We have seen how the content can be entered in a Docbase using the Web Publisher tool and how system administration can be performed by using Documentum Administrator.
The content and its properties (metadata) in the Documentum system now need to be published out to the website so that it can be displayed on the site. It is the Documentum Site Caching Services (SCS), formerly known as WebCache, that helps us publish content and its metadata (document attributes) from Documentum Web Publisher system to a website, ensuring that the content seen on the website is accurate.
SCS does not create, manage, or store content in Documentum; this is done by Content Server. SCS simply exports the documents (whose object type is a sub type of dm_sysobject object type) and their associated attributes from Docbase to a pre-configured website.
The integration of SCS with Web Publisher happens via a 'Site Publishing Configuration', which is created using Documentum Administrator. It is through the Site Publishing Configuration that one can specify which types of documents need to be published, from which folders in Web Publisher they need to be published, and other details.
We shall cover Site Publishing Configurations in detail in Chapter 21.
The following configuration parameters need to be filled in when creating a Site Publishing Configuration for a Docbase from where content needs to be published via SCS:
- Name of the configuration
- Web Publisher delivery cabinet from where the documents need to be published
- Version label of the documents to be published, for example. 'Staging', 'WIP', etc.
- Host name and port number of the target where documents have to be published
- Connection type: whether secure or non-secure
- Target root directory where documents are published
- Whether metadata for documents (i.e. object attributes like title, subject, keywords, etc.) needs to be published to a target database
- If metadata has to be published, then the name of the table that will store the published attributes and the specific attributes to be published.
- Formats of documents to be published, for example HTML, PDF, XML, Excel, etc.
- Export directory on Content Server host's file system
- Whether online synchronization is required
- Any custom scripts to be executed on the target before and/or after publishing operation
- Target server authentication details like transfer user name, password, and domain
Site Caching Services comprises two major components:
- SCS Source: Installed on the server where Docbase exists
- SCS Target(s): Installed on the machine(s) where the documents need to be published
Figure 4.6 depicts the Documentum SCS architecture in a simplified manner.
Figure 4.6: Site Caching Services architecture
The following steps explain in brief how the SCS publishing process works in Documentum:
- A Site Publishing Configuration is made in Documentum Administrator, specifying the export directory on the Content Server host's file system and the target server where data needs to be published.
- When publishing commences, documents and optionally attributes (if specified in Site Publishing Configuration) from Docbase are placed in the 'export directory' on the
- SCS connects to the target server (web server host) as the transfer user specified in the Site Publishing Configuration
- After transfer user authentication, if connection to the web server host has been established, SCS transfers the export data set to the data transfer directory on the web server host. It should be noted that the data transfer directory is specified while installing SCS Target on the web server host.
- SCS then moves the target repository (documents + attributes data set) from the data transfer directory to the target root directory on the web server host. The target root directory is specified while creating the Site Publishing Configuration. It is the webroot of the website and corresponds to the publishing folder in Docbase
- The documents along with their containing folders are copied over to the target root directory, while the attributes are inserted into the database by reading values from the
properties.xmlfile. It should be noted that the database host and connection parameters are specified while installing SCS Target on the web server host.
SCS Publishing can happen in numerous ways:
- Invoking it manually through Web Publisher (Tools | Publish option)
- Invoking through Site Publishing Configuration directly in Documentum Administrator
- Running a scheduled publishing job at pre-defined intervals
- Invoking publishing via DQL, API, or a custom written DFC script
No wonder SCS plays a vital role in web content management by publishing content and its attributes over to a target file system and database, thus saving the website applications the overhead of reading data from Documentum system directly.
Through scheduled jobs, updated incremental data can be published on the target servers, maintaining the integrity of the site and ensuring that data is displayed on the site in a timely and accurate manner.