CxSAST Engine Settings
The CxSAST engine supports single-socket and multi-socket stations. To optimize the CxSAST engine for both configurations, to utilize available cores and to improve the scan time, Checkmarx introduced configuration extensions to set the best policy to the CxSAST engine.
Introduced Configuration Extensions
The added configuration extensions are the following:
Configuration Extension | Description |
|---|---|
PROCESS_AFFINITY_MANAGER_SETTINGS | To be set while installing CxSAST |
PARAMETER_VALUE _CORES_NUMBER | To be used after consulting with Technical Support only |
PROCESS_AFFINITY_MANAGER_SETTINGS
This configuration selects the allocation scheme for CPU sockets and cores. It contains Microsoft’s affinity setting for single-socket and multi-socket work stations.
To configure the Affinity setting:
Enter the following:
“SingleSocket,[AffinitySettingX];MultiSocket,[AffinitySettingY]”
The possible values for [AffinitySettingX] and [AffinitySettingY] are listed in the table below:
AffinitySetting | Description |
|---|---|
OldVersion | Operates as it did in early CxSAST versions up to version 8.9. The only issue is that the selected core is not from the optimal socket. |
NoLimitation | Allows the operating system to allocate without any CxSAST engine logics. By default, both work station types (single-socket and multi-socket) are allowed. |
NewVersion | The CxSAST engine is executed from the same socket. Depending on the engine phase, it runs on one or multiple cores that belong to that socket. |
NewVersionOneSocketOnly | The CxSAST engine is executed from one socket only. The number of cores must be defined before executing the engine. |
To configure the Affinity setting to operate with CxSAST 9.0:
Configure the Affinity setting as listed in the table below for the respective Windows operating systems.
Operating System | SingleSocket | MultiSocket | Syntax |
|---|---|---|---|
Windows Server 2008R2 | OldVersion | NoLimitation | SingleSocket,OldVersion;MultiSocket,NoLimitation |
Windows Server 2012R2 | NoLimitation | NoLimitation | SingleSocket,NoLimitation;MultiSocket,NoLimitation |
Windows Server 2016 | NoLimitation | NoLimitation | SingleSocket,NoLimitation;MultiSocket,NoLimitation |
To configure the Affinity setting for virtual machines (VM):
If you prefer to avoid working on multi-socket/multi-core configurations, please note that CxSAST engines works best with the following configuration on Windows hosts:
Single-socket
Multi-core
This configuration provides better performance than the multi-socket/single-core configuration.