John
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Multi-Core Balancing AUD.INI Variable from Noel's post.
This is a reprint from Noel from his post on the programing for Sonar 8. Improved Multi-Core load balancing SONAR has supported scalable load balancing for multi-core computers since SONAR 3. In 8.3 we spent some time researching different techniques to improve our task scheduler (the internal component that distributes the project workload across multiple threads). The new scheduler mechanism allows for a more even load across all cores on a multi-core system. Not only that but the new mechanism consumes less CPU and is more power efficient. We haven’t measured this yet but it should actually consume less battery resources on a notebook than SONAR 8.0.2! SONAR goes environment friendly :-) Since all systems are not made equal we decided to make this new scheduling mode configurable ïŠ From the help file, the new aud.ini option to control this is: ThreadSchedulingModel=<0 - 2> Type Integer Default 1 This variable goes in the [Wave] section and controls the interaction of the main audio thread and worker threads on multiprocessor systems when the Use Multiprocessing Engine option is enabled. Depending on the system, a particular model may result in less glitching and better overall performance. The values are as follows: 0 = Same as previous versions of SONAR. 1 = (default) Better thread balance. Model is more efficient and can provide cycles for other tasks. 2 = Additional worker thread is created. This may result in improvement with Quad processor systems or higher. Not recommended for Dual processor systems.
post edited by John - 2009/09/21 16:47:51
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John
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 16:31:01
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Jose7822
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 16:35:13
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John,
Rename the thread to "Multi-Core Balancing AUD.INI Variable" or something similar. I could only guess what this was about because we had talked about it earlier. But otherwise, it's hard to understand what this thread is about.
Take care!
Intel Q9400 2.66 GHz 8 GB of RAM @ 800 Mhz ATI Radeon HD 3650 Windows 7 Professional (SP1) x64 Cubase 6.03 x64 Sonar PE 8.5.3 x64 RME FireFace 400 Frontier Design Alpha Track Studio Logic VMK-188 Plus http://www.youtube.com/user/SonarHD
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cyphersuit
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 16:47:20
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I have a minor problem now. after having changed the ini file whenever i close sonar (as in exit the program), i get the error message "sonar does not work anymore".
(sorry for bad english)
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John
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 16:48:45
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Thanks Jose I stole your title if you don't mind.
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Jose7822
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 16:54:52
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cyphersuit
I have a minor problem now. after having changed the ini file whenever i close sonar (as in exit the program), i get the error message "sonar does not work anymore".
(sorry for bad english)
You either edited the AUD.INI file wrong (maybe by adding a space somewhere), or have a dual core system (this variable is NOT recommended for dual core processors). If neither of these apply, then simply go back and change the variable to its original value. That should solve the problem. HTH
Intel Q9400 2.66 GHz 8 GB of RAM @ 800 Mhz ATI Radeon HD 3650 Windows 7 Professional (SP1) x64 Cubase 6.03 x64 Sonar PE 8.5.3 x64 RME FireFace 400 Frontier Design Alpha Track Studio Logic VMK-188 Plus http://www.youtube.com/user/SonarHD
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Jose7822
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 16:56:09
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John
Thanks Jose I stole your title if you don't mind.
No I don't. It'll make this thread easier to search too. Take care!
Intel Q9400 2.66 GHz 8 GB of RAM @ 800 Mhz ATI Radeon HD 3650 Windows 7 Professional (SP1) x64 Cubase 6.03 x64 Sonar PE 8.5.3 x64 RME FireFace 400 Frontier Design Alpha Track Studio Logic VMK-188 Plus http://www.youtube.com/user/SonarHD
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cyphersuit
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 16:58:40
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Hm, can not reproduce the error, without having changed anything :) I had it two times in a row, now everything is fine. Computers, eh!
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John
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 17:00:50
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cyphersuit
I have a minor problem now. after having changed the ini file whenever i close sonar (as in exit the program), i get the error message "sonar does not work anymore".
