2019.2

Engine configuration
As explained in another topic ("Connect: a peek under the hood" on page161) the Connect
Server cooperates with different engines to handle specific tasks.
A DataMapper engine extracts data from a data file. A Merge engine merges the template and
the data to create Email and Web output, or to create an intermediary file for Printed output. The
intermediary file is in turn used by a Weaver engine to prepare the Print output.
Configuring these engines to match both the hardware configuration and the typical usage
situation is probably the most effective way to improve Connect's performance.
The number of engines is one of the "Parallel Processing Preferences" that let the Connect
Server manage its workload in such a way that the highest possible output speed is achieved.
For an explanation and guidelines to these settings, see "Engine configuration" on page123
and "Parallel Processing preferences" on page133.
Note
Connect Server and Connect Designer each have their own distinct scheduling
preferences.
Use the Connect Server Configuration tool to change the Connect Server settings and
Designer >Windows >Preferences for changing Designer settings.
Template optimization
When you find that the speed per Merge engine - the Content Creation speed - is low,
optimizing a template can make a huge difference. For advice on how to optimize a template
see: "Optimizing a template" on page1452.
Network and internet connections
Use a fast network and internet connection or avoid loading external or internet resources.
Using images, JavaScript or CSS resources located on a slow network or on a slow internet
connection will obviously lead to a loss of speed. While we do our best for caching, a document
with 5,000 records which queries a page that takes 1 second to return a different image each
time will, naturally, slow output generation down by up to 83 minutes.
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