IBM FileNet P8, Version 5.2.1
Sweep policies
The Content Platform Engine includes sweep policy subclasses with built-in actions. For example, you can create sweep policy instances to move content between storage areas, update object retention, or dispose of objects of a specified class.
A policy-controlled sweep runs at the start time for which it is configured. If a start time is not set, then the sweep is eligible to start immediately. It will not start immediately if, for example, the sweep is disabled, or if time slots are set to times in the future. A sweep policy runs continuously, one iteration after another. A delay period between iterations can be configured, as well as an end time when the sweep stops running.
Note that the sweep policy and the policy-controlled sweep are two separate objects. A third object, a sweep relationship, defines an association between a sweep policy and a policy-controlled sweep. In the relationship, the sweep policy is a subscriber to the policy-controlled sweep.
A policy-controlled sweep and a sweep relationship cannot be created directly. They are created indirectly by the server when you create a sweep policy. In the administration console, sweep policies are listed in the navigation pane under . Policy-controlled sweeps are listed under .
For example, if you create a disposal policy for a Document subclass, a policy-controlled sweep and a sweep relationship are created automatically. The disposal policy is the subscriber to the policy-controlled sweep, which deletes instances of the Document subclass. Both the disposal policy and the policy-controlled sweep reference the sweep relationship that associates the two objects. You can access a sweep relationship object by navigating to the Properties tab of either the policy or the policy-controlled sweep. Both the policy's SweepSubscriptions property and the policy-controlled sweep's SweepSubscribers property reference the sweep relationship object.
One-to-many relationship
A single policy-controlled sweep can be subscribed to by more than one sweep policy. Having one policy-controlled sweep for multiple policies occurs when different policies target classes whose instances are contained in the same database table. You can view the subscribers of a policy-controlled sweep on the Subscribers tab of the policy-controlled sweep.
Consider a scenario where two sweep policies are created that target Document subclasses DC1 and DC2. Instances of Document subclasses are persisted in the DocVersion table. In this scenario, there currently is no policy-controlled sweep for the DocVersion table. When a disposal policy is created with a sweep target of DC1, the server creates a policy-controlled sweep to visit the DocVersion table for instances of class DC1. When a retention update policy is later created with a sweep target of DC2, the server uses the existing policy-controlled sweep. This sweep is now configured to sweep over the DocVersion table for instances of both DC1 and DC2.
Sweep results
A policy-controlled sweep includes counter properties that reflect the results of the sweep, both for the iteration that is currently running and for the cumulative total of all of the iterations that previously ran. The following table lists the properties that reflect the current iteration and the total of all of the iterations.
| Counter property | Description |
|---|---|
| Current iteration: CurrentExaminedObjectCount
All iterations: ExaminedObjectCount |
Number of objects that the sweep policy evaluated but did not necessarily process |
| Current iteration: CurrentProcessedObjectCount
All iterations: ProcessedObjectCount |
Number of objects that met the criteria for processing |
| Current® iteration: CurrentFailedObjectCount
All iterations: FailedObjectCount |
Number of objects that met the criteria for processing but failed to process |
You can run a sweep policy in normal or preview mode. In normal mode, a sweep performs an action on objects that meet the criteria for processing. If a processing error occurs on a swept object, the sweep generates a result record that includes a description of the failure.
In preview mode, a sweep evaluates objects only; it does not perform an action on objects that meet the criteria for processing. There are two available preview modes. In "Preview only counters" mode, the sweep only increments the examined-object and processed-object counters. In "Preview" mode, the sweep also increments the counters, as well as generates a preview result record for each object that the sweep would attempt to process if it were operating in normal mode.
Managing sweep records
Because policy-controlled sweeps run continuously, result records can quickly accumulate on the server. You can take the following measures to limit the number of sweep records that reside on the server at any one time.
- Set the SweepResultIterationKeepCount property on the sweep policy. This property specifies the number of policy sweep iterations for which a sweep result record is preserved before it is automatically deleted. For example, if the value is one, result records are kept for the just-completed iteration, plus the in-progress iteration, if any.
- Delete individual result records. You can access result records by navigating to the Sweep Results tab of the policy.
- To remove all of the result records at one time, delete the sweep policy itself. However, an attempt to delete a sweep policy can fail if there are two many result records to be deleted within the global transaction timeout limit. In the event of such a failure, create a disposal policy that targets the sweep result class.