(sorry for bad english)
How did you do the change? I did mine with notepad. I inserted this: ThreadSchedulingModel= With a value of 2 just after the = sign. No space. It was inserted in the [Waves] section of the audio.ini. With my system being Vista I found it here: C:/users/me/appdata/roaming/cakewalk/sonar 8.5 producer
post edited by John - 2009/09/21 17:02:05
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cyphersuit
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 17:09:38
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I changed it IN Sonar. Options/Audio/Advanced is the path.
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Jose7822
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 17:11:10
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John,
You din't have to go through all that trouble if you have Sonar 8. Your method requires being able to view hidden files/folders.
Instead, go to Options::Audio::Advanced Tab and click the 'Edit Confg File' button. This will open the AUD.INI file. Search for the correct variable, found under the [Wave] section, and make the change needed. Close and Save the Notepad file, then press the 'Reload Config Settings' button. That's all there is to it :-)
Take care!
Intel Q9400 2.66 GHz 8 GB of RAM @ 800 Mhz ATI Radeon HD 3650 Windows 7 Professional (SP1) x64 Cubase 6.03 x64 Sonar PE 8.5.3 x64 RME FireFace 400 Frontier Design Alpha Track Studio Logic VMK-188 Plus http://www.youtube.com/user/SonarHD
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John
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 17:13:22
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What will they think up next? I got to try that.
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rotaholic
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 19:01:48
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Is there any reason why the applyed changes wouldnt save? I change the default value to 2 and save but it keeps changing itself back to 1?
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Lay In Wait
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 19:54:57
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Does anyone know if this applies to dual cores with hyper threading? Or is it just for physical 4 core machines?
Windows 7 Pro 64bit, Core i7 920, Asus p6td deluxe, Sonar X1c PE, Motu 2408 mk3, Apogee Mini DAC, 3x UAD-1, Digimax FS, Motu Microlite, MCU, Tranzport, Nocturn. And more...
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John
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 20:04:04
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The variable 1 should work with dual cores. 2 works with quad cores. You can try different settings but I believe that you should stick with 0 or 1. But that is up to you.
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dontletmedrown
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 20:34:57
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Hmm... I just did some testing. I set the scheduler to 2. Using my i7 on a finished mix-- 43 tracks + 18 busses with FX and tons of automation. I dropped the buffer down to 64 and I'll be damned if it didn't run damn perfect. I mean not a single stutter or pause or audio glitch even if I navigate crazy or do wacky edits. I've always hoped I could get Sonar to run so smooth. Actually, it is usually not bad, but has never been what I would call perfect. It mostly seems like my UAD plug-ins are working more reliably with less glitches. I noticed last weekend during mixing that the UAD plugs on my tracks would vanish, then return when I would skip around the song really fast without stopping. I usually don't try to piss off the system like that, but I kinda noticed it by accident. That was with a buffer of 1024 with the scheduler set at default. After setting the scheduler to 2, I can get push the system harder at lower latency without dropouts. Also I can skip around the song just fine and audio never stalls even with the buffer at 64. I tried to wreck that engine. I dragged oddball fades and dragged clips and dragged the automation all over the place and still no hiccups. I did try a buffer of 32 and it didn't drop out, but I was hearing some minor audio artifacts. I guess I will leave Sonar parked at a 64 buffer from now on from tracking to mixing.  i7 + uad users, try tweaking that setting and let me know if I'm just crazy. Seems like it really helps the audio engine. This rig already ran smooth, but the UAD had just started acting up recently. For whatever reason, this seems to have solved it for me. Thanks for the info John! BTW, when are you going to post some music for us to listen to? I like hearing the stuff you guys are working on.
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dontletmedrown
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 20:48:44
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Also, in the Audio->advanced tab, my playback and record i/o are set at 1024 with my main ASIO buffer set at 64. If I set all values to 64, then performance is not as hot, but that's kinda ridiculous anyway for a mixed project. I guess I will leave them alone. I've always wondered why there are 3 buffer settings when most DAWs only have one.
