The prconfig.xml file is a standard configuration file for the Pega Platform, which traditionally has contained a wide variety of configuration settings.  Changes to the prconfig.xml file affect the operation and performance characteristics of the Pega Platform.

Pega is now moving to Dynamic System Settings (DSS) to replace the prconfig file.  Custom settings in the prconfig file are no longer supported.  It is currently considered a best practice to use DSS for all configuration settings.  However, this document focuses on eliminating the custom settings in the prconfig file that are no longer supported.

A Dynamic System Setting is an instance of the Data-Admin-System-Settings class, which can be used to define settings of both the system and the applications.  

DSS settings are stored in the database and can be automatically replicated on each node.  Unlike prconfig settings, DSS settings can be changed without undeploying and redeploying your system.

How to identify

Custom prconfig settings should be identified during the infrastructure assessment.  They are not identified by the Pega Cloud Readiness Tool.

How to modernize

Download the prconfig.xml file.  The specifics of how to download the file depend on which version of the Pega platform you’re using.

• For version 8, see:  Downloading and viewing the prconfig.xml file for a specific node
• For versions 7.3 and 7.4: “Designer Studio > System > Operations > Configuration Settings > Download prconfig”
• For version 7.2 or earlier: “Designer Studio > System > System Management Application > Administrations > Configuration Management > Display prconfig”

Identify all custom prconfig settings, a shown in the graphic below.

On-Prem only:
In addition, configure your Pega Platform database to retrieve its data using JNDI, and include this setting in the prconfig.xml file:
<env name="initialization/settingsource" value="merged" />

For more information, see:

• Creating Dynamic a System Setting
• Configuring Dynamic System Settings