Category : HD Utilities
Archive : CAV10E.ZIP
Filename : MANUAL.TXT
Output of file : MANUAL.TXT contained in archive : CAV10E.ZIP
ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛTM WELCOME TO C&D PROGRAMMING CORP.'S:
ÛÛ ÛÛ
ÛÛ ÛÛ CacheAll(tm)
ÛÛ ÜÜÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛ
ÛÛ ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛ The Cache of the 90's!(tm)
ÛÛ ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛ
ÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ\ ßÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛ Order Line: (800) 847-5676
ÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ\ \ ßßßßß ÛÛ Orders Outside U.S.A.: (801) 582-0503
ÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ\ \ \ ÛÛ BBS: (516) 434-8712
ÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ \ \ \ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÛÛÜÜÜ
ÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ \ \ \ ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ Corporate Headquarters:
ÛÛ ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ \ \ \ ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ PO Box 1305
ÛÛ ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ \ \ \ ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ Brentwood, NY 11717 USA
ÛÛ ßßßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ \ \ \ ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛ ÛÜ \ \ \ ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛ ÛÛÛÜ \ \ \ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÜ \ \ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ Sales Office:
ÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ \ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ PO Box 581012
ÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß Salt Lake City, UT 84158
ÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß USA
ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛßßß FAX (801) 581-0883
P R O G R A M M I N G
Copyright (c), 1992-93
C&D Programming Corp.
All Rights Reserved.
This evaluation version of CacheAll(tm), The Cache of the 90's!(tm),
may be freely copied and distributed for the purpose of evaluating
CacheAll(tm) under the conditions that CacheAll(tm), CUtil(tm) and the
accompanying software,
(1) will not be sold,
(2) will not be reverse engineered,
(3) will not be modified,
(4) will not be incorporated, in whole or in part, into any
other computer program,
CacheAll, CUtil, AppTrack and "The Cache of the 90's!" are trademarks of
C&D Programming Corp.
All product names and services identified throughout this manual are
trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page i
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Table of Contents
About CacheAll(tm), The Cache of the 90's!(tm), . . . . . . . . . . . 1
About The Evaluation Version of CacheAll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
How to Order CacheAll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
What do you get when you purchase CacheAll? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Technical Support -- How to reach us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Welcome to CacheAll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Before Installing CacheAll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Application Compatibility for CacheAll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Software Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Preparing Your System For CacheAll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
About INSTALL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Starting INSTALL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
BEGINNERS: CacheAll is SMART! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Running CacheAll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Unloading CacheAll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
CacheAll Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
CacheAll Option File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
CacheAll Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
CUtil(TM) Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
CUtil for DOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
CUtil Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
CUtil for Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Technical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Benchmarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Caching only specific drive directories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Using CacheAll to Speed up Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Swap Files for CacheAll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
What is a swap file? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
How does CacheAll use the swap file? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Defining a swap file for CacheAll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Removing the swap file from your hard drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Maximizing CacheAll's Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
What CacheAll version 1.0e will not do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
CacheAll's Automatic Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Common Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Common Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Notes to CD-ROM Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Notes to Network Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
AppTrack(TM) Makes Software audits a nuisance rather than a concern . 53
Reseller Qualification Form: C&D Welcomes Resellers! . . . . . . . . 54
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
About CacheAll(tm), The Cache of the 90's!(tm),
CacheAll is the only technology-independent cache program ever that
can speed up file access over 1000%! CacheAll is only 21 Kilobytes in size
and may be loaded high! CacheAll's advanced abilities don't stop there:
CacheAll is the only cache on the market that does all this -
1) CacheAll has no limit to the types of devices it can cache,
ù Caches CD-ROMs & networked CD-ROMs
ù Caches Opticals & networked Opticals
ù Caches Hard Drives & networked Hard Drives
ù Caches Etc.! & networked Etc.!
2) CacheAll uses RAM and an optional SWAP FILE for cache data storage
ù Supports cache sizes up to 64 Megabytes
ù SWAP FILE allows emulation and conservation of expensive RAM
and,
ù Can specify how devices are cached: RAM or SWAP FILE
- Balances cache performance across slow and fast devices
- Reduces server loading and network traffic
3) CacheAll speeds up Microsoft Windows & multimedia,
ù CD-ROM applications fly
ù And networks too!
4) CacheAll Increases Network performance when run on WORKSTATIONS **
ù 64 Megs of server data can be cached locally at workstation
- Reduces network traffic
- Reduces server loading
ù Artisoft(TM) LANtastic(TM) Compatible
5) CacheAll allows you to cache specific sections of a resource
ù Cache data YOU want to cache, rather than entire device
ù Can eliminate the need for cache-locking
6) CacheAll includes CUtil
ù DOS & Windows cache control
ù Provides real time viewing of files currently in cache
- Excellent "tweaking" & management tool
- And, of course, this feature works for network drives
ù View statistics, reset statistics, and more
7) CacheAll can reconfigure itself automatically
ù CacheAll can optimize it's own parameters on startup
ù CacheAll is user friendly for beginners yet flexible for experts
CacheAll provides all these features for only $79 (retail $129).
Hurry, this pricing ends May 31, 1993 but sending in a valid registration
form before May 31, 1993 from this evaluation software will make you
eligible for future upgrade prices!
** FOR NETWORK DATA BASE USERS ONLY -- To prevent potential loss of your
data, CacheAll will not cache shared data files which are simultaneously
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
updated by multiple users across a network UNLESS you set these files to
read only status.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
About The Evaluation Version of CacheAll
This evaluation version is only limited in that it will stop working
after May 1993.
Because CacheAll uses new caching techniques, many cache benchmarking
programs DO NOT accurately detect the presence of CacheAll and therefore
erroneously report no performance increase! This is simple to prove:
simply run {your application} without CacheAll and time with a stopwatch,
then install CacheAll and run {your application} again TWICE measuring the
time each time. Note that the last time {your application} was run it took
considerably less time because of CacheAll!
How to Order CacheAll
This abbreviated manual covers only basic CacheAll and CUtil
operation. This manual is for your evaluation of CacheAll and CUtil,
should you continue to use CacheAll or CUtil you are required to purchase
the commercial version of CacheAll:
If you are an ENDUSER: To purchase C&D products including CacheAll,
- Visit your favorite software store or computer retailer
- Call C&D Programming Corp. @ 800-847-5676 (outside U.S. 801-582-0503)
- CacheAll's price is only $79 through May 1993
- NOTE:
Sending in your registration form FROM THIS EVALUATION SOFTWARE
before May 31, 1993 will make you eligible for future upgrade
discounts!
- Please send your registration form to the address noted on the form.
If you are a RESELLER: To purchase C&D products including CacheAll,
Please mail the completed qualification form which appears at the end
of this document to the noted address, or fax to 801-581-0883. After we
receive your properly completed qualification form we will send you a
reseller package which includes information necessary to order all C&D
products.
NO RESELLER INFORMATION WILL BE GIVEN UNTIL WE
RECEIVE A PROPERLY COMPLETED FORM, NO EXCEPTIONS!
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
What do you get when you purchase CacheAll?
1) The commercial software,
ù Is not time limited
ù Runs WITHOUT having to press any keys on startup.
2) The commercial software provides:
for everyone,
ù 124 pages
ù 2 colors
ù Spiral Bound! (lays flat on a table, desk, etc.)
ù Easy to read
ù Organized layout
- 12 sections
- Dictionary like tab bleeds => easy to find desired
sections
- Fully indexed
- Table of contents inside at beginning as you are learning
- Quick reference inside back cover for experienced users
ù Glossary of terms
for experienced computer users,
ù Details of CacheAll and CUtil operation
ù Performance tips
- For options settings
- For specific computer configurations
- Importance of specific options and settings
ù Glossary of terms
3) Update notices and discounts on future releases
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Technical Support -- How to reach us
Note that after May 31, 1993 a valid registration/serial number will
be required for all technical support regarding CacheAll! C&D Programming
Corp. will provide product support to unregistered users only during the
evaluation period. Please be prepared to give:
ù The contents of your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS
ù A description of your computer including,
- CPU type and speed
- Optical drive type and speed
- CD-ROM type and speed
- Hard drive type and size
- Network type and version numbers
- Type and manufacturer of cards (VGA, etc.)
to the technician before contacting C&D and include this information with
all correspondence. You may contact any one of the following sources for
technical support:
This Document: Try reading through this manual
BBS: (516) 434-8712 for the latest technical tips and the latest
versions of utilities, such as CacheAll's CUtil.
Modem setup is: 8 data bits, no parity & 1 stop bit
Modem speed is: 9600 baud, 38400 with compression
Phone: VOICE: (516) 434-3214
FAX: (516) 434-7603
FAXes -- Please remember to include YOUR FAX number!
Postal: C&D Programming
Technical Support (CAEVAL1.0e)
PO Box 1305
Brentwood, NY 11717
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Welcome to CacheAll
CacheAll instantly speeds up access to all of your personal
computer's data. CacheAll, unlike any other cache software available, is a
technology-independent cache which means it can speed up virtually all
storage devices! CacheAll can even extend laptop and notebook battery life
by reducing storage drive usage! CacheAll's advanced features don't stop
there ... it also automatically detects and efficiently responds to the
presence of storage devices. Just install CacheAll and without further
work, sit back and enjoy faster computing!
When speed is important CacheAll's 1000%+ speed increase also saves
you money by avoiding costly and difficult upgrades of network drives, CD-
ROM drives, Optical drives, Bernoulli disks, and Hard drives, assuming an
upgrade is even available!
Installed on all network workstations and non-dedicated servers,
CacheAll can dramatically reduce network traffic and server loading.
