Choosing and Implementing the Correct Aggregration Strategy

The options for implementing portal channels for speed and scalability include the following.

• Keeping processing functions on back-end systems and application servers, not on the portal server. The portal server needs to optimize getting requests from the user. Push as much business logic processing to the back-end systems. Whenever possible, use the portal to deliver customized content to the users, not to process it.

• Ensuring that the back-end systems are highly scalable and performing. The Portal Desktop only responds as fast as the servers from which it obtains information (to be displayed in the channels).

• Understanding where data is stored when designing providers, how the portal gets that data, how the provider gets that data, and the type of data. For example, is the data dynamic that pertains to an individual user, or is there code needed to retrieve that customized or personalized data? Or, is the data static and shared by a small group of users? Next, you need to understand where the data resides (for example, in an XML file, database and flat file), and how frequently the data is updated. Finally, you need to understand how the business logic is applied for processing the data, so that the provider can deliver a personalized channel to the user.