Saving / opening a model (PDM) takes far too long

[thoenniss]

Hi,

we have different sized PDMs organized in a project. The largest model file (BIN) is 39 MB and contains ~700 tables with over 20000 columns. It takes SAP PowerDesigner (PD) ~6 min to save the mode
But the time it takes for PD to save the model does not correlate with the size. 22 MB model took 2 min. A 27 MB model only took 1 min.

When opening the models, it also takes PD a very long time. We have an extreme case, where it takes ~40 min to open a 1 MB PDM with 50 tables and around 600 columns. The above mentioned biggest model in our project needs ~40 sec to open.

We observe no difference, when saving the models as XML instead of BIN.

Our Setup:
PD Version: 16.7.7.0
installed on Virtual Workstation with AMD EPYC 3 Ghz, 48 GB RAM

What is the problem here? What is the bottleneck?
With older versions of PD and similar sized models it was much faster (Unfortunately I cannot say exactly with which version, it was a gradual process).

Are there other users, who have the same or similar problem?
We would be happy about any suggestions / hints?

Thanks.

[GeorgeMcGeachie]

There have been reports of issues like this for a long time. One of the previous product managers told me that the number of diagrams can be an issue when opening a model, as PD loads every diagram into memory when you open a model; perhaps the number of symbols on those diagrams is also relevant?

Is there anything, apart from size, that distinguishes this model from your other PDMs? Does it contain shortcuts to or replications from other models?

I have an email trail from the previous SAP Community about PDM performance in 2015; it's not available anymore, but here's what it says.

Question

are there any options to speed up PowerDesigner? I have a big PDM with more than 600 tables (with references, sequences) and growing. My Workstation is a Lenovo T420 with 8GB RAM and CPU is Intel Core i5-2450M 2,5GHz.

Answer

There is no "speed-up" option in the product (or it would be set, read-only, and hidden). But you can de-activate some fancy options, like Links options in Model options / General settings. You can also create several diagrams in your model and display the tables/references separated by concept. In the same spirit, you can divide the whole model in many smaller models and use shortcuts for references

[ChrisBaker]

And the questions continue...

I just noticed that you mention you are on a virtual workstation.  When PD opens a model, memory is allocated as the model opens.  That memory is allocated by Windows.  If this workstation is a virtual guest, then the host has to get involved (with all the other overhead of virtualization).

Have you been able to test the load performance on dedicated hardware?

Chris

[ChrisBaker]

To clarify - when working with a model, it may be fine for a workstation to be virtualized (the guest can be swapped by the host during 'think times') since the model is already loaded, but for loading, I would recommend 1:1 mapping for CPU and memory to the host (just like a server - which is always busy),

[thoenniss]

Thanks for the hint. Maybe this a part of the problem. Unfortunately I am not able to test on dedicated hardware.

[Ondrej_Divis]

Hi,

I would like to add couple more things I`d recommend to try. Decluttering diagrams (recommended by George and Chris) is one of them. Choosing empty (or very small) diagram as default diagram is another. After that I would try these:

• Do you have similar response times when opening/saving these models on different computers (=different PD installations)?
• I don`t have very good experience using virtual computers (however powerful they are) for more "difficult" PD operations. Can you try it on good old physical PC?
• Are there any other models opened in the same PD instance? I am asking because of inter-model relationships.
• Some PD versions in the past had trouble handling views with recursive SQL query in it? Do you have such objects (Views, Procedures) in your model?
• Can you try running PD using pdlegacyshell16.exe instead of standard pdshell16.exe?
• Can you try saving your model using "Save as new model"?
• Do you use any "special" extensions (or definition file modification) attached to those models? Something like event handlers on the model level, some heavy calculations,... (it is really not common to open 1 MB model in 40 minutes, or even 22 MB model in 2 minutes). I once had 200 MB model and it took me 1 minute to open it.

Answering these questions could move us closer to the potential cause of the malfunctioning.

Regards,

Ondrej Divis

[GeorgeMcGeachie]

You can create a single default diagram that provides links to the other diagrams. This diagram contains links to seven other diagrams (double-click an icon to open the diagram) - to create these icons, just drag them onto your diagram from the browser.

I changed the image for six of the diagrams - right-click an icon and select Change Image.

[thoenniss]

First of all many thanks for all the input.

We split the PDM a long time ago and every PDM has Shortcuts (only Name/Code) to other models. We have a small default diagram with shortcuts to package diagrams.

Here are my answers to your questions:

• Do you have similar response times when opening/saving these models on different computers?
  -> We have similar response times when saving the models, but not when opening.
  The only difference is, that we use different virtual machines. All machines/computers use the same PD Version and configuration.
• Can you try it on good old physical PC?
  -> Unfortunately, there is no possibility to test on an old school PC.
• Are there any other models opened in the same PD instance?
  Sometimes yes, sometimes no. But it makes no difference.
• Some PD versions in the past had trouble handling views with recursive SQL query in it? Do you have such objects (Views, Procedures) in your model?
  We have simple views in the model, but as far as I know not with recursive SQL.
• Can you try saving your model using "Save as new model"?
  Took almost the same time for saving.
• Do you use any "special" extensions (or definition file modification) attached to those models?
  Yes, we have a extension that all models use, but only two event handlers with a small script. We also have some complex scripts, but those are executed manually.

[ChrisBaker]

Do you have all 700 objects on a default diagram + references?  Try un-check the 'Default diagram' setting of any diagram that has a large amount of objects or reduce the number of objects on the diagram by reducing the number of displayed objects (especially references).

It will not affect how you have edited the diagram, but as the default diagram is the first shown when the model is opened, it must be re-drawn.  Re-drawing the diagram so it can be created and shown is what is taking the time on load.

Chris

[GeorgeMcGeachie]

This is a comment but I'm posting it as an answer due to the appalling dialogue for entering, editing, and then losing comments. 😁

There have been reports of issues like this for a long time. One of the previous product managers told me that the number of diagrams can be an issue when opening a model, as PD loads every diagram into memory when you open a model; perhaps the number of symbols on those diagrams is also relevant?

Is there anything, apart from size, that distinguishes this model from your other PDMs? Does it contain shortcuts to or replications from other models?

I have an email trail from the previous SAP Community about PDM performance in 2015; it's not available anymore, but here's what it says.

Question

are there any options to speed up PowerDesigner?

I have a big PDM with more than 600 tables (with references, sequences) and growing.

My Workstation is a Lenovo T420 with 8GB RAM and CPU is Intel Core i5-2450M 2,5GHz.

Answer

There is no "speed-up" option in the product (or it would be set, read-only, and hidden).

But you can de-activate some fancy options, like Links options in Model options / General settings.

You can also create several diagrams in your model and display the tables/references separated by concept.

In the same spirit, you can divide the whole model in many smaller models and use shortcuts for references