Outbound files

Setting available from CapaInstaller 5.3 build 102

The Replicator service processes files from the agent within the outbound folder on the Management Server. A specific Replicator Service has to be selected to process outbound, but when a service is set to process outbound there are a few settings that can be used to adjust to the specific CapaInstaller setup.

Outbound file process method:

Default

This function uses the Microsoft .Net GetFiles function of the DirectoryInfo object within the System.IO namespace. After getting a list of files from the Outbound directory the list is sorted by last write time

By default, the Replicator service is using the GetFiles function within Microsoft .Net to process files. This function is chosen as default to secure the right collect order, but it also has some tradeoffs.

Pros:

• The files are being processed in the order they come into the folder to ensure that all agents are treated equally and that all files are handled in the same order that they were written to the folder.

Cons:

• Performance can be slow, especially on systems that have many agents on the same server. Due to the fact that a list of files is requested and then sorted, it can slow down the process.

Read more about the .Net functions used here: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143327(v=vs.90).aspx

Alternative:

By placing a settings file named Outbound.ini in the Replicator Service application directory ("C:\Program Files\CapaInstaller\Services\Replicator\") it is possible to force the Replicator Service to use this alternative collect method.

This setting has defaulted from CapaInstaller 5.1 build 105 to CapaInstaller 5.3 build 101

Pros:

• Fast, because there is no need to query the whole directory for all files first, and the sorting of files is left to the Operating System

Cons:

• The order in which the search returns the files, such as alphabetical or date modified order, is not guaranteed and is dependent on the file system. 

The order in which this function returns the file names is dependent on the file system type. With the NTFS file system and CDFS file systems, the names are usually returned in alphabetical order. With FAT file systems, the names are usually returned in the order the files were written to the disk, which may or may not be in alphabetical order. However, as stated previously, these behaviors are not guaranteed.

Read more about the Windows function used here: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa364428(v=vs.85).aspx