Buffering and High Availability

Manage buffering settings by level

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Manage buffering settings by level

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Last UpdatedDec 18, 2024
4 minute read

PI System

The Buffering Settings window shows settings at one of three levels, depending on what you select in the list of servers:

When you click Global, you will see global settings. These settings apply to all buffering on this computer, and include default settings for all buffered servers and collectives. These default settings can be overridden for individual collectives or servers.
When you click a collective name, you will see collective settings. These settings apply to all members of the selected collective. If you change these settings, the new values override the settings shown at the global level.
When you click a server name, you will see physical server settings. These settings apply only to the selected server. If you change these settings, the new values override the settings shown at the global level (and the collective level if this server is a collective member).

When you open the Buffering Settings window, the most commonly used settings are shown. In addition, at each level (global, collective, and server), you can click a link to show advanced settings.

Note: In most cases, there is no need to change the default values for buffering settings. As a general rule, do not change advanced buffering settings unless you are working with technical support to resolve an issue.

Default and explicit values for buffering settings

It's easy to identify buffering settings that have a default value. For settings with lists of values, you will see "(default)" next to the selected value. For other settings, default values are shown in grey text instead of black text.

In each list of values, you may notice that one setting appears twice: once with (default) and once without. When you select the value without (default), it overrides the default setting. As a result, this value will not change if the corresponding default value at the global or collective level changes.

If you change a numeric or text value, you can restore the default value by clearing the text box and clicking Save or Save and close.

Buffering settings: examples

Examples of ways you can use buffering settings are listed below. After changing a setting, click Save or Save and close.

To:	Do this:
Temporarily stop all buffering from this computer Note: Data will not be queued while buffering is stopped. Any data remaining in the queue must be manually reprocessed, and when you turn buffering back on, data is queued to a new buffer queue file.	In the left pane, select Global. In the Buffering list in the right pane, select Off. To resume buffering from this computer, change this setting back to On.
Stop buffering only to a specific collective Note: Data will not be queued while buffering is stopped. Any data remaining in the queue must be manually reprocessed, and when you turn buffering back on, data is queued to a new buffer queue file.	Note: This assumes global buffering is On. In the left pane, select the collective to which you want to stop buffering. In the Buffering list in the right pane, select Disallowed. To resume buffering to this collective, change this setting back to Allowed.
Stop buffering only to a specific server (either a standalone server or a collective member) Note: Data will not be queued while buffering is stopped. Any data remaining in the queue must be manually reprocessed, and when you turn buffering back on, data is queued to a new buffer queue file.	Note: This assumes global buffering is On. If you selected a collective member, it also assumes buffering for the collective is Allowed. In the left pane, select the server to which you want to stop buffering. (The server can be a standalone server or a collective member.) In the Buffering list in the right pane, select Disallowed. To resume buffering to this server, change this setting back to Allowed.
Set the default buffer queue path for all servers receiving buffered data from this computer Note: It is strongly recommended to change the buffer queue path only during installation or other scheduled maintenance to reduce the possibility of data loss.	In the left pane, select Global. In the Queue path box in the right pane, type or browse for the path.
Set a buffer queue path (different from the default) for a specific collective or server Note: It is strongly recommended to change the buffer queue path only during installation or other scheduled maintenance to reduce the possibility of data loss.	In the left pane, select the collective or server whose queue path you want to change. In the Queue path box in the right pane, type or browse for the path. This overrides the default buffer queue path only for the selected collective or server.
Set the default authentication protocol PI Buffer Subsystem uses to connect to all servers and collectives receiving buffered data from this computer	In the left pane, select Global. In the Authentication options list in the right pane, select the protocol. You can override this default and use a different protocol for certain servers by selecting each server and setting its Authentication options.
Set the authentication protocol PI Buffer Subsystem uses to connect to a specific collective or server receiving buffered data from this computer	In the left pane, select the collective or server for which you want to change the protocol. In the Authentication options list in the right pane, select the protocol. This overrides the default authentication protocol only for the selected collective or server.

Buffering and High Availability