Even with those buffers set at 1024, there is no perceivable latency (even with FX) as long as the main ASIO buffer is set at 64. I can't really figure out how those buffers come into play with the main one. Anyway, I saw that in the settings and figured I should share that info.
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John
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 20:50:06
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Dave what version of Sonar are you using? I hope its 8.5.1 only because that would be really cool.
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dontletmedrown
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 21:01:23
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Nope. I'm using 8.3.1 and the option was already in the ini set at 1. I changed it to 2. Even the cursor drops around faster while music is stopped?!?! Sonar needs an extra thread to move the freakin cursor faster? Perhaps I'm just imagining things? I use this program almost every day of my life, but maybe I'm just crazy. Seems much more fluid. I'd love to hear some feedback from i7 guys that use UAD.
post edited by dontletmedrown - 2009/09/21 21:03:12
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Jose7822
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 21:33:14
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Lay In Wait
Does anyone know if this applies to dual cores with hyper threading? Or is it just for physical 4 core machines?
This is why I'll repeat, once you have made the changes, "Close and Save the Notepad file, then press the 'Reload Config Settings' button." Settings will be saved by doing this. HTH
Intel Q9400 2.66 GHz 8 GB of RAM @ 800 Mhz ATI Radeon HD 3650 Windows 7 Professional (SP1) x64 Cubase 6.03 x64 Sonar PE 8.5.3 x64 RME FireFace 400 Frontier Design Alpha Track Studio Logic VMK-188 Plus http://www.youtube.com/user/SonarHD
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Jose7822
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 21:40:01
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dontletmedrown
Also, in the Audio->advanced tab, my playback and record i/o are set at 1024 with my main ASIO buffer set at 64. If I set all values to 64, then performance is not as hot, but that's kinda ridiculous anyway for a mixed project. I guess I will leave them alone. I've always wondered why there are 3 buffer settings when most DAWs only have one.
The Playback/Record I/O buffer settings found in Options::Audio::Advanced tab are for HDD throughput. They do NOT affect audio latency. The faster your HDD, the lower you can set those (especially if using RAID 0 or similar). They just affect how fast your HDD perform. HTH
Intel Q9400 2.66 GHz 8 GB of RAM @ 800 Mhz ATI Radeon HD 3650 Windows 7 Professional (SP1) x64 Cubase 6.03 x64 Sonar PE 8.5.3 x64 RME FireFace 400 Frontier Design Alpha Track Studio Logic VMK-188 Plus http://www.youtube.com/user/SonarHD
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John
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 21:56:48
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Mine are on 0. They should be use if you have an old machine. A modern machine is more then capable of handling the load of disk access for audio.
Although some seem to get a little better performance with setting them at a reasonable setting. I do know that when I tried them some time ago I got worse results then with a 0 setting. This was on a single core P4 machine with a RAID setup. So Jose is right on on this point.
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Jose7822
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 22:03:18
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...wait...
You have them set to 0? Do you still use RAID? I've never tried setting them that low but I'd guess that would fry my HDD, unless you're using Windows cache. Could you explain John?
Intel Q9400 2.66 GHz 8 GB of RAM @ 800 Mhz ATI Radeon HD 3650 Windows 7 Professional (SP1) x64 Cubase 6.03 x64 Sonar PE 8.5.3 x64 RME FireFace 400 Frontier Design Alpha Track Studio Logic VMK-188 Plus http://www.youtube.com/user/SonarHD
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John
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 22:12:40
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Right and on this machine no RAID. I have no problems with even large projects. I do have a dedicated project drive. Vista does have a buffer too, your right about that. Its small though.
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Jose7822
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 22:41:56
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John, you're mistaken here.
