must wait for other processes to complete. Locating the bottleneck allows you to make changes to fix the problem itself, rather than guessing at its cause. You can use Laserfiche Auditing, Windows Performance Monitor, Laserfiche Server performance counters, and/or SQL performance counters to locate the source of the problem.

The following processes are potentially high-load; when looking for a bottleneck, you may wish to pay particular attention to these processes:

• High volume scanning
• Indexing
• Migrating documents
• OCRing documents
• Briefcase import
• Volume attach
• Archiving audit records
• Running audit reports
• Briefcase export
• Volume export
• Publishing with Plus

Once you have determined the source of a bottleneck – for instance, you see from Auditing that performance slows in the afternoon because several scanner operators are all scanning and storing large batches of images at that time – you can take steps to do something about it. You can break the load into multiple smaller batches and spread them out, or automate the process at an off-peak hour. You can use other Laserfiche applications such as Quick Fields™, Import Agent™ or the Integrator's Toolkit™ to help you automate these processes. Or you can upgrade your system by adding memory or disk space. Locating a bottleneck and resolving it can significantly improve the performance of your Laserfiche system.

Note: If the Laserfiche Server and the SQL Server are installed on the same computer, you can also encounter bottlenecks as the two services compete for the same resources. By moving your Laserfiche Server and SQL Server to different computers, you may be able to reduce or eliminate bottlenecking.