Choosing an Appropriate Provider

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4.5.1.2 Choosing an Appropriate Provider

The different types of providers described in the previous section are added under specific circumstances to work with various other Oracle products or utilities. The following subsections describe those conditions and the particular provider types that must be added in each scenario. ■ Section 4.5.1.2.1, When to Add an Outgoing Provider ■ Section 4.5.1.2.2, When to Add a Database Provider ■ Section 4.5.1.2.3, When to Add an Incoming Provider ■ Section 4.5.1.2.4, When to Add a Preview Provider ■ Section 4.5.1.2.5, When to Add an LDAP Provider ■ Section 4.5.1.2.6, When to Edit JpsUserProvider

4.5.1.2.1 When to Add an Outgoing Provider Outgoing providers are added to use the

Oracle Content Server Archiver utility and Inbound Refinery. If you want to use SSL or keepalive with an outgoing provider, see details in Section 4.5.1.3, Security Providers. ■ Archiver Utility Oracle Content Server : The Archiver is a utility within the core Oracle Content Server product that enables system administrators to copy and remove content and store it for future use. Users can query a set of content from the Oracle Content Server instance and export it to an archive. Archives can then be imported to other Oracle Content Server instances or can be imported back to the same instance with changed metadata fields. An outgoing provider is required to use the Archiver Transfer feature, which is used to archive content across a firewall or between two systems that do not share a file system. For more information about the Transfer feature, the different types of transfers and the outgoing provider requirements, see the Managing Migration chapter for more information. For additional reference information about outgoing providers and each specific field, see Section A.1.6.4, Outgoing Socket Provider Page. ■ Inbound Refinery : The Inbound Refinery server processes content checked in to Oracle Content Server and converts it to specified formats. An outgoing connection to the Inbound Refinery server is necessary for communication with Oracle Content Server. For details, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrators Guide for Conversion.

4.5.1.2.2 When to Add a Database Provider Database providers are added to use external

databases. Frequently, it is desirable or necessary to perform database queries on databases that are not the default Oracle Content Server database. In this case, customized database providers can be created that make it possible to access any data from any application, regardless of which database management system is handling the data. Using customized database providers to integrate external databases into a Oracle Content Server system, search results can be combined and viewed on a single search screen. Additionally, data can be imported from these external database sources. Administrators can create a database provider in one of two methods: ■ Use the Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console to create an Oracle WebLogic Server data source to the database, then configure an Oracle Content Server database provider to use that data source. For information, see Creating a Managing System Settings 4-63 JDBC Data Source for a WebLogic Domain Server in Oracle Fusion Middleware Developers Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework. ■ Create an Oracle Content Server database provider to connect directly to the database through a JDBC connection, without using an Oracle WebLogic Server data source. This mode is provided for instances with pre-existing connections in their configurations. For additional reference information about Oracle Content Server database providers and each specific field, see Section A.1.6.5, Database Provider Page.

4.5.1.2.3 When to Add an Incoming Provider Incoming providers are added to use

WebDAV support and the Oracle Content Server Archiver utility. If you want to use SSL or keepalive with an incoming provider, see details in Section 4.5.1.3, Security Providers. ■ Oracle WebDAV Support : With version 6.2 of Oracle Content Server, you could implement WebDAV Web-Based Distributed Authoring and Versioning support using an incoming provider and the Oracle Content Server integrated Tomcat servlet engine. In Oracle Content Server version 7.0 and later, however, WebDAV support is provided by a custom feature, so the provider and servlet engine are no longer necessary. See the Oracle Fusion Middleware Applications Administrators Guide for Content Server for more information. ■ Archiver Utility Oracle Content Server : The Archiver is a utility within the core Oracle Content Server product that enables system administrators to copy and remove content and store it for future use. Users can query a set of content from the Oracle Content Server instance and export, import, or replicate to another instance, or change metadata fields. Tasks most frequently performed involve transfer, backup, and reorganization of information within the system. Generally, when data or content items are moved from one repository to another, the Archiver utility uses a push technology to relocate the files. However, occasionally your system might require that the files be pulled rather than pushed. In this case, an incoming provider must be created. For additional reference information about incoming providers and each specific field, see Section A.1.6.6, Incoming Provider Page. Consulting Services are required perform this operation.

4.5.1.2.4 When to Add a Preview Provider Preview providers are added to use HTML

Preview and Content Categorizer. ■ HTML Preview : HTML Preview is a feature that provides users with instant feedback on how their content will display on the published web site. This feature enables users to modify the original content before it is actually checked in. HTML Preview also helps users ensure that correct metadata has been assigned to the content. During the installation process, a preview provider must be created. For additional overview and installation information about HTML Preview, see the Oracle Fusion Middleware Application Administrators Guide for Content Server. ■ Content Categorizer : Content Categorizer suggests metadata values for documents being checked into Oracle Content Server or for existing documents that need to have metadata reapplied. For Content Categorizer to recognize structural properties of a document, the file must be converted to XML. If you are using Content Publisher to set up a template for the required XML conversion process, the HTML Preview feature must be configured as a preview 4-64 Oracle Fusion Middleware System Administrators Guide for Oracle Content Server provider. HTML Preview is a feature that enables users to preview their content and see what the converted output from Content Publisher will look like. For more information about Content Categorizer, see the Oracle Fusion Middleware Application Administrators Guide for Content Server. This guide provides relevant information about any additional products that may be required or are optional. For additional reference information about preview providers and each specific field, see Section A.1.6.7, Preview Provider Page.