CacheAll accomplishes this by locally caching as much as 64 Megabytes of
data (Using RAM AND a SWAP FILE!) at the workstation -- after the first
read, workstations obtain data from CacheAll's local copy instead of
having to use the network.
CacheAll operates in the background making fast copies of your data
in RAM (and an optional SWAP FILE) as you are using your personal
computer. Thereafter CacheAll immediately provides this copied data and
eliminates the long access times of CD-ROMs, opticals, networks, etc.
Using this technique, CacheAll makes your storage devices appear as if
they have been replaced with faster more expensive models, assuming a
faster model even exists!
Congratulations on purchasing CacheAll -- The Cache of the 90's!(TM)
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Before Installing CacheAll
Please take the following steps before installing CacheAll:
- Please refer to the section entitled "Application Compatibility for
CacheAll" for important information regarding the use of CacheAll
with other applications.
- Have a stamped envelope handy and your printer ready to print so that
you can immediately print and return the Registration Information
form. Returning this form entitles you to receive:
ù Future upgrade discounts
ù New product announcements
System Requirements
Installation Program
- IBM AT, PS/2, or 100% compatible computer
- 300Kb of conventional memory during installation
- MS-DOS versions 3.3 or later; or DR DOS 5.0 or later
CacheAll and CUtil for DOS
- Minimum CONFIG.SYS settings of
ù FILES = 40
ù Buffers = 10
- IBM AT, PS/2, or 100% compatible computer
- MS-DOS versions 3.3 or later; or DR DOS 5.0 or 6.0
- When CacheAll is used to cache fast storage devices, such as a hard
drive:
ù 512Kb (minimum) of extended, EMS or XMS allocated to
CacheAll
ù 300Kb free hard drive space
- When CacheAll is used to cache slow storage devices, such as CD-ROMs:
ù 1Mb (minimum) of Extended Memory allocated to CacheAll
ù 4.2Mb of free hard drive space, 300Kb for CacheAll program
files plus 4Mb for the recommended swap file
- Conventional RAM usage: 21Kb when loaded high using a
memory manager; 50 to 150Kb without a memory manager
(depending on configuration)
CUtil for Windows
- IBM AT, PS/2, or 100% compatible compute
- Approximately 200Kb of memory while executing
- MS-DOS versions 3.3 or later; DR DOS 5.0 or 6.0
- Microsoft Windows Version 3.0+
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Application Compatibility for CacheAll
Microsoft Windows 3.x
When using CacheAll with Windows, you must load CacheAll before
starting Windows. If CacheAll is not loaded first, unpredictable
results may occur. If you are using Windows 3.0, you must also add
the line InDosPolling=1 to the [386Enh] section of the SYSTEM.INI
file. Please refer to your Microsoft Windows documentation for the
procedures to change the SYSTEM.INI file.
Quarterdeck DESQview
CacheAll must be loaded before DESQview, not under a DESQview task.
Loading CacheAll in a task may cause unpredictable results.
Artisoft LANtastic
When loading CacheAll on a LANtastic network, you must load CacheAll
after all network components; this includes REDIR and SERVER. Loading
CacheAll before the SERVER may cause unpredictable results.
Novell Netware
When loading CacheAll on a Netware network, you must load CacheAll
after the NET component. Loading CacheAll before the NET component
may cause unpredictable results.
Other networks
When loading CacheAll on a network, you should load it after all
network components. Loading CacheAll before the network components
may cause unpredictable results.
Street Atlas USA Version 1.0
Street Atlas USA has a single very large file called WEST.DAT. To
take full advantage of CacheAll, BLOCKSIZE must be greater than 7. If
BLOCKSIZE is not greater than 7 only part of WEST.DAT will be cached.
Disk compression programs
When using disk compression programs, be sure not to place the swap
file (specified with the DISKPATH option; see CacheAll options
section for full details of the DISKPATH option) on a compressed
volume. If you do put the swap file on a compressed volume,
unpredictable results may occur. Remember: the effective swap file
size will change and possibly overflow the volume of a compressed
drive. For this reason placing any swap file, such as Microsoft's
Windows swap file, on a compressed should be avoided!
SCSI Drives
CacheAll v1.0e does not support double buffering. If you own a SCSI
drive which requires double buffering, you must run double buffering
software with CacheAll.
Silver Platter and other CD-ROM based retrieval systems
To cache CD-ROMs with CacheAll your software may need to be set for
networks regardless if CD-ROM is local. Use CUtil's LIST command to
determine if CacheAll requires this configuration change. If very
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 9
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
few or no files are listed with the CUtil LIST command, you should
try to have your retrieval system set up as if it is on a network.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Software Installation
This SECTION takes you step by step through the CacheAll installation
procedure. CacheAll's installation program is very easy to use since
CacheAll is a "smart" program which eliminates complicated installation
procedures:
Each time your computer is restarted CacheAll analyzes your system
and reconfigures itself appropriately. This allows you to make future
changes to your system, including adding CD-ROMs and network drives
WITHOUT EVER HAVING TO MAKE ANY CHANGES TO CacheAll! Simply install
and enjoy CacheAll's increase of your systems performance!
The install procedure consists of a series of display screens which
are described in the following text. If at any time during the
installation you are not sure how to answer, simply press ENTER to accept
the default selection.
Preparing Your System For CacheAll
This section discusses a few tasks which are necessary before
installing CacheAll.
It is good practice to backup all of your writable storage devices
whenever making a change to your system. CacheAll does not harm the
information contained on these devices but it is good practice to back
them up in any case. Please refer to your DOS manual for backup
instructions if you do not already have a method to backup your system.
If you are currently using a DOS version earlier than DOS 3.3 then
you will have to upgrade in order to use CacheAll. If you are not using
DOS 5.0 or later and were thinking of upgrading then do so before
installing CacheAll to take advantage of the many benefits over previous
DOS versions, especially memory management facilities which CacheAll will
take full advantage of.
About INSTALL
The CacheAll installation program is designed to automatically
determine your hardware configuration. First it will attempt to determine
the type of video display you have. Whether you have a monochrome or color
display, it will automatically adjust to display the best view for that
particular type of video hardware.
CacheAll's INSTALL program is "mousable", which means that if a mouse
is connected to your system, you can use it to make selections within the
dialog boxes. (If you wish to use your mouse and the mouse cursor does not
appear when INSTALL has started, it should look like a small square block
in the upper left hand corner, make sure your mouse driver is properly
loaded. Refer to the documentation for your mouse regarding the loading
procedure.) To make selections without the mouse you may move between the
offered selections by pressing Tab or Shift-Tab followed by the ENTER key.
You may also use the "hot keys" which are described in the following text.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 11
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
You must have at least 200Kb of conventional memory available before
running the CacheAll installation program.
Starting INSTALL
Some notes before starting:
- We assume you are installing CacheAll from your A: drive. If you
choose to install from another drive simply replace all the following
references to A: with the proper reference for the drive you are
using, such as B:.
- When you see the text ENTER it means to press the Enter key. At any
time during the installation, the Esc or Escape key will abort the
installation and return you to the DOS prompt.
- INSTALL will present you with a sequence of "dialog boxes" which
allow you to enter necessary information and, make choices as to how
you wish to proceed to the next dialog box. To move between the
selections offered by each dialog box you may press Tab or Shift-Tab.
Press ENTER to accept a selection.
- To begin the installation of CacheAll, create an installation
diskette by placing the evaluation software onto a floppy disk and do
the following:
1. Put the installation disk into your A: drive.
2. Type: A: ENTER
This will change your default disk drive to the A: drive.
3. Type: INSTALL ENTER
This will execute the installation program for CacheAll
After you complete step 3, it will take a few moments to start the
installation program.
At this point, you will enter the directory into which you want to
install the CacheAll files. If you want to accept the default directory of
C:\CACHEALL, simply press ENTER. If you want a different directory, enter
it now and press ENTER.
If the directory you entered does not exist, you will be prompted
with a dialog box. Note that in some cases it may be necessary to create
the directory BEFORE running the installation software, although this
situation is very rare.
If the directory specified in this dialog box is correct, press the
ENTER key or press the Y key. If the directory specified in this dialog
box is not correct, press the N key. When you press the N key, the
installation program will return you to the screen which asks for the
installation directory. This will give you another chance to select the
directory to install CacheAll into.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 12
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
After the installation program creates the selected directory, you
will be asked if your computer is a standalone computer or is connected to
a network. If your computer IS NOT connected to a network press Y, press N
if this computer is connected to a network. Be sure to select YES if you
are not certain how to answer!
After selecting the installation type, INSTALL will display the
Registration Information dialog box. At this point you should be sure your
printer is turned on. (If you do not have a printer, you may save this
information in a file that can be printed later).
To move between the fields, use Tab to move to the next field and the
Shift-Tab key to move to the previous field. You must complete all
requested information (name, company, address 1, address 2, city, state,
zip, phone, fax). If you do not have a company name or a fax number, you
may leave those entries blank.
Once you have completed all fields, you have three choices. You can:
1. Print out the registration form.
Press Alt-P (hold down the Alt key and press the letter P).
2. Save the registration form to disk and print later.
Press Alt-S (hold down the Alt key and press the letter S). This
will save the registration information to the file CACHEALL.REG
in the directory you specified on the first screen of the
installation program.
3. Cancel the installation and return to DOS.
Press Alt-C (hold down the Alt key and press the letter C).
If you elect to print the registration form now, you will see a
dialog box which allows you to select the printer port to print the
registration form to.
