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Sifter utility
The sifter assigns mentors to users and updates its assignments as users rate items. When no users are rating items, the sifter updates the mentor assignments of all users based on changes to the pool of available mentors.
The sifter must be running whenever the LikeMinds server is running. However, you can install the sifter across multiple machines to distribute load.
Sifter performance considerations
The sifter places high processing demands on the system running it. For this reason it is important to tune it with consideration of its usage and environment. Use the following simple guidelines when tuning the sifter:
- Schedule the sifter to build the mentor pools during hours of the day when there is low traffic volume, for example, at 3 a.m.
- Tune the number of processing threads used by the process.
Sifter configuration
You can specify the following categories of sifter-specific configuration parameters for mentor sets:
- Configure the sifter utility's priority check interval
On a production system running LikeMinds, the sifter is always running, but not always sifting. The priority check interval dictates how long in seconds the sifter sleeps between batches of work. By default, the value is 20 seconds.
- Configure the sifter utility's priority list size
The priority list size dictates how many users to sift during a single batch. By default, the value is 10.
- Configure the maximum number of mentors assigned to each user
The maximum number of mentors parameter specifies the maximum number of mentors to be assigned to each user. The number of actual mentors can be less than the maximum setting but never greater than the value specified. By default, the value is 50.
- Configure the minimum number of transactions a user needs before becoming a mentor
The following setting specifies the minimum number of transactions a user must have before becoming a mentor. The sifter uses this setting if the Clickstream Engine is using that mentor set.
- Configure the mentor pool size
The priority list size dictates how many users to sift during a single batch. By default, the value is 10.
- Configure when the sifter utility rebuilds the mentor pool
On a production system running LikeMinds, the sifter is always running, but not always sifting. The mentor pool schedule controls the time of day at which the mentor pool for that mentor set is analyzed and built. The default value for this key is either 2 a.m. or 3 a.m., depending on the number of mentor sets configured.
- Pause the sifter during periods of heavy database usage
You can pause the sifter during times of heavy database access. This frees up database resources for other activities during heavy database activity.
Related concepts
WebSphere Commerce Recommendation Engine powered by LikeMinds
Related reference
How the sifter selects mentors
Verify that the sifter is functioning