Physical Architecture for PeopleFirST

Below given Image is the physical architecture of PeopleSoft Application

It can be logically divided into four components :-
Client , Network , Tuxedo Server (Application Server ) and
Database Server (Oracle 8.x).

1. Clients

The client has a token installation which is responsible for sending requests to the Application Server for data/actions to
be sent/done by the Application Server.
Though a 2-tier connection is possible , the standard connection
prescribed is a 3-tier connection. Both differ in the location where
the code enforcing business logic is executed .

2. Network


The network is LAN/WAN supported by the ST network across the
entire ST community. The development team has an added
architectural component in the form of a WTS client through which a
WTS server implemented in France accepts requests as acts as the real
‘client’. The majority though require simple TCP/IP connectivity.

3. Tuxedo Server


In real terms , it is a set of processes with efficient networking/
messaging and the application’s business logic implemented in it’s
code. It performs some of the processing that is done on the client in
two-tier operation. In network terms , the client connects to Tuxedo
and Tuxedo connects to the database.

Conceptually, the PeopleTools client in three-tier mode is the same in the
two-tier with the client cut in half. The front half consists of the
presentation layer and some of the application logic processing that is
still on the client. The back half has the rest of the application logic layer,
which makes the connection to the database. The two halves are
reconnected by Tuxedo.
Following diagram shows some detail of Tuxedo interaction to other
components .

4. Database Server
The database server is a flat DBMS . i.e The qualities of R-DBMSes like key Constraints , Server SQLs etc. are not used to keep the application DBMS-independent. It’s prime responsibility is data storage and retrieval on request from the application processes (Tuxedo in 3-tier , clients in 2-tier). PeopleSoft has a single database server implementation.

And Lastbut not the least.


Support H/W & S/W

A mention of the the Operating systems is not out of place here. Client
installation is essentially GUI (Windows) based. The Server side is
implementable on a variety of OS-es on which Tuxedo and Database
Servers reside.

For PeopleFirST architecture , these are :
Windows NT/95 for clients.
HP-UX 10.20 for Servers.

Details of the Server machine are :
HP Machine Model K580, HP UX 10.20
6 Processors , 1.8 GB RAM , 50 GB HDD.

Improved System Performance of your PeopleSoft system Makes a Happy User

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If you run PeopleTools 8.4 or above and want to increase performance by eliminating extra trips to the database and unnecessary caching, then here is a PeopleSoft Performance tip that you need!


As delivered, the application server cache works by an Application server domain
using separate cache files for each process. This means, that even if one of your
users opened the GL Inquiry Page, the next user may have to cache it all over
again and this will result in additional trips to the database. However, you can
set the various psappsrv processes in a particular application server domain so
that it uses a single set of cache files rather than separate cache files for
each process. All managed objects are included in the shared cache files so that
objects are not loaded from the database multiple times. What does this mean to
you? Increased system performance and happy users!

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Now, here is the next piece of information that will save you time and save your
users time when loading those pages. Why not load your cache ahead of time, so
that your users don't have to? In the past, many PeopleSoft customers created
scripts that would access the most commonly used pages. Some of these scripts
were created using software tools like SQA Robot and had to be created by
recording every page access. Not only did these scripts take a lot of time to
create, but they could sometimes be a nightmare to maintain considering all of
the changes, updates, and new releases that occur in your application.


Well, if you check your PeopleSoft installation CD, you will find a nifty little
Application Engine program called LOADCACHE. This is a program that will allow
you to generate and pre-load the shared cache we mentioned above.


Enabling shared cache and running the LOADCACHE program can save you disk space
and greatly speed up the performance of your system. And we all know a zippy
system means a happy user!


Here's how to run the LOADCACHE program:


1. Make sure that the database that the application server runs against

produces clean SYSAUDIT runs. If SYSAUDIT is not clean, the LOADCACHE program may fail.


2. Make sure the user who is executing the program has the "Load Application Server
Cache" component defined to its Permission List in User Profile. Find or add the
Utilities page for the users permission list and add the component Load Application Server Cache.