To select the printer port, use the up and down arrow keys until
desired printer port is highlighted. If your printer is installed on LPT1:
(printer port number 1), you can just press Alt-P or ENTER and the
registration form will be printed. To make "last minute" changes to your
registration information, you may return to that screen by pressing Alt-C.
Seal the registration form in an envelope and mail to:
C&D Programming Corp.
User Registration (CA10EVAL)
P.O. Box 1305
Brentwood, NY 11717
Do this right away or, FAX it to us at (516)434-7603 right away!
While sending the registration form to C&D, the installation program
will be copying the CacheAll program files to the directory you specified.
While the files are being copied you will see a status screen which shows
you how far the installation process has proceeded.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 13
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
You must now decide if you want to update your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
Updating this file, by pressing ENTER, will cause CacheAll to
automatically start each time you turn your computer on. If you do not
update the file by pressing ALT-N, CacheAll must be started manually by
running the RUNCA.BAT file in the CacheAll directory (When starting
CacheAll manually be sure to do so AFTER all device drivers, redirectors
and network software is installed!).
At this point, installation is almost complete. All that remains is
to review the README.TXT file which contains important information
regarding CacheAll. INSTALL displays this file for you and allows you to
scroll through the file by using the arrow keys. Should you wish to view
this information after the installation program ends, you can use the DOS
"TYPE", DOS "PRINT" command or the DOS 5.0 "EDIT" command.
You have now completed the installation of CacheAll, The Cache of the
90's. By rebooting your computer you will experience the tremendous
benefits CacheAll provides!
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 14
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
BEGINNERS: CacheAll is SMART!
CacheAll is very user friendly to beginners. Since unlike other
programs CacheAll is capable of configuring itself, you just install and
enjoy it without doing any more work! CacheAll will even automatically
detect the installation of a new storage device, such as a CD-ROM, hard
drive, network drive, etc., without your changing CacheAll in any way!
CacheAll is an especially powerful program which provides many
features not found in any other program. Because CacheAll is so powerful,
CacheAll automatically sets it's own options for novice users. When
changes are made to your system, by you or the programs you run, CacheAll
will detect these changes and reconfigure itself automatically so that you
don't have to!
More advanced users should note that you are always free to override
one or all of CacheAll's automatic features. Refer to the CacheAll Options
Section to find out how to make these changes.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Running CacheAll
The installation program will create a batch file called RUNCA.BAT in
the directory specified during the installation procedure. This batch file
contains all the information necessary to run CacheAll and will be called
by your AUTOEXEC.BAT file (unless you told the installation program not to
modify your AUTOEXEC.BAT file).
While customizing certain parameter values for your particular system
can sometimes lead to increased performance, the average user should find
the automatic settings to be quite acceptable.
Note that, depending on how you installed CacheAll RUNCA.BAT will use
STDALONE.OPT (for standalone installations) or NETWORK.OPT (for network
installations). When infrequently using a network you may wish to consider
using a batch file to switch back and forth between the appropriate OPT
file.
The section titled CacheAll Options describes all the available
parameters of CacheAll. Again, it is not necessary to use these parameters
unless you would like to fine tune the performance of CacheAll.
Unloading CacheAll
CacheAll can be unloaded from memory by running the CACHEALL.EXE
program with the parameter UNLOAD (or the abbreviation U). To do this you
must make sure you are in the subdirectory which contains CacheAll. For
this reason, you may want to consider adding CacheAll to your PATH. For
example, if you specify the command:
C:\CACHEALL\CACHEALL UNLOAD
from the DOS command line, CacheAll will unload itself from memory. Note
that if CacheAll is not the last program loaded into memory, CacheAll will
be deactivated but will remain in your system's memory until your computer
is turned off or rebooted.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 16
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
CacheAll Options
Spaces are not allowed, except between options. Example valid command
lines are:
CACHEALL MEMSIZE=8192 BLOCKSIZE=4 VERBOSE
CACHEALL MS=8192 BS=4 V
These lines are identical in CacheAll and signify a memory size of 8192Kb
(MEMSIZE=8192 or MS=8192) and a block size of 4096 bytes (BLOCKSIZE=4 or
BS=4). It will also show all CacheAll settings upon startup (VERBOSE or
V).
NOTE: Numeric parameters always signify kilobytes.
CACHEALL MEMSIZE=4000 BLOCKSIZE=4 DISKSIZE=5000
CACHEALL MS=4000 BS=4 DS=5000
These lines are identical in CacheAll and signify a memory size of 4000Kb
(MEMSIZE=4000 or MS=4000), a disk size of 5000Kb (DISKSIZE=5000 or
DS=5000) and a block size of 4096 bytes (BLOCKSIZE=4 or BS=4).
NOTE: Numeric parameters always signify kilobytes.
Options which have a value after the equal sign must not include
spaces around the equal sign. Adjacent options must have at least once
space separating them.
You can create an option file to store your most commonly used
parameters. See the section titled Creating a CacheAll Option File for
full details.
The next several pages detail each of CacheAll's command line
options. Each page consists of the option name in large bold characters
followed by a series of sections describing the option.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 17
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
ALLFILES
** USE THIS OPTION WITH EXTREME CAUTION! **
Shortcut: AF
Example: ALLFILES=C-ER
This will tell CacheAll to cache all files on drives C
through E (C,D,E), and R.
Default: CacheAll automatically sets this option for all local
CD-ROM drives.
Details: If this option is set on a networked drive, loss of data
can occur on that drive! Example: Using 2 networked
personal computers as an example, if PC 1 reads some part
of a file (which then becomes cache data in CacheAll) just
before PC 2 writes to the same file, CacheAll's cache data
on PC 1 does not reflect the file changes made by PC 2!
Notes: It may be necessary to manually set this option when using
CD-ROMs over a network.
BLOCKSIZE
Shortcut: BS
Example: BLOCKSIZE=4
This will tell CacheAll to use a 4Kbytes block size for
managing its internal cache.
Default: Automatically chosen to minimize overall memory usage.
Notes: Setting BLOCKSIZE to it's maximum value of 16 WILL NOT
necessarily give maximum CacheAll performance! To tweak
this option, slowly raise and lower BLOCKSIZE setting until
maximum performance is achieved.
DISKPATH
Shortcut: DP
Example: DISKPATH=D:\TEMP
This will tell CacheAll that you want the disk cache swap
file to be stored in the TEMP directory on the D drive.
Default: C:\ is the default path.
Details: Place the swap file on a local hard drive and avoid
compressed disks (such as a Stacker volume) and network
drives since loss of data may result.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 18
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
DISKSIZE
Shortcut: DS
Example: DISKSIZE=6000
This will tell CacheAll to use 6000 Kilobytes (Kb) (6
Megabytes) for its swap file.
Default: Automatically chosen based on free disk space -- equal to
50% of free disk space up to 4 Megabytes.
Choices: Any number from 0 through 64000.
Notes: MEMSIZE + DISKSIZE can not exceed 64 Megabytes.
DRIVES
Shortcut: D
Example: DRIVES=FN-PR-T
This will tell CacheAll to cache only drives F, N through P
(N,O,P) and R through T (R,S,T).
Default: All non-removable drives found in your system are cached
(as determined at startup of CacheAll).
Choices: Any drive letters from A through Z.
Details: Even if you use one of the other drive selection options
(ALLFILES or FAST), you must still specify the drive letter
using the DRIVES option. You can think of the DRIVES option
as the "complete set of drives which CacheAll will cache."
Notes: Removable drives, such as floppies, will not be cached by
CacheAll unless you specifically tell CacheAll to do so
with the DRIVES option. CD-ROMs are not considered to be
removable.
FAST
Shortcut: F
Example: FAST=C-EM
This will tell CacheAll not to use the swap file to cache
drives C through E (C,D,E) and M.
Default: All local drives found in your system, except CD-ROMs, are
treated as FAST.
Choices: Any drive letters from A through Z.
Details: Properly setting FAST helps avoid the potentially wasteful
situation of caching a hard drive to the swap file and
dedicates your swap file to slower (relative to the drive
upon which the swap file is placed) storage devices such as
CD-ROMs and network drives.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 19
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
HELP
Shortcut: H or ?
Example: HELP
Details: This option causes CacheAll to show the help screen listing
all available CacheAll options.
MAXFILES
Shortcut: MF
Example: MAXFILES=200
This tells CacheAll to keep cache information for a maximum
of 200 files.
Default: This option varies depending on the cache sizes specified
in MEMSIZE, DISKSIZE, and BLOCKSIZE.
Choices: Number must be equal to or greater than the number of FILES
specified on the FILES= line in your CONFIG.SYS (we suggest
setting FILES=30 and BUFFERS=10 if no such lines appear in
your CONFIG.SYS). This option is allowed a maximum value of
400 files.
MEMSIZE
Shortcut: MS
Example: MEMSIZE=2048
Tells CacheAll to use 2048 Kilobytes (Kb) or 2 Megabytes
(Mb) for its memory cache.
Default: Automatic memory cache size is 25% of your available
Extended, XMS or EMS. CacheAll will search in that order,
and will take 25% of whichever memory it finds first.
CacheAll may be forced to use a specific memory type using
the MEMTYPE option.
Choices: Any number from 64 through 64000.
Notes: MEMSIZE + DISKSIZE can not exceed 64 Megabytes.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 20
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
MEMTYPE
Shortcut: MT
Example: MEMTYPE=EXTENDED
Tells CacheAll to use extended memory for the memory cache.
Default: CacheAll will search for all types of memory. It will
search memory types in this order:
1. extended
2. XMS
3. EMS
The first memory type found will be used to satisfy the
MEMSIZE setting.
Choices: The available choices are EXTENDED, XMS and EMS.
