PDS performance - setting available in Metalib

• Article Type: General
• Product: Aleph
• Product Version: 18.01

Description:
We noticed that there is a fix for PDS in Metalib that allows you to set up the system to not use Single Sign On. We'd like to do the same thing for Aleph. We want users to be sent to PDS when someone is logging into their account or requesting material.

Right now, people are sent to PDS whenever they connect to the catalog or end their session in the catalog - regardless of whether they had logged in to a user account.

Having the unnecessary redirects to PDS is adding a noticeable amount of delay when people first try to get to the catalog.

We really need this fix for Aleph Version 18.

From Metalib Service Pack number 96:
Performance fix to bypass PDS when guest users access MetaLib.
This is relevant for sites not using Single Sign On.
At present, MetaLib queries PDS when a guest user accesses the
application to check if the user has a PDS handle.
The new parameter allows customers to bypass PDS
to improve MetaLib throughput and response.

Sites who want to bypass PDS should add the new global system parameter t
o ./metalib_conf/www_server.conf (in the PDS definitions section).
This parameter is named setenv guest_bypass_pds. This is a global parameter for
the installation and not an insitution-specific parameter. It should be set to Y to bypass PDS.
After saving the file, rerun the servers with the command start_w.

<end Metalib rep_change>

Resolution:
There is a difference between the Metalib and ALEPH in the structure.

The change required does not really solve any performance problem. In ALEPH, PDS is consulted only upon sign in, in addition, not as in Metalib, there is only one type of users and there is no need to perform constant checks with
PDS as was the case with Metalib.

So, the redirection seen in the title bar is not a delay, and the search time is normal.

• Article last edited: 10/8/2013