3. Check your psprcs.cfg file (Process Scheduler configuration file). psprcs.cfg is
where you specify the type of objects to cache using the EnableServerCaching
parameter. For PeopleTools 8.4 set it to 2. The LOADCACHE reads this setting and
caches metadata according to the value specified in the Process Scheduler configuration.


Performing these steps is easy and provides a tremendous benefit to your end users.
Follow these simple steps and you can increase your system performance by
reducing/eliminating extra trips from the application server to the database.
And most of all, make your users happy - happy - happy!

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Purging Cache Without Shutting Down

You can purge web server and application server cache even when the system is up and running. This article will discuss how.
Disclaimers

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Before we begin, let me quote the PeopleTools 8.46 release notes:

You can purge the cache regardless of whether the application server domain is running; there's no need to shut it down and reboot. However, the procedure is less disruptive and runs more quickly if the domain is shut down or its activity is low.

And to quote PeopleBooks

Important! You should purge the cache only after due consideration, and in conslutation with PeopleSoft.

OK, the disclaimers are out of the way. Now let's get started.

Purging App Server Cache

Starting in PeopleTools 8.46, there's a new option in PSADMIN called Purge Cache under the Administer a Domain submenu. This option will purge application server cache even if the application server domain is up and running.

Select Purge Cache (option 8 in Tools 8.46.05) and if the cache is not empty the following prompt appears: "Enter log comments about this purge, if any (maximum 256 characters):"

Enter any comments you want recorded and hit Enter. Your comments will be saved in the LOGS directory under PurgeCache_mmddyy_hhmm_ss.log.

Then it will ask if you want to archive the contents of the current cache. I have no idea why anyone would ever want to archive cache, so I select No.

When prompted to continue, enter y to continue the purge operation. If your domain is running, you may see several INFO messages. This is normal, so don't sweat it. It also will take longer than just shutting down the domain and deleting the files so don't worry about the length of time it takes either.

We'll be using the "Purge" servlet directive to make it happen. Rich Manalang has the best and only post I'm aware of about PeopleSoft Servlet Directives at http://psinternals.blogspot.com/2007/02/peoplesoft-servlet-directives.html and explains how to do things like purge web server cache, reload your web profile, view your web profile, etc.


To set up your system for servlet directives you need to specify a password in your web profile. So open your web profile (PeopleTools > Web Profile > Web Profile Configuration), navigate to the Custom Properties tab, and look for a property called auditPWD. It should be set to a string, and the property value should be whatever password you want to set. The default is "dayoff". If you make any changes, you'll have to bounce your web server for it to take effect.

Once the auditPWD property is in place, you can simply call the psp servlet with the purge command, and your web server cache will be purged. The syntax of the URL is: http://[server]/psp/[site]/?cmd=purge&pwd=[password]

For example: http://psinternals.blogspot.com/2007/02/peoplesoft-servlet-directives.html

Anyway, update the URL with your specific info, paste it into your browser, and the web server cache will be cleared without a web server bounce.

As always, make sure you test these techniques in a non-production database, and use at your own risk! I hope you find them helpful.



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PeopleSoft Servlet Directives

Over the past few years, I’ve run into several hidden PeopleTools tricks that I’ve never seen documented. I have no idea why PeopleTools decided not to document these, but I’ve found a lot of use for them.

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* http://[server]/psp/[site]/?cmd=reloadconfig&pwd=[password] — Reloads the Web Profile
* http://[server]/psp/[site]/?cmd=viewconfig&pwd=[password] — Displays currently cached Web Profile
* http://[server]/psp/[site]/?cmd=purge&pwd=[password] — Purges webserver memory cache (portal registry, etc.)
* http://[server]/psp/[site]/?cmd=viewcp&pwd=[password] — Displays cached node URIs
* http://[server]/psp/[site]/?cmd=viewsprop&pwd=[password] — Display’s session properties (doesn’t seem to work in 8.44+ anymore)
* http://[server]/psp/[site]/?cmd=debugCache&pwd=[password] — Cache Control Center… allows you to do all sorts of things with your web cache (8.45.05+ only)

The [password] parameter is defined in the Web Profile as a custom property called auditPWD.


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