Details: If you are not using a memory manager, such as QEMM or
EMM386, you will be forced to use extended memory since no
other memory type is available.
MPX
Shortcut: MPX
Example: MPX=C8
This specifies a multiplex id of C8.
Default: CacheAll will search for the first available multiplex id
starting from C0.
Choices: The valid choices are C0 through FF (it is specified as a
hexadecimal number).
Details: Other applications, such as Microsoft Windows, use the
multiplex id extensively and if a multiplex id conflict
does occur, this is how you would change it.
SMALLFILES
Shortcut: SF
Example: SMALLFILES=Y
Default: Y is the default for this option.
Choices: The available choices are Y to have CacheAll cache all
small files or N to have CacheAll ignore all small files.
Details: If use have an application which opens many small files
only once (such as Norton Desktop for Windows or Microsoft
Windows), you might want to set SMALLFILES=N. CUtil's LIST
command can be used to determine if small files are
monopolizing the cache and so SMALLFILES should be set to
N.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 21
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
UNLOAD
Shortcut: U
Example: UNLOAD
Tells CacheAll to remove itself from memory.
Details: This option is used to unload CacheAll from memory. If
CacheAll was not the last program loaded into memory, it
will be disabled but not removed from memory. In either
case, CacheAll will stop caching data.
VERBOSE
Shortcut: V
Example: VERBOSE
Tells CacheAll to report the value of all options after
startup.
Default: This option is turned off by default
Details: This option causes CacheAll to display all of the option
settings when it starts up.
@
Shortcut: There is no shortcut for this option since it is only one
character.
Example: @CACHEALL.OPT
This will tell CacheAll to read its options from the file
CACHEALL.OPT in the current directory.
Details: This option allows you to specify the filename of an option
file which will provide the desired options settings for
CacheAll instead of their being typed on the command line.
In some cases this option will be a convenience, in other
cases an option file must be created because the command
line will not provide enough space to enter all the
necessary options. For full details on creating an option
file, see the section titled Creating a CacheAll Option
File.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 22
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
;
Shortcut: There is no shortcut for this option since it is only one
character.
Example: ; This is a comment
The above represents a comment section of a line in an
option file.
Default: There is no default for this option.
Details: This option allows comments to be placed in your option
file. When processing an option file the semicolon and all
characters following it on a line are ignored. It is
acceptable to place comments on the same line as option
settings so long as the comments are placed after (to the
right of) the option setting on that line. For full details
on creating an option file, see the section titled Creating
a CacheAll Option File.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 23
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
CacheAll Option File
CacheAll allows the use of an option file to specify the settings of
it's options. The option file is a DOS TEXT file which contains a list of
option settings for the CacheAll program. The CacheAll option file makes
it easy to maintain a list of custom parameters. These files can be
created with any text file editor such as DOS's EDLIN or EDIT (for DOS
5.0+ users). The following is a sample option file:
; Sample CacheAll Option file
DRIVES=A-Z
FAST=C-EG
AF=R ; This option tells CacheAll to cache ALL files on R:
MS=4000 ; This option tells CacheAll to use 4000Kb for the
; cache.
DS=8000
; The below option tells CacheAll to display complete startup
; info
VERBOSE
Key points to notice in the example above:
- Comments may be used anywhere as long as a semi-colon is placed
before the comment text.
- Both full commands and abbreviations can be used
- Only one option may be specified per line. If you specify more
than one option per line, an error will result.
To use an option file, run CacheAll as follows:
CACHEALL @C:\CACHEALL\CACHEALL.OPT
This command line will load CacheAll with an option file called
C:\CACHEALL\CACHEALL.OPT. The @ followed by a filename tells CacheAll to
read all the options from that file.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 24
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
CacheAll Error Messages
BLOCKSIZE must be between 2-16.
Reason: Occurs when you specify a BLOCKSIZE outside the valid range
for BLOCKSIZE.
Solution: Let CacheAll decide on the optimal BLOCKSIZE or choose a
value which is between 2 and 16, inclusive.
CacheAll is already installed.
Reason: Occurs when you try to load CacheAll after CacheAll has
already been loaded. CacheAll will not load itself more
than once.
Solution: If you want to reconfigure the parameters, use the UNLOAD
option to remove CacheAll from memory (the UNLOAD option
will release memory if CacheAll was the last
memory-resident program loaded, therefore remove other
programs before UNLOADing CacheAll) then "reload" (rerun)
CacheAll with the desired option settings.
Notes: Do not try to unload CacheAll from within Windows, a DOS
shell or other operating environment. Doing so may cause
your system to "hang".
CacheAll is not installed!
Reason: Occurs when an error occurs during the startup of CacheAll.
Solution: If you see this message, there are probably other error
messages shown. Refer to this section for details on the
other error messages. Once you fix the other errors this
error should disappear.
Cache exceeds max allowable pages. Cache truncated. To use a larger cache
increase the BLOCKSIZE.
Reason: Occurs when MEMSIZE and DISKSIZE are too large for the
specified BLOCKSIZE.
Solution: Do not specify a BLOCKSIZE, let CacheAll automatically
choose a block size for acceptable values of MEMSIZE and
DISKSIZE values.
Notes: If you want to know complete details, refer to the
commerical CacheAll manual.
Drive x is not valid
Reason: Occurs when swap file is placed on an invalid drive.
Solution: Check the DISKPATH option to ensure the pathname specified
is valid.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 25
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
EMS driver is not responding. Tables will be in real memory.
Reason: Occurs when CacheAll cannot find any EMS memory.
Solution: To provide EMS memory, a memory manager such as QEMM or
EMM386 must be installed.
Notes: Lack of EMS memory will not affect CacheAll's operation but
additional conventional memory will be used. When using a
memory manager CacheAll will take as little at 22Kb of
conventional memory, and can be loaded high.
Error (xxx) reading parameter file!
Reason: Occurs when CacheAll cannot read the option file specified
with the @ option. The xxx will be replaced by the DOS
error when CacheAll attempted to open and read the file.
The most common errors will be 2 (File not found) or 5
(Access denied).
Solution: Check the filename specified for the option file to ensure
that it is valid and that CacheAll has exclusive access to
it (ie. be sure the file is not being used by another
network user).
Error allocating cache pages.
Solution: Contact C&D Programming's technical support staff.
Error allocating file list.
Solution: Contact C&D Programming's technical support staff.
Error allocating EMS memory.
Reason: Occurs when CacheAll is told to use EMS memory but CacheAll
cannot find such memory.
Solution: Try using another type of memory (by using the MEMTYPE
option) or ensure that a memory manager is properly loaded
and providing EMS memory.
Error finding page frame.
Solution: Contact C&D Programming's technical support staff.
Incorrect DOS Version! Need DOS 3.30 or above.
Reason: Occurs when trying to run CacheAll using a version of DOS
before version 3.30.
Solution: Upgrade to DOS 3.3 or higher.
Invalid option 'xxx'
Reason: Occurs when an invalid option is specified on the command
line or in the option file.
Solution: Check the command line parameters you have entered and try
running CacheAll again. When using an option file, be sure
all options within the file are valid and all comment lines
are prefixed with a semi-colon.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 26
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Minimum files being allocated in REAL memory.
Reason: Occurs when CacheAll cannot fit all of its internal tables
into EMS memory.
Solution: Let CacheAll automatically choose the BLOCKSIZE value.
Notes: When specifying a very large cache, greater than 40Mb,
raising the value of BLOCKSIZE will probably not eliminate
this error and in this case the error may be ignored. If
the desired cache size is less than 40Mb, CacheAll will
choose a BLOCKSIZE which will place all internal tables
into EMS.
Must have a MEMSIZE of at least 64.
Reason: Occurs when MEMSIZE is specified to be less than 64.
Solution: Only use MEMSIZE settings from 64 to 64000 or let CacheAll
choose the MEMSIZE automatically.
Multiplex Id xxx is already in use.
Reason: Occurs when the specified MPX is already in use.
Solution: Let CacheAll choose the MPX value automatically. In most
cases CacheAll will choose an MPX which is available and
does not conflict with other software.
Multiplex Id must be between C0-FF.
Reason: Occurs when a multiplex id (specified with the MPX option)
is outside the valid range of C0 through FF.
Solution: Let CacheAll choose its own MPX or respecify the MPX
between the C0 through FF range, as a hexadecimal number.
No available Multiplex Ids.
Solution: Contact C&D Programming's technical support staff.
No Room in EMS page frame for ID Buffer.
Reason: Occurs when CacheAll cannot fit all of its internal tables
into EMS memory.
Solution: Let CacheAll automatically choose the BLOCKSIZE value.
Notes: When specifying a very large cache, greater than 40Mb,
raising the value of BLOCKSIZE will probably not eliminate
this error and in this case the error may be ignored. If
the desired cache size is less than 40Mb, CacheAll will
choose a BLOCKSIZE which will place all internal tables
into EMS.
No swap file!! Error (xxx)
Reason: Occurs when CacheAll cannot create a swap file.
Solution: Be sure the pathname specified in the DISKPATH option is
valid and enough disk space is available for the value
specified in the DISKSIZE option.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 27
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Not enough room in EMS page frame for File List.
Reason: Occurs when CacheAll cannot fit all of its internal tables
into EMS memory.
Solution: Let CacheAll automatically choose the BLOCKSIZE value.
Notes: When specifying a very large cache, greater than 40Mb,
raising the value of BLOCKSIZE will probably not eliminate
this error and in this case the error may be ignored. If
the desired cache size is less than 40Mb, CacheAll will
choose a BLOCKSIZE which will place all internal tables
into EMS.
