Network Deployment (Distributed operating systems), v8.0 > Tune performance > Tune EJB applications > Tune applications that use the Java Persistence API

Configure the WSJPA ObjectCache to improve performance

The WebSphere Java Persistence API (WSJPA) extension to OpenJPA provides a read-only ObjectCache that can improve performance in certain use cases.

This cache can improve the performance of an application which has a set of data used in a static, read-only method. For example, accessing basic persistent fields and persisting unidirectional relationships to a read-only type. This set of data has a number of restrictions that are documented here.

The WSJPA ObjectCache is a non-distributed cache of read-only Entities that operates at the EntityManagerFactory level. These cached instances are shared by all EntityManagers in the Java virtual machine (JVM), but not managed by any. When enabled, the ObjectCache is examined before accessing the OpenJPA DataCache and database. When persistent objects are loaded from the database they are stored in the OpenJPA ObjectCache. The ObjectCache can be used with the OpenJPA DataCache and QueryCache for even greater performance. Types that are included in the ObjectCache must not be eligible to be cached in the OpenJPA DataCache. The ObjectCache is not to be confused with a second-level cache as defined by the JPA 2.0 specification.

Types that are included in the OpenJPA ObjectCache are as follows:

• Strictly read-only from the application point-of-view
  • Pass a read only type into the following operations results in an UnsupportedOperationException.
    • Pass a read only Entity into EntityManager.merge(…).
    • Pass a read only Entity into EntityManager.persist(…).
    • Pass a read only Entity into EntityManager.remove(…).

  • Call a setter method on a read-only type that was returned by the WebSphere JPA runtime results in an UnsupportedOperationException.

• Restricted to having only basic fields. An exception occurs on EntityManager creation if this rule is broken.
• Not to intersect types that are cacheable by the OpenJPA L2 cache (openjpa.DataCache). An exception occurs on EntityManager creation if this rule is broken.

• Pass a read-only Entity into EntityManager.contains(…) always returns false, even if it was just returned from a find/query operation.

We can enable the ObjectCache for a single JVM environment, specify the types that are included in this cache, set its maximum element size and specify timeout values.

To set up and configure the ObjectCache, do the following:

Attention: The preferred property name is wsjpa.ObjectCache, but openjpa.ObjectCache is also a valid configuration.

Procedure

1. To enable the cache for a single JVM, set the wsjpa.ObjectCache property to true and specify a list of Types.

   <property name="wsjpa.ObjectCache " value="true(Types=com.ibm.wsjpa.Foo; com.ibm.wsjpa.Bar)"/> 

2. Adjust the maximum cache size by setting the MaxSize property:

   <property name=" wsjpa.ObjectCache" value=”true(Types=com.ibm.wsjpa.Foo; com.ibm.wsjpa.Bar, MaxSize=5000)”/> 

   By default, the ObjectCache holds 1000 elements. If the cache overflows, it evicts random elements. Evicted elements are preserved in a soft reference map. The size of the soft reference map is unlimited and cannot be configured.

3. Specify that the ObjectCache should be cleared at certain times. The EvictionSchedule property of the ObjectCache implementation accepts a cron-style eviction schedule. The cron format specifies the minute, hour of day, day of month, and day of the week beginning with 1 for Sunday; the * (asterisk) indicates match all. To schedule a cache to evict at 3:45 PM on Sunday every month, add this property:

   <property name="openjpa.DataCache" value="true(Types=com.ibm.wsjpa.Foo; com.ibm.wsjpa.Bar, MaxSize=5000,  EvictionSchedule='15,45 * * 1')”/> 

   In addition to the cron syntax you can specify an interval style eviction schedule. The format of this property is a plus sign (+) followed by the number of minutes between each time that the cache should be evicted.

   To schedule a cache to evict every 20 minutes add this property:

   <property name="openjpa.DataCache" value="true(Types=com.ibm.wsjpa.Foo; com.ibm.wsjpa.Bar, MaxSize=5000,
   EvictionSchedule='+20')”/> 

What to do next

To enable automatic loading of the entire ObjectCache when the first EntityManager is created, follow the steps outlined in the Pre-loading the WSJPA ObjectCache automatically topic. In addition, you can read more about caching in the OpenJPA User Guide for information about all caching extensions.

Pre-loading the WSJPA ObjectCache automatically
Task overview: Storing and retrieving persistent data with the JPA API
Develop JPA 2.x applications for a Java SE environment
Develop JPA 2.x applications for a Java EE environment
Apache OpenJPA User Guide

+

Search Tips   |   Advanced Search