The repository service caches deployment packages to improve download performance on shared file systems and to avoid stressing the file system. The first request for a package results in a file being read and added to the cache. Subsequent requests for packages go directly to the cache.
The maximum cache size, REPOSITORY_CACHE_SIZE, is set in the env section of the rs.xml file. The default is 1000 MB and the values can range from 1 to 1700 (MB). If you specify anything outside this range, the default value of 1000 MB will be applied. Any newly-deployed package should fit into the cache, otherwise the repository service may run out of memory and fail to deploy. Ideally, you would tune the REPOSITORY_CACHE_SIZE to allow all packages that need to be actively deployed to reside in the cache at the same time.