Not enough room in EMS page frame for Handle List.
Reason: Occurs when CacheAll cannot fit all of its internal tables
into EMS memory.
Solution: Let CacheAll automatically choose the BLOCKSIZE value.
Notes: When specifying a very large cache, greater than 40Mb,
raising the value of BLOCKSIZE will probably not eliminate
this error. If the desired cache size is less than 40Mb,
CacheAll will choose a BLOCKSIZE which will place all
internal tables into EMS.
Out of Disk Space. Swap file has been disabled.
Reason: Occurs when CacheAll determines there is not enough disk
space to create a swap file.
Solution: You should free some disk space for the swap file or
designate a smaller swap file with the DISKSIZE option.
Out of Memory!! Error (xxx)
Reason: Occurs when CacheAll can not allocate enough memory to
satisfy the options specified.
Solution: Free up some memory (extended, EMS, or XMS) and try running
CacheAll again. If possible add more memory to your
computer. If neither of these solutions work, lower the
value specified with MEMSIZE.
Warning!!! swap file drive is not a local hard disk. This may result in
slower response times.
Reason: This error message occurs when the DISKPATH option points
to a drive which is not local (such as a network drive).
Solution: No change is necessary. This is only a warning message. If
you want to get the greatest performance from CacheAll, you
should put the swap file on the fastest storage device you
have available (usually your local hard drive).
You may have a maximum of xxx files. Decreasing files.
Reason: Occurs when MAXFILES is specified to be greater than 400.
Solution: Reduce MAXFILES setting to less than 400.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 28
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
CUtil(TM) Introduction
CUtil, which stands for CacheAll Utility, provides an interface to
the CacheAll program. CUtil is used to view and control CacheAll's
operation. CUtil provides the following:
- Display of CacheAll statistics, such as Read Hit Rate, etc.
- Resetting CacheAll statistics
- Flushing CacheAll's cache
- Display current CacheAll parameters
- Modification of certain CacheAll parameters
- Enabling and disabling the swap file
- View which files CacheAll is caching and to what efficiency
Just as we have made CacheAll easy to use by giving it the power to
automatically examine your system and set it's own parameters, CUtil
automatically detects whether it is run under DOS or Windows and provides
a different operating mode for each. In the following section, the DOS
and Windows modes of CUtil will be discussed.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 29
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
CUtil for DOS
The DOS mode of CUtil has several command line parameters which are:
FLUSH
Flushes specified drives from CacheAll's memory
HELP
Displays a short help screen of the command line options
LIST
Displays the list of files which are currently being cached
by CacheAll, and the hit rate for each file
PARAMS
Displays the current parameters for CacheAll
RESET
Resets the CacheAll's statistics
STATS
Displays the current CacheAll statistics (this option is
assumed when no options are specified)
SWAPFILE
Allows enabling or disabling of CacheAll's swap file
Note that if no parameter is specified on the command line the STATS
parameter is assumed.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 30
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
CUtil Options
The next section describes all the options that CUtil supports. These
command line options are valid only when CUtil is running in DOS mode. In
Windows mode CUtil uses menus to implement the available options. Windows
mode is documented in the section titled "CUtil for Windows." Unlike
CacheAll, CUtil allows only one option on its command line. Some example
command lines are:
CUTIL FLUSH=D-G
CUTIL F=D-G
These lines are identical in CUtil. They tell CUtil to flush all
cache data for drives D through G, (drives D:, E:, F:, G:).
CUTIL PARAMS
CUTIL P
These lines are identical in CUtil. They tell CUtil to display the
current value of CacheAll's options. Note that options which have a value
after the equal sign must not include spaces around the equal sign. Note
that if no option is specified on CUtil's command line then CUtil will
assume the STATS option is desired.
The next several pages detail each of CUtil's command line options.
Each page consists of the option name in large bold characters followed by
a series of sections describing the option.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 31
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
FLUSH
Shortcut: F
Example: F=CE-G
This command will flush cache data originating from drives
C:, E:, F:, and G:.
Choices: Any drive letter from A through Z. To specify all drives a
wildcard of * is also allowed.
Details: To flush all cache data specify the command line as:
F=* or FLUSH=*
HELP
Shortcut: H or ?
Example: HELP
This command will display a short help screen which lists
all the commands CUtil supports.
LIST
Shortcut: L
Example: LIST
Details: This command will display the list of files which are
currently being cached by CacheAll along with the following
information for each file,
1) number of bytes read while file was in the cache
2) hit rate, percentage of requested bytes read from
cache.
3) size in bytes
4) filename (including complete path)
PARAMS
Shortcut: P
Example: PARAMS
This command will display the current value of CacheAll
options.
Details: All CacheAll command line options will be displayed.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 32
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
RESET
Shortcut: R
Example: RESET
This command will reset the CacheAll's statistics.
Details: The statistics which are reset are Read Requests, Read
Hits, and Read Hit Rate.
STATS
Shortcut: S
Example: STATS
This command will show the current statistics for CacheAll.
Details: If you run CUtil for DOS without specifying any command
line options, the STATS option is assumed.
SWAPFILE
Shortcut: S
Example: SWAPFILE=E
This command will enable the swap file.
Choices: The available choices are E for enabling swap file and D
for disabling swap file.
Details: This option allows you to enable and disable the use of the
swap file "on the fly". Occasionally you might run into an
application which is time-critical, such as full motion
video. If time is taken to write data to the swap file,
your time-critical application might not work as desired.
In this case, you can leave CacheAll running, but disable
all the swap file activity. Another way to eliminate
possible undesirable effects is to be sure to place the
swap file on your fastest drive.
Notes: If a DISKSIZE of zero was specified on the CacheAll command
line, this option cannot be used.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 33
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
CUtil for Windows
CUtil for Windows takes advantage of Microsoft Windows by providing
graphical option settings and a "real-time" statistics display. With CUtil
you can see CacheAll in action while you read and write to your cached
drives! To add CUtil's icon to Windows, follow the steps below. These
instruction assume the default directory settings were chosen during the
installation procedure, if you didn't make this selection then you must
specify the directory in which CacheAll is installed:
- If you are in the Windows environment:
1) Activate the Program Manager window
2) Select the File menu.
3) Select the Run option.
4) Type: C:\CACHEALL\MAKEGRP
5) Click on the OK button.
6) Once MAKEGRP starts, just follow the on-screen
prompts.
- If you are not running Windows:
1) Execute the following command from the DOS prompt
while in your windows directory:
WIN C:\CACHEALL\MAKEGRP
2) Press ENTER
3) Once MAKEGRP starts, just follow the on-screen
prompts.
Executing CUtil for Windows
When CUtil is executed under Windows the current CacheAll statistics
will be displayed. Each field of this display gives important information
about the current state of CacheAll. These fields are summarized below:
- Memory Total
The total cache memory CacheAll has allocated. This number is
specified by the MEMSIZE option on the CacheAll command line. If you
do not specify the option, CacheAll will automatically choose a
value.
- Memory Avail
The amount of memory left for use by CacheAll. This number will
always be less than or equal to Memory Total. The amount of memory in
use would be Memory Total minus Memory Avail.
- Disk Total
The size of the swap file on your disk. This number is specified by
the DISKSIZE option on the CacheAll command line. If you do not
specify DISKSIZE, CacheAll will automatically choose a value.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 34
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Disk Avail
The amount of swap file space left for use by CacheAll. This number
will always be less than or equal to Disk Total. The amount of swap
file space in use would be Disk Total minus Disk Avail.
- File Total
The maximum number of files CacheAll can manage at one time. This
number is specified by the MAXFILES option on the CacheAll command
line. If you do not specify the option, CacheAll will automatically
choose a value.
- File Avail
The number of file slots available for use by CacheAll. If this
number goes to zero (or close to zero) you may want to specify a
larger value for the MAXFILES option to increase performance.
- Read Requests
Number of bytes which were read through CacheAll. This includes reads
from all drives specified in the CacheAll DRIVES command line option.
If you do not specify the DRIVES option, CacheAll will intelligently
select which drives to cache.
- Read Hits
When some data is requested which is already stored in the cache
memory, it is called a hit. The Read Hits value represents the number
of bytes which were read from the data cached by CacheAll. The closer
this value is to the Read Requests value, the more CacheAll is
increasing your performance.
- Read Hit Rate
The percentage of read hits. This is simply the Read Hits divided by
the Read Requests. The closer this value is to 100%, the more
CacheAll is increasing your performance.
CUtil for Windows File Menu
- Exit
Exit is included for compatibility with all other Windows
applications (and for those of you that are used to pressing Alt-F
then X to exit a Windows program). Selecting Exit will cause the
CUtil session to be closed, you may also use Alt-X to exit CUtil for
Windows.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 35
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
CUtil for Windows Options Menu
The Options menu contains most of the "good stuff" which CUtil can
do. Each option is discussed in detail on the following pages.
- Select Drives to Flush...
This option will show a dialog box with a check box for each drive.
You can select the drives you want to flush by clicking next to or on
top of the desired drive letter. When you are through selecting
drives, click on the "OK" button. If you decide not to flush any
drives, press the "Cancel" button. If you want to clear all your
drive selections, you can use the "Clear All" button. If you want to
select all the drives, you can use the Select All button. If you want
to flush all the drives, you should use the "Flush All Drives"
option, since it is easier to select.
- Flush All Drives
Choosing Flush All Drives results in a conformation box. This option
will flush all cache data from the cache but before doing so you will
be asked if you really want to flush all data. If you click on the
Yes button, all cache data will be flushed. If you click on the No
button, you will return to CUtil with all cached data still in
CacheAll.
