SECCACHE—Security Record Cache

Specific Control Options › SECCACHE—Security Record Cache

SECCACHE—Security Record Cache

Valid on z/OS.

Use the SECCACHE control option to provide a cache for CA Top Secret to place security records that reflect the status of a user following a RACROUTE VERIFY request. The cache is managed in a common data space that can be accessed from all address spaces. The cache increases system performance by:

Reducing CPU cycles in both the user and security address spaces required to complete subsequent RACROUTE VERIFY requests
Reducing I/O against the security file when the file is shared between multiple systems

Important! The SECCACHE control option parameters are positional, they must be entered in the order listed.

All entry methods are accepted.

This control option has the following format:

SECCACHE(SIZE=mmmm,INDEX=nnnnnn,EXP=hhh,WARN=ppp)
SECCACHE(CLEAR,EXP=hhh|acidname)
SECCACHE(STATUS)
SECCACHE(OFF)

SIZE=mmmm

Specifies the number of megabytes of data space storage allocated for caching. If previously set to OFF, providing this value activates the SECCACHE. The cache CAnnot be increased without a re-cycle of the SECCACHE feature. Assure that there is sufficient virtual storage to accommodate your SECCACHE request.

Range: 20 to 2048

INDEX=nnnnnn

Sets the number of index entries pre-allocated within the cache. This value cannot be increased without a re-cycle of the SECCACHE.

Range: 10 to 999999

Default: 5000

EXP=hhh

Sets the expiration interval, in hours, for existing records in the cache. The expiration interval is used by the SECCACHE(CLEAR) request to recover cache space from expired records.The TOD value for each record in the cache is set when it is added and reset on every successful get request for that record. An expiration interval of 0 prevents existing records from expiring.

Maximum: 255

Default: 0

WARN=ppp

Sets the threshold full warning level for both the data and index areas of the cache. If the warning level is reached by either the data or index areas, an automatic CLEAR attempt is made to recover space using the expiration interval supplied at cache initialization. If sufficient space cannot be recovered to lower the percentage full below the warning level, message TSS1366W is sent to the operator console and remains there until sufficient space can be recovered, the security record cache is deactivated, or the security address space is terminated. Records can still be added to the cache up to the point where either the data are index areas become 100% full.

Maximum: 100

Default: 90

CLEAR

Attempts to recover cache space by deleting existing records that have expired based on the expiration interval supplied at cache initialization.

CLEAR,EXP=hhh

Attempts to recover cache space by deleting existing records that have expired based on the expiration interval supplied as input. This method overrides the expiration interval supplied at cache initialization and can be used in response to message TSS1366W to attempt space recovery.

CLEAR,acidname

Attempts to recover cache space by deleting an existing record that matches the acid name supplied as input. This method does not check any expiration interval and it can be used to refresh a user experiencing authorization problems.

STATUS

Provides statistics on how the security record cache is used and how efficient the cache is in improving system performance. If SECCACHE is active, the following statistics are displayed:

Data Size: Maximum number of bytes allocated to the cache.
In Use: Current number of data area bytes in use.
% Used: The percentage of data area bytes in use.
Index Size: Maximum number of index entries allocated to the cache.
In Use: Current number of index entries in use.
% Used: The percentage of index entries in use.
SHR Wait: The number of times cache processing had to wait for a shared enqueue.
EXCL Wait: The number of times cache processing had to wait for an exclusive enqueue.
Gets: Number of get requests made to the cache process.
Satisfied: Number of get requests satisfied by the cache process.
% Found: The percentage of records found on a get request. This is the best indication of how well the cache is performing in minimizing RACROUTE VERIFY request overhead.
Adds: Number of successful add/replace requests.
Deletes: Number of successful delete requests.
Exp Hrs: Number of hours before a cached record is eligible to expire.
NOSPACE: Number of data area allocation requests failing due to no available space. A large number indicates the data size allocated to the cache is too small. You can attempt to recover space with a CLEAR,EXP=nnn request.
NOINDEX: Number of index entry allocation requests failing due to no available space. A large number here indicates the number of index entries allocated to the cache is too small. You can attempt to recover space with a CLEAR,EXP=nnn request.
Warn %: Threshold full level to trigger console warning messages. This value applies to both the data and index areas of the cache independently.
Low Rcd: The lowest security record size found in the cache.
High Rcd: The highest security record size found in the cache.
Avg Rcd: The average security record size found in the cache. This value may be useful in calculating the amount of storage to allocate to the cache.

OFF

Deactivates SECCACHE. The cache is emptied and is not used until requested by a SECCACHE(SIZE=mmmm) command. SECCACHE does not deactivate when the security manager address space is terminated. Use the OFF option to deactivate.