HFix-5977 delivers Conclusion Cache optimizations and related core engine updates

Updated on May 23, 2017

Updated Solution — Article 44091

This article is superseded by Article 44091, Troubleshooting: PRPC 6.2 SP2 runs wrong rule or fails to see a new function after application enhancement (HFix-6560, HFix-6647).

Refer to Article 44091 for the best solution for this issue.

Prerequisites

Before you install HFix-5977, you need to understand the dependent hotfixes that are installed with HFix-5977. You must also back up your system.

Understanding the dependencies

As a hotfix collection for core engine updates, HFix-5977 delivers many modules of rules and code with several dependencies. For this reason, attentive installation of this hotfix collection is required. Failure to understand what each hotfix delivers can present risk, including a system that might not start up after all hotfixes are installed.

HFix-5977 supersedes HFix-5987 to correct a performance issue seen in very slow server startup time. You will need to create the specified indexes in the PRPC database schema before or after installing HFix-5977 on the target system.

Back up your system

As with any hotfix you install, you should back up your PRPC database before installing HFix-5977. This best practice is strongly advised whenever you install hotfixes. Do not ignore this step – especially when preparing to install PRPC core engine hotfixes.

HFix-5977 and its dependents

HFix-5977 delivers optimizations for conclusion caching. Its dependent hotfixes deliver updates for security, rules assembly caching, requestor/thread management, rules assembly, core engine performance, and support for mobile PRPC applications.

HFix-5977 removes synchronization in eviction management for the caches. This corrects the problem of many threads waiting at synchronization blocks in the Conclusion Cache and Rule Assembly Cache, which degrades system performance, most notably in Decision Strategy Manager (DSM).

HFix-5977 includes the following dependent hotfixes:

HFix-5059	See Troubleshooting: HFix-5059 corrects Rules Assembly Cache issues.
HFix-4796	Introduces PRPC support for mobile devices. See Pega Mobile 2.1.1 Release Notes
HFix-4849	Provides a diagnostic hotfix for a Null Pointer Exception during invalidation.
HFix-6051	Corrects a defect with Rules Assembly Cache invalidation.
HFix-5535	Provides the enhancement delivered in PRPC 6.3 Security for implicit privileges: Augmenting Privileges with Access Group Settings Tunable Rule Security Mode on Access Group Settings
HFix-4864	Improves the functionality for the <pega:lookup> tag and its related Rule-Utility-Function, @lookup, to correct performance issues. Poor performance was caused by the tag and the RUF pulling data from the BLOB even when the looked-up property is exposed in the database.
HFix-6083	Corrects the Session Management problem whereby the Requestor Count constantly increases for Batch Requestors.

Obtaining and installing HFix-5977

Contact Pega Global Customer Support (GCS) and request HFix-5977.
After you receive the DL file for HFix-5977, install the hotfix using Update Manager, the Hotfix Installer.
Dependent hotfixes might have their own pre- and post-installation instructions as indicated above.
Before or after you install the hotfix, you must create the following indexes in the PRPC database schema:
create index pr4_log_rule_usg_dtl_idx1 on pr4_log_rule_usage_details (pxparentruleusagekey, pxassemblycachekey);
create index pr_sys_cache_entry_idx1 on pr_sys_cache_entry ( pzentrykey, pzcacheconfigid);
create index pr4_log_rule_usage_tidx1 on pr4_log_rule_usage (pxsystemnode, pylabel, pxlastuse, pzinskey, pxclassname);
See Working with the PegaRULES database.
After installing the hotfix, stop and restart the application server and the PRPC application.
Read the Post-installation Notes.

Post-installation notes

If you are installing HFix-5535 for the first time as a dependent of HFix-5977 (that is, HFix-5535 is not already installed on your system), you will see an error on the last screen of Update Manager.

This error pertains to the Update Manager screen itself. HFix-5977 and its dependents should all be installed successfully despite this error. You will not see the error again after you restart your system.

To check whether you installed HFix-5535 previously, run Update Manager, the System Scanner. The System Scan Results will list HFix-5535 if it is already installed on your system.

If you typically run Static Assembler to pre-assemble rules of your PRPC applications, then you might need the HFix-5977 file attachment, HFix-5977-staticAssembler.zip, which contains the file:

prstaticassembler - staticAssemblerResources/scripts/staticAssembler.xml

This Static Assembler ANT script provides changes that enable the MasterAgent. These changes might be necessary to successfully complete the Static Assembly process. Choose one of the following options:

On your Process Commander server, install prstaticassembler - staticAssemblerResources/scripts/staticAssembler.xml.

If you do not install the staticAssembler.xml file, increase memory to exceed the default configuration limit of 512 MB to meet the performance tuning needs of your enterprise.