Schedules to Manage Update Frequency

The Unwired Server cache is refreshed according to a cache policy, which defines the cache refresh behavior and properties for the MBOs within the cache group.

There are two properties that determine the cache refresh schedule, which is used with a subscription to synchronize data for mobile business objects (MBOs).

Note: You can configure a schedule refresh for a cache only if the developer specifies the cache group as a "scheduled" type during development. Otherwise, the Schedule tab does not appear in the Cache Properties window.

Cache Interval – Unwired Server keeps a local copy of enterprise data in the consolidated database (CDB), and uses a synchronization server to manage updates between the CDB and EIS servers. When data is updated, the remote client database eventually retrieves updated data from this local copy in the CDB. The caching mechanism allows MBOs to retrieve updated data even if back-end servers fail. The cache interval balances the frequency with which the object updates enterprise data with the amount of network traffic required to maintain that data.
A higher value for the cache may retain stale data, however, a lower value increases network traffic and may impede the client application's performance, because Unwired Server queries back-end information servers more frequently to look for changes and possibly update the CDB copy. Frequent queries typically put a higher load on the servers, as well as use more network bandwidth on the server side—the cache interval does not affect required bandwidth between the synchronization server and device client applications, nor the performance characteristics of the client applications. But the interval you choose can delay synchronization if Unwired Server must first update many records in the CDB.

For example, if the cache interval is 0, each time a client application synchronizes, there is a pause while the Unwired Server rereads data from the EIS and updates the CDB. If, however, the cache interval is greater than 0, then the wait time depends on how long ago the data was refreshed. If the synchronization falls within a recent cache update, synchronization is almost immediate.
Schedule Repeat – data is refreshed according to a schedule you set up. If you set up a schedule to repeatedly refresh data, information is always refreshed, regardless of the cache interval value. However, typically, you would set a schedule to closely match the cache interval, which is especially good practice for data that changes infrequently or is shared by many clients.
However, as an administrator, you may use a scheduled repeat to look for data changes and to notify subscribed clients to synchronize when there are changes. Typically, mobile workers use an Unwired Platform client application as needed. To ensure that mobile data is relatively up-to-date, use the schedule repeat property to trigger a push notification.