- Reset Statistics
This option will reset the statistics which CUtil displays. This is
useful if you want to see how much CacheAll improves the execution of
a specific application. The information which is reset is the Read
Requests, Read Hits, and Read Hit Rate.
- Parameters
This option allows you to see, but not change, CacheAll's current
settings. When you select this option, you will see a dialog box
outlining each CacheAll option and its current value (Notice that
each option displayed in this dialog box refers to an option used on
the CacheAll command line).
For the items which appear in the "Drive Selection" group box, you
will notice buttons which say "Click here to view". When you click on
one of these buttons a dialog box is displayed along with the
currently selected drives for that option.
- Swap File Active
The Swap File option will be in either of two states, active (on) or
inactive (off). This option will either activate or deactivate the
use of the swap file by CacheAll. If a small checkmark appears next
to the menu option, that means the swap file is active, and when
CacheAll decides data needs to be pushed from cache memory into the
swap file, it will do so. If there is no checkmark next to the menu
option, CacheAll will behave as if no swap file was defined.
Why would you want to disable the swap file? If a swap file is being
used by CacheAll, the drives not specified by the FAST option will be
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 36
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
cached to the swap file. If you are also running a time sensitive
application from one of these "slow" drives then the added delay of
CacheAll writes to the swap file may be undesirable. Disabling the
swap file will stop the added delay of the writes to the swap file.
You may also wish to consider placing the swap file on a faster drive
to reduce the delay instead of disabling the swap file.
- Refresh Rate
This option allows you to change the update rate of CUtil's
statistics display. The default rate is once every 5 seconds, and you
may choose a value from 1 to 60 seconds.
CUtil for Windows Help Menu
- About
This box shows version and copyright information.
- Product Support
Choosing Product Support will show you information on how to get
product support, including C&D Programming Corp.'s telephone number.
This dialog box will also show your serial number and the name you
entered during the installation process.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 37
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Technical Specifications
Benchmarks
Tests 1 & 2 are network drive benchmarks using the industry standard
PC Magazine LAN Labs Benchmark Version 3.03 with a one megabyte file size
test (All numbers are megabits per second), 2 Meg RAM cache and 0 Meg swap
file. Although not included, similar performance increases from local hard
drives have been measured. Test 3 shows CD-ROM benchmark results using
Aris Entertainment's MPC Wizard CD-ROM test. (All numbers are kilobytes
per second).
1) The setup for test 1 was a 386/40Mhz PC workstation connected
with an Artisoft AE-2 Ethernet adapter to a 486/33Mhz LANtastic
Server. This test shows CacheAll to improve the workstation's
network drive access speed by 411%.
2) The setup for test 2 was a 386/25Mhz PC workstation connected
with a Xircom PE10B2-32K parallel port adapter to a 486/33Mhz
LANtastic Server. This test shows CacheAll to improve the
workstation's network drive access speed by 1759%.
3) The setup for test 3 was a 386/25Mhz PC with a local Mitsumi
CD-ROM drive (600 millisecond seek time and 150Kbytes/sec
sustained throughput). This test shows CacheAll to improve the
PC's local CD-ROM access speed by 2607%.
Cache Size
A maximum cache size of 64 Megabytes can be implemented. The 64
Megabytes may be implemented totally in RAM, almost totally in a swap file
(minimum MEMSIZE setting is 64 Kilobytes) or, may be partitioned between
RAM and a swap file.
Operating Systems
MS-DOS 3.3+ and DR DOS 5.x+ are supported.
Operating Environments
DOS, Windows 3.0 and 3.1 and DESQview are supported.
Microprocessor Compatibility
80286, 80386, 80486 and all 100% compatibles are supported.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 38
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Program Size
The program size for CacheAll varies depending on the parameters used
at startup. In general, when CacheAll is loaded using a memory manager
(such as Quarterdeck's QEMM or DOS 5.0+'s EMM386) which provides EMS
memory, CacheAll will use 22Kb of conventional and 96Kb of EMS. Loading in
the presence of a memory manager is the recommended configuration. If you
do not have a memory manager, CacheAll will use from 59Kb to 159Kb of
conventional memory depending on the configuration. To eliminate
conventional memory usage, CacheAll can be loaded high, using a memory
manager.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 39
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Caching only specific drive directories
Through the use of DOS's substitute command ("SUBST.EXE") CacheAll
may be configured to cache only part of a drive. Use CUtil's LIST command
to determine which drive directories will benefit most by caching. Next,
use DOS to substitute an unused drive letter for the directory to be
cached. By caching the substituted drive and not the original drive, you
focus the caching resources on files which will show the most benefit when
cached. Be sure to properly set the LASTDRIVE option inside CONFIG.SYS to
create "free" drive letters.
Example: You wish to cache your entire D: drive but only the "MYSTUFF"
directory of your C: drive. One method would be:
1) Include the line,
LASTDRIVE=E
in your CONFIG.SYS
2) Include the line,
SUBST E: C:\MYSTUFF
before the call to CacheAll in your AUTOEXEC.BAT
3) Use the following line in your CacheAll OPT file,
DRIVES=DE
4) Use the MYSTUFF directory from the E: you have just created
Since CacheAll will "not cache" the C: drive but will cache the E: drive
you effective will cache only the MYSTUFF directory of the C: drive by
accessing the MYSTUFF directory via the E: drive. In other words, do not
bother accessing the C:\MYSTUFF directory because it will not be cached,
access the E: drive instead because the E: drive will be cached.
Some application cannot be broken up into multiple directories or
across multiple drives. Therefore it may be necessary to cache their
entire directory and not just an isolated few files within the directory.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 40
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Using CacheAll to Speed up Networks
Installed on all network workstations and non-dedicated servers,
CacheAll can dramatically reduce network traffic and server loading.
CacheAll accomplishes this by locally caching as much as 64 Megabytes of
data (Using RAM AND a SWAP FILE!) at the workstation -- after the first
read, workstations obtain data from CacheAll's local copy instead of
having to use the network. In the following example, workstations will
accumulate local copies of server data, and therefore will no longer need
to go through the network to the server to acquire frequently used data.
This situation is shown in the diagrams below:
Workstation's first access of specific server data:
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ WORKSTATION (WS) ³ ³NETWORK SERVER³
ÃÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄ´ Network ÃÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ WS ³<->³CacheAll³<->³NOS³<---------->³NOS³<->³Hard ³
³Apps³ ³ cache ³ ³ ³ connection ³ ³ ³Drive ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
Notice that to initially acquire the needed data the following data
path must be taken:
1. CacheAll monitors application's data request
2. Workstation Network Operating System (NOS) sends request to
network server.
3. Network connection carries request to server.
4. Server NOS receives request.
5. Server hard drive reads data.
6. Server NOS sends requested data to workstation.
The requested data then traverses this path (noted by arrows) in the
opposite direction. During the Workstation's second access to above
data the following will occur:
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ WORKSTATION ³ ³NETWORK SERVER³
ÃÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄ´ ÃÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ WS ³<->³CacheAll³ ³NOS³ ³NOS³ ³Hard ³
³Apps³ ³ cache ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³Drive ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
Notice that the second time the workstation requests the server data,
a much faster data path results:
1. CacheAll interprets data request from application.
2. CacheAll immediately returns the requested data.
Thus CacheAll allows applications to run without going through the
network, which can result in faster workstation operation, reduced network
traffic and reduced server loading! NOTE: NETWORK DATA BASE USERS -- To
prevent potential loss of your data, CacheAll will not cache shared data
files which are simultaneously updated by multiple users across a network
UNLESS you set these files to read only status.
CUtil's LIST command allows viewing the cache activity of each
workstation. Using this command you can see CacheAll cache local and
network drives and also see which files are being cached!
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 41
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Swap Files for CacheAll
What is a swap file?
A swap file is an area of your hard drive which you set aside for use
as additional "memory". Applications, such as CacheAll and Microsoft
Windows, use a swap file to create the illusion that your PC has more
memory than it really does.
CacheAll is the first disk caching program that allows you to take
advantage of a swap file to caching your storage devices. Using your hard
drive as additional memory is inexpensive and can be quite beneficial,
especially when using CacheAll to cache devices which are slower than your
hard drive. For example,
1) Dedicating your RAM to cache your fast devices, such as you hard
drives, and dedicating a swap file to slow devices, such as CD-ROMs,
allows you to provide a balanced performance increase across all of
your devices. In this example, your hard drives would be made to
appear almost as fast as RAM drives and your CD-ROMs appear to be
almost as fast as hard drives.
Note that you are always free to dedicate RAM to fast and slow
devices, you must examine each CacheAll application on a case-by-case
basis to determine the optimal caching method. Remember, when RAM is
used for both fast and slow devices (i.e. Hard Drives & CD-ROMs) the
slower devices can potentially monopolize the RAM cache at the
expense of "fast" device performance gains.
2) By installing CacheAll on each workstation of a network and creating
very large caches through the use of RAM and SWAP FILE, a network
manager can substantially reduce network traffic and server loading.
This occurs because CacheAll will keep local copies of frequently
used server data at each workstation. Therefore workstations do not
need to go through the network to obtain data.
How does CacheAll use the swap file?
To understand how CacheAll uses the swap file let's review basic
cache operation. Caches maintain a copy of the most recently accessed
data, and provide its copied data to applications much faster than the
media on which the data was originally stored. When the cache program
determines that new data should be added to the cache, data may have to be
removed in order to make room for this new data. To achieve absolute
maximum performance, we would prefer no data to be removed from the cache,
but this is impossible since all computers have finite resources and so
eventually run out of room. CacheAll addresses this issue by putting data
removed from the cache RAM into a cache swap file (please refer to
CacheAll's FAST option in section entitled CacheAll Options).
