Dynamic system settings

As a best practice, set system configuration settings by using dynamic system settings data instances. For example, you can use a dynamic system settings to configure which fields are available in full-text search. Dynamic system settings are stored in the Pega Platform database and are used by all nodes that share that database.

  • You can change the value of dynamic system settings without redeploying the application. Editing the prconfig.xml file requires redeploying the application.
  • In a multi-node system, the same dynamic system settings can be used by all the nodes that are sharing the database, making system administration easier.
  • Dynamic system settings can override prconfig.xml settings only when your Pega Platform database is configured to retrieve its data using JNDI, and the prconfig.xml file for a given node has the following setting: <env name="initialization/settingsource" value="merged" />. See the appropriate deployment guide for your system for information on configuring JNDI in the context.xml file.

Note:

The rule and data instances listed below have similar names, but they are not related.

  • Application settings rules (Rule-Admin-System-Settings rule type) – Use application settings rules to hold important constant values in your application that are the same in every deployed copy of your application, that can differ by production level, and are rule-resolved.
  • Dynamic system settings data instances (Data-Admin-System-Settings) – Use dynamic system settings when the values differ from site to site, such as with URLs, user names, or port numbers, and when they might be set programmatically.
  • Setting rules (Rule-Access-Setting rule type) – Use setting rules in role-based access control when defining access roles and permissions.