MPX improves server scalability and client responsiveness for StarTeam. It uses a message broker to establish publish/subscribe messaging between StarTeam servers and clients. This pushes notifications and updates to clients rather than having them poll the server. It can also use cache agents to store and distribute file contents locally, improving checkout speeds especially for remote users. Major benefits include reduced server load, faster updates and checkouts, better performance for remote users, and support for larger deployments.

1. Micro Focus MPX presentation for BNP
David McLeish– October 2012

2. Why should BNP consider using MPX?
StarTeam MPX is an optional framework that can be added to
StarTeam to improve server scalability and client application
responsiveness.

3. Message Broker
The first component added by MPX is a Message Broker, which establishes
publish/subscribe messaging framework: StarTeam clients subscribe to topics of interest,
and StarTeam servers publish update events to applicable clients. By pushing notifications
and updated objects to client applications, they don’t need to poll for changes and pull
updates from the server.
With the current release of StarTeam MPX Server, refresh and other operations normally sent from StarTeam CPC are
typically reduced by 36%. The freed StarTeam Server resources can consequently service a larger number of clients without
increasing hardware.
StarTeam
SDK
SDK
Data-
Client base
StarTeam
Server
publish/subscribe
StarTeam Vault
SDK
SDK
update events
Client
Message
Broker
StarTeam
SDK
SDK
Client

4. Key benefits from deploying a message broker.
Benefit Description of the advantage to BNP
Server scalability. The server is much more scalable and able to respond quicker in times of high
demand due to the message broker dealing with a percentage of the user,
application requests.
Offload work from the server Updated objects are asynchronously pushed to clients at update time. Clients
receive relevant updates faster than they would if they used polling or refresh
strategies. When multiple Message Brokers are used (e.g., one in each
geographic region), each update event traverses long-distance wires only once,
instead of being pulled by multiple clients, potentially multiple times. As a result,
overall network usage is decreased.
Regional profiles Can create regional profiles to service remote or offsite teams.
Setting up profiles ensure that regional teams are pre-configured with the correct
setup so that they are optimised.
CPC emits less traffic When a StarTeam client is running with MPX enabled, it eliminates certain
client/server requests. For example, since it knows that new objects are
automatically received, a client will no longer perform certain look-up and refresh
commands.
Instant refresh Using MPX clients will be pushed the latest status and events to prevent the
need to manually refresh.
Allows for load balancing The message broker can be configured to allow for a primary and secondary
broker to allow for circumstances where network connectivity might be lost.
Broker offload The MPX Message Broker can operate on a separate machine to offload demand
from the StarTeam Server. In high volume environments, the Message Broker
can be operated on a machine independent of the StarTeam Server, freeing
machine resources to support more users.
4

5. Cache Agent
Each StarTeam configuration has one Root Cache Agent that services forwarding and
catch-up requests. Remote Cache Agents subscribe to events that allow them to receive
and store file contents in a local cache. Cache Agents can be distributed throughout an
organization – even world-wide – providing alternate locations from which StarTeam
applications can check-out files. Client applications can “auto-locate” the nearest Cache
Agent or request a specific Cache Agent.
When the Cache Agent is closer or available over a higher-speed connection than the StarTeam server, file check-
outs can be much faster.
Data-
base
StarTeam
SDK
StarTeam
Client
Server
Vault
StarTeam
SDK
Client
Remote Root
Message Message
Broker Broker
StarTeam
SDK
Client
forwarding
file check-out
and catch-up
Root
Remote Local Cache Agent
Cache Agent Cache
5

6. Key benefits from deploying a Cache Agent.
Benefit Description of the advantage to BNP
Offload work from server Less file checkouts are done via the server, these are checked out from the cache agent. Thus
reducing the server load.
Reduces the overall The cache agent helps with bandwidth conservation as each new file is broadcast once from
network traffic the StarTeam Server to each Cache Agent. Consequently, when remote teams use the Cache
Agent, the same file is not pulled repeatedly over the long-wire network. You will see a drop in
overall network traffic.
Remote user file access On average, remote teams should consistently receive at least 2-3 times better throughput
using a remote Cache Agent than directly checkout from a Cache Agent over a long-distance
and/or limited bandwidth connection. Customers have reported that, in some cases, a remote
Cache Agent can boost check-out speed by an order of magnitude.
Faster file checkouts File checkouts will take place from a network near cache agent this greatly aids with checkout
speeds
Push caching Cache Agents are trickled-charged, which means they asynchronously receive files in the
background. In most cases, new files arrive at Cache Agents within a few seconds to a few
minutes after they are checked-in.
Reduce demands on server Studies on real customer database have shown that file check-outs constitute up to 33% of all
commands and up to 98% of all outbound network traffic from the StarTeam server. The more
team members use Cache Agents for check-outs, the more capacity is freed at the server,
enabling it to support more users and provide better overall performance.
Reduced long-distance Since StarTeam uses work files for local file access, you normally do not need StarTeam
network dependency during edit, build, debug, and other lifecycle tasks. However, your StarTeam client needs
server access to update work file status, check-out new files, and perform updates. The time to
check-out files is often the factor that most affects the window of accessibility that you need,
especially when you are working remotely over constrained bandwidth. When you check-out
from a local Cache Agent, the long-wire network is not used at all. Consequently, the
accessibility window is dramatically reduced, minimizing the susceptibility of your tasks to
network outages.
6

7. Key benefits from deploying a Cache Agent continued
Benefit Description of the advantage to BNP
Security of streamed All files stored by the Cache Agent are encrypted. Clients can only request files for which
content they have permission to access, and files are decrypted only as they are streamed to the
clients work files.
CA can be utilized by CPC, The cache agent connection is quick and seamless for all applications.
SDK, BCO, STCMD
Very low maintenance Cache Agents do not have to be backed-up, nor do they require special high-availability or
failover measures. Because Cache Agents are optional and only contain read-only copies of
files that are stored on StarTeam servers, they do not represent critical operational units .
Availability monitoring Cache Agents use HTTP for communication. They can be monitored from anywhere with a
standard web browser.
7

8. More reason to consider MPX.......
The future direction of all of our applications are heavily dependant on MPX.
Applications such as the StarTeam Web client and StarTeam Agile. The Web client is a classic example of a
process which is connected to the StarTeam server using the SDK and is running continuously. The program running on
the Apache web server caches all the requested views and other artifacts thus avoiding unnecessary trips to the StarTeam
Server. To ensure its caches are up-to-date with the changes in the server, the Web server depends on the MPX events.
Using the SDK, it subscribes to events for the views that has been cached.
These web clients have an self-refreshing cache which issues refresh request every 30 seconds and without MPX , they
would be issuing a lot of server commands and the solution will not be feasible to our customers
Micro Focus/Borland top ten customers all use a full MPX deployment .
•Kaiser Permanente
•HP
•Staples
•Pepsi Co
•General Electric
•Garmin
•Siemens
•McKesson
•Lockheed Martin
•CAE

9. Summary
In the optimized StarTeam community, the StarTeam Server, base
Message Broker, and root Cache Agent are deployed at a centralized
location.
High availability strategies, backup procedures, and administrative
expertise are concentrated at this facility.
Each remote development site is supported with a remote Message
Broker and remote Cache Agent.
 By using compression, StarTeam MPX, and a network-near Cache
Agent, each developer receives superior responsiveness while being
buffered from common network issues.
At a global level, an organization can provide ample accessibility
and performance without enduring the headaches of replication.