4.5.1.2.5 When to Add an LDAP Provider Lightweight Directory Access Protocol LDAP

is a directory service protocol that runs over TCPIP. It provides high-level functionality to manage resources within a network and works with Oracle Content Server to manage security and user authentication. The LDAP directory service model is based on a collection of attributes and is used to access information stored in an information directory. As such, LDAP is used to validate a set of user name and password credentials against an authentication source. This process will grant privileges to a user to give them access to web resources. An LDAP server provides a single source for user-related information that can be accessed from applications such as Oracle Content Server and other Oracle product modules. Instead of maintaining user information within the Oracle Content Server instance, you can integrate an LDAP directory to authenticate user credentials to the Oracle Content Server instance. If you decide to use an LDAP server other than Active Directory, which can be integrated directly with the Oracle Content Server instance, you must create an LDAP provider to set up communication between the Oracle Content Server instance and the LDAP server. When properly configured, the LDAP provider authorizes external users through the mapping properties that are linked to role assignments and account permissions defined on the Ldap Provider page. For additional reference information about LDAP providers and each specific field, see Section A.1.6.8, LDAP Provider Page. Although not required, you are encouraged to have Consulting Services assist you with creating an LDAP security model and deploying the LDAP integration. Contact your sales representative for more information. LDAP integration is also useful with the following content management products and architectures: ■ Portlets on WebSphere : WebSphere users can access Oracle Content Server through the Oracle Content Integration Suite. This portal interface enables users and developers to retrieve, view, and download Oracle Content Server content items based on full text or metadata search queries. When using the Content Integration Suite, the WebSphere Application Server is recommended. If you are using a WebSphere Portal Server, the Oracle Content Portal Suite is a recommended addition to the Content Integration Suite. The Content Integration Suite connects directly to the Oracle Content Server instance instead of the database. This direct connection avoids the authentication step at the web server and enables the developer total control over the authentication and authorization of users. The advantage is you can authenticate Note: As of 11g Release 1 11.1.1, LDAP provider functionality is superseded by JpsUserProvider. Use of the LDAP provider is not recommended. See Section 4.5.1.2.6, When to Edit JpsUserProvider. Managing System Settings 4-65 users at the Content Integration Suite layer however you want. You can integrate with an LDAP server at the application server level, or you can ask the Oracle Content Server instance to validate the passwords for you. For more information about using WebSphere with the Content Integration Suite and the Content Portal Suite, see the documentation provided with the WebSphere Portal Server, WebSphere Application Server, Oracle Content Integration Suite, and Oracle Content Portal Suite. ■ Content Tracker : Content Tracker is a system that is built from a collection of software features that, when combined, enable users to use a standard browser to track content usage through an integrated set of analytical tools. The data provided by the Oracle Content Server instance is derived from logged data that includes web server log data, Oracle Content Server data, and user information. Content Tracker accesses this data, performs analysis on it, and produces descriptive reports. Integrating an LDAP directory server with Content Tracker is optional. However, if LDAP is used, an LDAP provider must be created. For more information about the related data repositories, report generation, producing queries and installation procedures, see the Oracle Fusion Middleware Application Administrators Guide for Content Server.

4.5.1.2.6 When to Edit JpsUserProvider The system-defined JpsUserProvider connects to

an Oracle WebLogic Server instance and supports the Oracle WebLogic Server authentication mechanism Basic, Form, Single Sign-On, WNA, and so forth. Java Platform Security JPS provides a uniform interface for authenticating and authorizing users from Oracle Fusion Middleware applications regardless of the back-end user storage XML, LDAP, database, Active Directory, and so on. JPS API calls are used to perform user authentication, user authorization and retrieval of user metadata. The JpsUserProvider component is installed and enabled as a system component when the Oracle Content Server instance is installed against an Oracle WebLogic Server instance. It also is available as a standard Oracle Content Server component. You can edit the JpsUserProvider configuration from the Providers page in the Oracle Content Server instance. The connection configuration also can be edited through the jps-config.xml file to use identity and credential stores. It is unlikely that a site would ever add a JpsUserProvider in addition to the system-defined JpsUserProvider. Adding another such provider could cause problems for the Oracle Content Server installation. If you want to authenticate against a JPS store, JpsUserProvider can be used to share the same security storage as another application on an Oracle WebLogic Server instance. For example, you could use JpsUserProvider to share security storage with Image and Processing Manager software installed on an Oracle WebLogic Server instance.

4.5.1.3 Security Providers