Configuring the Process Engine Servers

Beginning with Appian 25.4, all new versions of Appian will require containers managed by Kubernetes to run in a self-managed environment. Review the 24.4 release notes and frequently asked questions to learn more.

Overview

Appian Process Engine Server configuration settings can be customized by listing the property in the <APPIAN_HOME>/conf/custom.properties file. When changed, these settings are detected and loaded by the application server without a restart.

Process execution properties

AUTOARCHIVE_DELAY

custom.properties Setting	Description
server.conf.exec.AUTOARCHIVE_DELAY	By default, completed and canceled processes are archived every 7 days after they have completed or been canceled (when AUTOARCHIVE is set to 1). The archive interval value can be changed by setting AUTOARCHIVE_DELAY to the desired number of days. Each completed or canceled process is automatically archived after the time set for this parameter has elapsed. It is set to 7 by default. See also: Archiving and Unarchiving Processes.

custom.properties Setting

Description

server.conf.exec.AUTOARCHIVE_DELAY

By default, completed and canceled processes are archived every 7 days after they have completed or been canceled (when AUTOARCHIVE is set to 1). The archive interval value can be changed by setting AUTOARCHIVE_DELAY to the desired number of days. Each completed or canceled process is automatically archived after the time set for this parameter has elapsed. It is set to 7 by default. See also: Archiving and Unarchiving Processes.

CHAINED_EXECUTION_NODE_LIMIT

custom.properties Setting	Description
server.conf.exec.CHAINED_EXECUTION_NODE_LIMIT	This parameter lists the maximum number of unattended nodes that can be executed while searching for the next attended node during activity-chaining. By default, this is set to `50` nodes.

Common Process settings

Common Process settings can be modified by setting the values of the following parameters in the custom.properties file.

NOTES_SRC_DIR

custom.properties Setting	Description
server.conf.processcommon.NOTES_SRC_DIR	This property lists the directory where process notes are stored. The default directory is `<APPIAN_HOME>/_admin/process_notes/`.

MAX_EXEC_ENGINE_LOAD_METRIC

custom.properties Setting	Description
server.conf.processcommon.MAX_EXEC_ENGINE_LOAD_METRIC	This metric limits the amount of memory that a single execution engine will use. On production systems, raise this setting to a value of `120` or higher.

Through a sampling technique, an approximation of the RAM utilized by a single execution engine is calculated as the Execution Engine Load Metric. The MAX_EXEC_ENGINE_LOAD_METRIC setting is intended to cap the RAM usage of the Execution Engine according to the calculated Load Metric. When the calculated metric value reaches 100% of the specified maximum, no new process can be started (on the affected execution engine) without raising the cap. It is also highly recommended that you archive your completed process instances.

Warn Nearing Load Metric Limit

Warnings are generated when the calculated value for engine load reaches 75% of the MAX_EXEC_ENGINE_LOAD_METRIC setting. If you receive a warning, you should contact Appian Technical support for assistance. This warning might indicate that you need to increase the amount of available RAM on the server or reevaluate your process design.

The status script lists a warning when the calculated value for engine load reaches 75% of the MAX_EXEC_ENGINE_LOAD_METRIC setting.
If the MAX_EXEC_ENGINE_LOAD_METRIC limit is reached, the status script states Engine [engine name] on [host] has a load metric of [load metric] and the configured limit is [MAX_EXEC_ENGINE_LOAD_METRIC]. New processes cannot be started on an execution engine where the calculated load metric limit reaches or exceeds the MAX_EXEC_ENGINE_LOAD_METRIC

Note: If an Execution Engine refuses to start new processes because it has crossed the MAX_EXEC_ENGINE_LOAD_METRIC threshold, it is still possible for processes that run on a different execution engine to continue starting as long as there is available RAM, according to the system architecture.

On production systems, the maximum metric value should be raised from its default value of 40 to a value of 120 or higher. It can be further raised (above 120) according to the amount of RAM available to the execution engines. As a general rule of thumb, if you have installed more RAM than the minimum system requirement of 4GB you can raise the value for this metric by a number that equals the GB of additional RAM on your system multiplied by the number 60. The maximum setting for this metric on a 64 bit machine is 2145.

MAXIMUM_REPORT_MS

custom.properties Setting Description

server.conf.processcommon.MAXIMUM_REPORT_MS This property sets the maximum amount of time that can be taken by the server to process and return report data, in milliseconds. The most complex reports should only take 2000 milliseconds to generate. If you must raise this setting for a report, never set this parameter above 15000 milliseconds. This property can also be lowered to reduce the load on the Analytics engine. In all cases, reports that take longer than the defined number of milliseconds will not complete.

custom.properties Setting	Description
server.conf.processcommon.MAXIMUM_REPORT_MS	This property sets the maximum amount of time that can be taken by the server to process and return report data, in milliseconds. The most complex reports should only take `2000` milliseconds to generate. If you must raise this setting for a report, never set this parameter above 15000 milliseconds. This property can also be lowered to reduce the load on the Analytics engine. In all cases, reports that take longer than the defined number of milliseconds will not complete.

All custom replacement values (except for the MAXIMUM_REPORT_MS property) must be higher than the default value. Otherwise, application errors may occur.

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