First, there's no way you could have that set to 0 because the lowest value available is "1". Second, I tried it at 32KB on a big project (~40 tracks and ~20 buses) and the HDD was working HARD. This is on a dedicated Barracuda Audio HDD (I'll be switching it to the new 1TB Barracuda tomorrow). Third, I dunno why I even listened to you on this one knowing full well that this is not possible :-P
Take care dude :-)
Intel Q9400 2.66 GHz 8 GB of RAM @ 800 Mhz ATI Radeon HD 3650 Windows 7 Professional (SP1) x64 Cubase 6.03 x64 Sonar PE 8.5.3 x64 RME FireFace 400 Frontier Design Alpha Track Studio Logic VMK-188 Plus http://www.youtube.com/user/SonarHD
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Fret Wizz
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 23:01:46
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cyphersuit
Hm, can not reproduce the error, without having changed anything :) I had it two times in a row, now everything is fine. Computers, eh!
Might've been more accurate to have written: "Users eh?" 
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John
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 23:13:03
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Form the help file.
Enable read and write caching By default, SONAR bypasses all disk caching, which typically results in better performance with
audio data. If your computer has an older IDE
disk controller, or a disk controller that does not
use DMA transfers, enabling caching may
improve SONAR's audio performance. Note:
Changes to these settings only take effect when
you restart SONAR. Choose Options-Audio and
click the Advanced tab to change the Enable
Read Caching and Enable Write Caching
settings.
Disable the Display Clip Contents
options
Drawing the contents of audio clips in
My bad I am talking about disk caching. Caching and buffers are the same to me.
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Lay In Wait
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 23:21:31
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Jose7822
Lay In Wait
Does anyone know if this applies to dual cores with hyper threading? Or is it just for physical 4 core machines?
This is why I'll repeat, once you have made the changes, "Close and Save the Notepad file, then press the 'Reload Config Settings' button."
Settings will be saved by doing this.
HTH
Im sorry, but what does that have to do with my question? I know how to save aud.ini files within Sonar. I just want to know if adding a value of "2" to a dual core with HT enabled has any added benefits seeing as it effectively runs as a 4 core processor, or if it is just for physical 4 core machines. Thanx.
Windows 7 Pro 64bit, Core i7 920, Asus p6td deluxe, Sonar X1c PE, Motu 2408 mk3, Apogee Mini DAC, 3x UAD-1, Digimax FS, Motu Microlite, MCU, Tranzport, Nocturn. And more...
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John
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 23:28:47
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Im sorry, but what does that have to do with my question? I know how to save aud.ini files within Sonar. I just want to know if adding a value of "2" to a dual core with HT enabled has any added benefits seeing as it effectively runs as a 4 core processor, or if it is just for physical 4 core machines. Thanx. I thought I answered your question. Its hard for me to say because I never had a dual core. Thats why I gave the answer I did. I guess it was unhelpful. See Post 15.
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Jose7822
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Re:For those wanted the core schedule for quads.
2009/09/21 23:46:00
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John
Form the help file.
Enable read and write caching By default, SONAR bypasses all disk caching, which typically results in better performance with
audio data. If your computer has an older IDE
disk controller, or a disk controller that does not
use DMA transfers, enabling caching may
improve SONAR's audio performance. Note:
Changes to these settings only take effect when
you restart SONAR. Choose Options-Audio and
click the Advanced tab to change the Enable
Read Caching and Enable Write Caching
settings.
Disable the Display Clip Contents
options
Drawing the contents of audio clips in
My bad I am talking about disk caching. Caching and buffers are the same to me.
Come on John, you gotta get it right yo! :-P
Intel Q9400 2.66 GHz 8 GB of RAM @ 800 Mhz ATI Radeon HD 3650 Windows 7 Professional (SP1) x64 Cubase 6.03 x64 Sonar PE 8.5.3 x64 RME FireFace 400 Frontier Design Alpha Track Studio Logic VMK-188 Plus http://www.youtube.com/user/SonarHD
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