Performance Factors
Please pay special attention to the monitor size, processor speed, and memory (RAM) requirements as these tend to have the greatest impact on the user-friendliness and productivity of the solution. In particular, be aware of the following:
- Most CPU’s now have on-die memory controllers; whether or not that memory controller is dual channel or triple channel will affect the amount of RAM to get.
- For example, a dual channel controller will typically support 2-stick or 4-stick configurations (2×4, 2×8, 4×2, etc)
- A triple channel controller will typically be in 3-stick or 6-stick configurations (3×2, 3×4, etc)
- If you are using more than 3GB of RAM, you will need a 64-bit operating system.
The following features and data have a significant impact on performance:
- High volume of Jobs and Operations have a large impact on system performance.
- Add-Ins
- Overlap by Transfer Size (Material Overlap)
- Gantt Labels that are calculation intensive
- Max Delay function
- Express MRP
The following are ways to improve performance:
- Use shorter release limits
- Use the Simplify Gantt Options
- Shorten the Planning Horizon or MRP Cutoff Date
- Hardware:
- Increase Processor Speed
- Increase amount of memory. Refer to Hardware Recommendations below
“Offline” Mode
There is a new “Offline Mode” that a Scenario can be switched to when making multiple changes to Scenario data when large volumes of schedule data are loaded. The purpose of this is to minimize schedule recalculations as the data is being modified, thus speeding the rate at which changes can be mad. When the Scenario is set back to being online it will then adjust the schedule to adjust for the changes that were made.
There is a new button in the Plan section of the main toolbar called “Offline Mode” that controls this feature.