Classical cache programs are only capable of using your computer's
expensive RAM, and compete with other programs for this valuable resource.
This is another example of CacheAll's advantages over other cache
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 42
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
programs. CacheAll can use a swap file to effectively extend the amount of
memory your computer contains. This also allows CacheAll to cache data
other cache programs would have to throw away. This particular aspect of
CacheAll is most useful for slow devices (slow relative to the speed of
drive on which the swap file is placed), such as CD-ROMs, slow network
adapters, and when CacheAll is used to reduce network I/O by implementing
large local data caches.
Defining a swap file for CacheAll
When CacheAll is started, it examines your "C" drive for its
available disk space. Unless you specify otherwise, CacheAll will
automatically use 50% of your available disk space (up to 4 Meg) for the
swap file. You may use the DISKPATH option (See CacheAll's option section)
to place the swap file anywhere on any of your writable drives. The
default location is the root directory of your "C" drive.
Note: to prevent potential loss of data, you should
avoid placing the swap file on a compressed drive. You
may use the DISKSIZE option to override the automatic
setting and specify the desired size of the swap file.
Note: to disable the swap file, simply specify a
DISKSIZE of zero.
Place the swap file on the fastest device you have connected to your
system to achieve maximum cache speed. Note that it is wasteful to place
the swap file on a RAM drive! It will work, but you will get better
performance from CacheAll if you dedicate the memory used for the RAM
drive to CacheAll directly as cache RAM. Use DRIVES and FAST to cache
specific drives to the SWAP FILE.
EXAMPLE: You wish to place the SWAP FILE in the TEMP directory of the E:
drive, and you wish to use the SWAP FILE to cache networked
CD-ROMs H: & J:, network drives K: & V:, and no other drives are
to be cached using the SWAP FILE.
Option file or command line option settings:
DISKPATH=E:\TEMP
DRIVES=C-Z
FAST=C-GIL-UW-Z
Notice that instead of specifying which drives are cached to the SWAP
FILE, you must use the FAST command to EXCLUDE drives from the SWAP FILE!
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 43
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Removing the swap file from your hard drive
ABSOLUTELY DO NOT REMOVE THE SWAP FILE
WHILE CacheAll IS RUNNING!
When CacheAll creates the swap file, it sets the "hidden" attribute
of the file to keep it from being inadvertently deleted. You can remove
the file by using the DOS ATTRIB command BUT DON'T DO IT WHEN CacheAll IS
RUNNING! If you use the default CacheAll settings for the swap file, you
can execute the following commands to delete the swap file:
ATTRIB -H C:\CACHEALL.SWP
DEL C:\CACHEALL.SWP
If you chose a different swap file path with the DISKPATH option, you
will have to substitute that path for C:\ (as used in the example).
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 44
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Maximizing CacheAll's Performance
To achieve maximum CacheAll performance there are several things to
consider when "tweaking" CacheAll's options. Some guidelines are listed
below:
- Use DOS's FASTOPEN program to help minimize the time it takes to open
a file. Refer to your DOS manual for instructions to setup up
FASTOPEN.
- Install a memory manager.
- Use the swap file to cache slow devices like CD-ROMs, and when doing
so use the DISKSIZE option to specify the largest swap file size
possible. Doing this increases speed because more of the slow
device's data will be read from the faster swap file drive.
- BE SURE CACHEALL IS NOT RUNNING WHEN PERFORMING THIS TWEAKING
PROCEDURE! To maximize access speed to the swap file, turn off the
swap file's hidden and system attributes. Run a drive defragmentation
program so that CacheAll's swap file will be contiguous. Restart
CacheAll to return the file attributes to hidden and system.
- When accessing a device that is faster than the device that contains
the swap file (specified with the DISKPATH option), use the FAST
option. This tells CacheAll to store the fast device data in only the
memory cache, thus avoiding additional time in writing to the swap
file. If you do not specify the FAST option for faster devices,
CacheAll may slow file accesses instead of speeding it up. CacheAll's
automatic settings assume local and network drives are FAST, which
may be incorrect in some cases.
- Use the SMALLFILES=N option. If you are working with many small files
(files which are smaller than the BLOCKSIZE used by CacheAll), this
option can increase your performance by telling CacheAll not to cache
small files. An example of when this would is useful is when running
Norton Desktop for Windows.
- If you are caching very large files, greater than 128Mb, be sure your
BLOCKSIZE is large enough. (Full details in commerical manual).
- Use CUtil's LIST function to determine when and which files are being
used by your applications (use CUtil's FLUSH=* to flush the cache and
erase the file list). In this way the LIST command can help you to
determine which files are most frequently used and so are most
beneficial to cache. By grouping these frequently accessed files
together in a directory and only caching that directory you may be
able to substantially increase your system performance by focusing
cache resources on that directory. See manual regarding caching
specific areas of a drive to see how to cache specific directories.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 45
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
What CacheAll version 1.0e will not do
Issue: CacheAll v1.0e will not negotiate RAM use under Windows.
--------> Conserve RAM use by setting MEMSIZE to the maximum desired value
under Windows and use a large SWAP FILE to cache CD-ROMs and
network drives.
Issue: ************ FOR NETWORK DATA BASE USERS ONLY ***********
To prevent potential loss of your data, CacheAll v1.0e will not
cache shared data files which are simultaneously updated by
multiple users across a network UNLESS you set these files to
read only status.
--------> To cache such files, make them read only where possible.
Issue: CacheAll v1.0e does not perform delayed writes.
--------> If you wish to perform delayed writes for your local hard drive
you can use CacheAll with another cache, such as SmartDrive.
Since delayed writes have no meaning for CD-ROMs or networks,
simply use CacheAll to cache those drives and the other cache to
cache your local drives.
Issue: CUtil's LIST command reports certain files are not always cached
--------> This can be caused when a file is shared by multiple users or
applications. Note, EXE's are not always cached but their
overlays are usually cached.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 46
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
CacheAll's Automatic Settings
CacheAll will,
Setting: use 25% of available RAM
Override: use MEMSIZE to specify a different setting
Setting: place SWAP FILE in the root of your "C:" drive
Override: use DISKPATH to specify a different drive and/or directory,
remember to avoid placing SWAP FILE on a compressed or network
drive
Setting: use 50% of available drive space on "C:" up to 4 Megabytes
Override: use DISKPATH to specify a different drive and/or, DISKSIZE to
specify a different setting, set DISKSIZE=0 to disable SWAP FILE
Setting: not cache drives "A:" and "B:"
Override: use DRIVES to select drives to cache
Setting: cache only local CD-ROMs to the SWAP FILE
Override: use the FAST command to select the drives which should NOT be
cached using the swap file
Note: CacheAll does not typically "see" CD-ROMs accessed over a
network and so may require the user to manually specify these
CD-ROMs.
Setting: choose BLOCKSIZE (based on value of MEMSIZE) to minimize RAM
usage
Override: use BLOCKSIZE to specify a different value, BUT REMEMBER --
setting BLOCKSIZE to its maximum value of 16 WILL NOT
necessarily maximize performance, to maximize performance you
must slowly increase and decrease the BLOCKSIZE setting for your
particular application, "when in doubt, leave it out!"
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 47
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Common Problems
CacheAll Not installed:
Check your AUTOEXEC.BAT
Example -- LANtastic installs a line similar to below,
C:\LANTASTI\STARTNET.BAT
in your AUTOEXEC.BAT. This line runs STARTNET.BAT but after
execution any lines which follow, such as CacheAll's install
line, are not executed. To correct this simply do what
CacheAll's installation program does and use a CALL statement to
change the above line to:
CALL C:\LANTASTI\STARTNET.BAT
Now after STARTNET.BAT is completed, control will return to
AUTOEXEC.BAT.
Starting Networks from BATch file other than AUTOEXEC.BAT:
CacheAll must be installed AFTER your network. To correct this unload
CacheAll before starting your network and add CacheAll's installation
line to the end of the BATch file that installs your network. This
line may be copied from your AUTOEXEC.BAT after CacheAll is
installed.
Local Hard drives are slower using CacheAll
1) CacheAll's automatic setting use 25% of available RAM, your previous
cache was probably set to use more RAM. Set CacheAll RAM cache size
to the same value as your previous cache using the MEMSIZE option.
2) This may occur when using CacheAll to replace a cache which had been
providing delayed writes (CacheAll v1.0e does not support delayed
writes). If you wish to continue performing delayed writes, use
CacheAll in conjunction with a cache program such as SmartDrive. But
remember, delayed writes have no meaning for CD-ROMs. Also remember
that no other cache program can cache network drives.
3) CacheAll performs read aheads to improve file access performance. In
some cases the value of BLOCKSIZE may be too large for the type of
data you typically work with. To improve performance, reduce the
value of block size until maximum performance is achieved. If you
wish to tweak BLOCKSIZE do so by SLOWLY increasing and decreasing its
value until the optimal setting is found.
My computer has recently become unstable.
This problem can occur when using a batch file other than
AUTOEXEC.BAT to startup your network. When starting your network in
this manner, unload CacheAll at the beginning of the BATCH file and
load CacheAll at the end of the file. Also, when starting CacheAll
manually be sure to do so AFTER all device drivers, redirectors and
network software is installed!
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 48
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Common Questions
How is CacheAll different than other caches?
