[ic] too many "Product Groups?" / Performance question (item limit?)

[Alexander N. Spitzer]

I am using IC 5.0 on linux rh9 800mhz, 512mb ram, 170,000 items, 82
Groups. mysql 4.x.

1)
When I go to Miscellaneous --> Layout Editor Auto-populate

When I auto-populate, I only seem to get 50 groups.

I have searched the archives, and seen mention of "ml=<numb>", and have
tried it in catalog.conf (and catalog_before.cfg), but it does not seem to
take effect. (yes, I have restarted interchange...)

what exactly am I missing to get more that 50 groups to be created in the
main index page.


2) not sure if I have hit the limit of items, but everything takes
forever.

I have:
analyzed tables
using my-large.cnf from mysql dist.
tried TRAFFIC = "low" "high" and "rpc" in interchange.cfg
any other ideas besides "faster machine/more memory"?
static page generation?

thanks!