Configure the Designer

Overview

Semarchy xDI Designer is configured to work out-of-the-box in most situations. However, you can change its startup settings to meet your needs.

The startup settings are defined in an INI file:

  • On macOS, the file is named semarchy-xdi-designer.ini, and is in the `/Contents/Eclipse subdirectory of the application package.

  • On Windows and Linux, the file is named semarchy-xdi-designer-windows.ini (Windows) or semarchy-xdi-designer-linux.ini (Linux) and is in the main installation folder.

The Designer startup INI file is based on the Eclipse IDE startup file. There are some things you should keep in mind when making edits:

  • You should experiment with Designer launch parameters from your Command Prompt or Terminal before changing the INI file itself.

  • If a parameter would have normally have a space between it and its argument, the argument must be on its own line.

  • Keep a backup of the original file in case of problems.

Memory settings

By default, Designer allows the JVM to manage memory automatically. This is recommended for most cases.

You can use the -Xms and -Xmx Java parameters to configure the minimum and maximum amount of memory Designer uses.

# Minimum Heap size
-Xms512m
# Maximum Heap size.
-Xmx2048m

Built-in Runtime location

The Designer built-in Runtime is deployed by default in the Designer installation folder, in a subfolder named runtime.

To change this location, edit the following property:

# Runtime location
-Dxdi.designer.runtime.home=runtime

Module Generation

Module generation is configured with the following properties:

# Generated modules location
# This path is relative to the runtime location. Absolute paths are also supported.
-Dxdi.designer.module.path.v1=runtime/modules
# Automatic modules creation
-Dxdi.designer.module.automaticCreation=true

If you change the module location for Designer, only the built-in Designer runtime will be aware of this new location. A standalone xDI Runtime installation needs to be configured to use the same modules directory. Refer to the Runtime installation and configuration guide to learn how to add the relevant options for that software.

License Configuration

You can pre-configure the License Management for a Semarchy xDI Designer instance by setting the following environement variables prior to starting the Designer

  • XDI_DESIGNER_LICENSE_KEY: Set this variable to define your License Key string. When this variable is set, the Online mode is used by default. The Local Server mode is used instead if XDI_DESIGNER_LICENSE_SERVER_URL is set.

  • XDI_DESIGNER_LICENSE_SERVER_URL: Set this variable to define your local license server URL, and use the Local Server mode.

  • XDI_DESIGNER_LICENSE_KEY_FILE: Set this variable to define your License Key File location and use the Offline mode. This variable is taken into account only if XDI_DESIGNER_LICENSE_KEY is unset.

License Server Certificate

Semarchy xDI Designer validates its license from a License Server. This license server may be either the central license server managed by Semarchy or, optionally, a local license server that your install.

In both cases, Semarchy xDI Designer communicates with the License Server using HTTP secured with SSL/TLS.

You need to configure the local license server to use SSL/TLS, and specify a certificate that secures the communication. This certificate may be provided by an authority or manually created by you and self-signed.

With an SSL/TLS certificate signed by an authority, the communication will succeed, and the connections will be accepted automatically.

With a self-signed (manually generated) certificate, you must configure this certificate in Semarchy xDI Designer. Otherwise, the connections will be refused. The self-signed certificate can be provided with two methods:

  • The first method consists in providing a custom keystore containing the certificate to the Designer.
    Add the certificate to a Java Keystore and then define its location by adding the following properties to the semarchy-xdi-designer-<os-name>.ini file, located in the Designer installation directory.

    -Dlicense.service.keystore.path=<Path to keystore file location>
-Dlicense.service.keystore.type=<keystore type>
-Dlicense.service.keystore.password=<security password>
-Dlicense.service.keystore.key.alias=<keystore alias>

  • The second method consists in adding the certificate to the truststore of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) used by Semarchy xDI Designer. Note that this adds the certificate globally for any application using this JVM.

    • If the JVM’s truststore is in the default location, just add the certificate to the truststore.

    • If the JVM’s truststore is in a custom location, add the certificate to this location and specify this location in the semarchy-xdi-designer-<os-name>.ini file, located in the Designer installation directory.

      -Djavax.net.ssl.trustStore=<Path to keystore file location>
-Djavax.net.ssl.trustStoreType=<keystore type>
-Djavax.net.ssl.trustStoreProvider=<provider>
-Djavax.net.ssl.trustStorePassword=<keystore password>