Other cache programs only cache local hard drives, floppy drives and
sometimes CD-ROMs but CacheAll can cache ANY device which can be
accessed as a drive letter (such as C: or D: or R:). CacheAll will
cache CD-ROM drives, network drives, hard drives, floppy drives,
optical drives and any other drive you can normally access from your
PC. CacheAll is also the only cache that allows you to use a SWAP
FILE to cache any device. CacheAll is also the only cache that allows
you to cache only a section of a storage device rather than the
entire drive.
What about CacheAll benchmarking?
Be careful using benchmarking programs to determine CacheAll's true
performance. Many benchmarking programs say that CacheAll provides no
performance increase because they are designed to test cache programs
such as SmartDrive. CacheAll uses a completely new technology that
many benchmark programs were not designed to test. When this happens
no difference is noted. The best way to test CacheAll is to run a
scenario of tests (such as doing CD-ROM searches) without CacheAll
and then do the same series of tests with CacheAll loaded and note
how much faster the test is when CacheAll is running. Remember -- as
with other cache programs CacheAll will show greater performance
benefits when you perform an operation more than once.
Is CacheAll installed in my CONFIG or AUTOEXEC?
In most cases CacheAll should be installed at the end of your
AUTOEXEC.BAT.
I only use a network sometimes, should I install for standalone or
network?
When installing CacheAll for standalones, CacheAll will refer to the
STDALONE.OPT file for it's option settings. This ".OPT" file contains
the statement ALLFILES=A-Z which should not be used for networks (see
ALLFILES in CacheAll Options section)! When running your network,
change RUNCA.BAT to run NETWORK.OPT instead of STDALONE.OPT, and for
maximum standalone performance remember to switch it back when not
using the network. You may wish to perform this operation by writing
a batch file.
Is CacheAll Windows compatible?
Yes! If you are running Microsoft Windows 3.0, you must add the line:
InDOSPolling=1
to the [386Enh] section of SYSTEM.INI. If you do not know how to
modify the SYSTEM.INI file, please refer to your Microsoft Windows
documentation. If you are using Microsoft Windows 3.1, you do not
need to make any changes.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 49
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
What do I need to do to configure CacheAll?
Nothing! In fact we suggest that you don't set any options but, if
you must, only adjust the MEMSIZE, FAST, and DISKSIZE options.
Remember --adjusting options incorrectly will degrade performance.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 50
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Notes to CD-ROM Users
CD-ROM applications which have large files (greater than 128Mb)
If you are using a CD-ROM application which has large files, you
might need to increase the BLOCKSIZE setting to increase performance.
Maximizing Performance
Set DISKSIZE's value as large as possible (refer to MANUAL.TXT for
maximum value of approx. 64 Megabytes). This will cause most CD-ROM
accesses to occur from your hard drive.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 51
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Notes to Network Users
Artisoft LANtastic(TM)
LANcache DOES NOT cache network drives, only local hard drives.
CacheAll caches all drives... network, hard drive, CD-ROM, etc.
Diskless Workstations
CacheAll can be used on diskless workstations (sometimes called
remote boot workstations). It will work best if you disable the swap
file using the DISKSIZE=0 option. You can put the swap file on a
network drive, but you might sacrifice some performance benefits,
depending on how you use CacheAll. The following steps outline one
way of installing CacheAll onto a diskless workstation (this
procedure is geared towards LANtastic, but should apply to most other
networks):
1. Install CacheAll onto the file server.
2. Create a resource/alias for CacheAll called CACHEALL.
3. Boot the diskless workstation.
4. Now, do one of the following:
a. Modify the AUTOEXEC.BAT for the diskless workstation
to connect to the resource CACHEALL and run the
CACHEALL program.
or
b. Run CACHEALL directly from the CACHEALL resource
This procedure should get CacheAll up and running on a diskless
workstation. One other step you can do is to copy the CACHEALL.EXE
program over to the boot image to run it directly from the boot
image.
Where should CacheAll be loaded? My Server or Workstation?
CacheAll is designed to be run on each workstation on your network.
CacheAll Increases Network Performance
Running CacheAll on ALL workstations or non-dedicated servers of a
network provides several important benefits by reducing network I/O
requests:
1. Reduced network traffic
2. Increased workstation speed
3. Reduced server load
4. Use CUtil's LIST command to view cache file listing
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 52
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Maximizing Network Performance
When using CacheAll on a network, we recommend setting all program
files to be read only. This can usually be done using the DOS ATTRIB
command. You can say the following:
ATTRIB +R *.EXE
ATTRIB +R *.COM
Those two lines will force all files with the extensions EXE and COM
in the current path to be set as READ ONLY files and thus will be
cached by CacheAll without needing to set ALLFILES. You might find
other files, such as overlays, which can also have the READ ONLY
attribute set.
DEDICATED Servers
If you have a dedicated server you should continue running programs
such as SmartDrive as these programs will increase the servers "serve
speed" to the network. BUT, these programs should be removed from
your workstations and replaced by CacheAll.
Networks versus Standalone operation: ALLFILES!
Unless directed otherwise, using the ALLFILES option, CacheAll will
only cache files which are opened in EXCLUSIVE or DENY WRITE modes.
1) Network user
If you are using CacheAll on a drive which is used exclusively
by one user (or not on a network), you can use the ALLFILES
option for this drive. The ALLFILES option will force CacheAll
to cache all the files on the specified drives, regardless of
how they are opened. YOU MUST BE SURE NO ONE ELSE CAN MODIFY THE
FILES WHILE THEY ARE BEING CACHED WITH THE ALLFILES OPTION.
2) When not connected to a Network (i.e. "Standalone")
Set
ALLFILES=A-Z
For maximum performance. This will be done automatically if you
told the installation program that your PC was a standalone
PC.
Shared files
CacheAll will only cache files which are opened in EXCLUSIVE or DENY
WRITE modes. If you are using CacheAll on a drive which is used
exclusively by one user (or not on a network), you can use the
ALLFILES option for this drive. The ALLFILES option will force
CacheAll to cache all the files on the specified drives, regardless
of how they are opened. YOU MUST BE SURE NO ONE ELSE CAN MODIFY THE
FILES WHILE THEY ARE BEING CACHED WITH THE ALLFILES OPTION. Use
CUtil's LIST command at each workstation to determine who is using
what and when.
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 53
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
AppTrack(TM) Makes Software audits a nuisance rather than a concern -
AppTrack 1.0 Features:
AppTrack is a full-featured license management and program restrictor for
LANtastic networks that reduces network management headaches by
guaranteeing you pass every software audit!
Application Management Features:
1) Without workstation TSR's, AppTrack manages and restricts program
usage,
ù Allows network managers to guarantee software license adherence
across a network
ù An unlimited number of Microsoft Windows and DOS applications
can be managed simultaneously
ù Applications can be managed across multiple servers
2) Provides maximum security for your licenses,
ù End user cannot copy applications
ù Fully encrypted network packets and database
ù System manager privileges are required for management access and
control
3) Includes easy to use, Microsoft Windows based, Console as a control
center
AppTrack Console Features:
1) "At-a-glance" application display,
ù Displays currently executing applications and who is running
them
ù Shows peak usage of an application
ù Easily spot excessive licensing
- Reduce software costs!
2) Extensive data collection. Data and it's views,
ù Can be exported to several formats
- fully documented custom exporting facility
ù Can be included in reports to Management
ù Can be customized & saved for later retrieval
ù Includes application transaction history
- Application & User name, Start & Stop time, ...
To order AppTrack, contact C&D Programming Corp. at (800)847-5676
(outside U.S. (801)582-0503)
CacheAll Evaluation Manual Page 54
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Reseller Qualification Form: C&D Welcomes Resellers!
C&D thanks you for your interest in reselling our products! Our
screening process protects your business by making it simple for
legitimate applicants to establish reseller status, and preventing end-
users from obtaining reseller discounts. We require a copy of your
currently valid reseller's permit, your currently valid sales tax
identification certificate for your state, or your currently valid goods
and services tax certificate for your country, simply supplying the
reseller number is NOT sufficient. To confirm that you are a reseller of
computer products and/or services, we require a copy of promotional
material from you. This is sufficient to establish reseller status with
us, and much simpler than filling out an elaborate dealer agreement. When
mailed to us we will accept any of the following as promotional material:
- Your company brochure for a product you design, manufacture, or sell.
It is not adequate to just draw something up on your computer and
print it out on your printer.
- Or, a page from a recent newspaper, magazine, Yellow Pages, or other
publication showing an advertisement for your company and it's
products.
- Or, a photocopy of your company name and phone number from a
computer-oriented section of The Yellow Pages. This does not need to
be an actual advertisement the basic listing which the phone company
provides, provided it is in a computer oriented section, is adequate.
Company Information:
Company Name____________________________________________________________
Address_________________________________________________________________
City ____________________________ State _____________ Zip _____________
Phone _________________________________ FAX_____________________________
Contact_________________________________________________________________
D&B Account # _________________________ Date ______________ Rating _____
How did you hear about C&D?_____________________________________________
I certify that the above company is a legitimate reseller of computer
products and/or services.
Signature _______________________________________ Date__________________
Printed Name ____________________________________ Title_________________
To receive a reseller package, mail (or Fax to 801-581-0883) this
completed form with the requested information:
C&D Programming Corp.
New Accounts (CAEVAL1.0e)
P.O. Box 581012
Salt Lake City, Utah 84158 USA
Very nice! Thank you for this wonderful archive. I wonder why I found it only now. Long live the BBS file archives!
This is so awesome! 😀 I’d be cool if you could download an entire archive of this at once, though.
But one thing that puzzles me is the “mtswslnkmcjklsdlsbdmMICROSOFT” string. There is an article about it here. It is definitely worth a read: http://www.os2museum.com/wp/mtswslnk/