2 Getting the Spaces Application Up and Running

Getting WebCenter Portal's Spaces application up and running and ready for use requires input from both the Fusion Middleware administrator and the Spaces administrator. This chapter outlines the roles and responsibilities of each administrator who may, in some cases, be the same person.

The chapter also outlines what must be done, after installation, to get Spaces up and running. Some roadmaps are provided to guide you through this process.

This chapter includes the following sections:

Audience

The content of this chapter is intended for Fusion Middleware administrators responsible for the Spaces application (users granted the Admin role through the Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console) and Spaces administrators (users granted the Administrator role through Spaces administration pages).

Note:

Administrators working with portal applications developed using WebCenter Portal: Framework, should refer to Chapter 4, "Getting Framework Applications Up and Running".

2.1 Role of the Fusion Middleware Administrator

Oracle Fusion Middleware provides a single administrative role with complete administrative capabilities—the Admin role. Fusion Middleware administrators with this role can perform the complete range of security-sensitive administrative duties, and all installation, configuration, and audit tasks. This administrator is also responsible for setting up and configuring the Spaces application immediately after installation, and performing on-going administrative tasks for Spaces and other Oracle WebCenter Portal components. Throughout this document, this administrator is referred to as the Fusion Middleware administrator.

During installation, a single Fusion Middleware administrator account is created named weblogic. The password is the one provided during installation.

Use this administrator account to log in to the Fusion Middleware Control Console and Spaces, and assign administrative privileges to other users:

To find out what other tasks a Fusion Middleware administrator must do to get Spaces up and running, follow the steps listed under  "Roadmap - Setting Up the Spaces Application for the First Time".

Note:

The Fusion Middleware administrator is also responsible for all on-going administrative tasks, for details see Section 3.3, "System Administration for Spaces (Roadmap) ".

2.2 Role of the Spaces Administrator

Spaces administrators have the highest application privileges within the Spaces application itself. This administrator can view and customize every aspect of the Spaces application, manage users and roles, and delegate responsibilities to others.

Out-of-the-box, the default Fusion Middleware administrator (weblogic) is the only user assigned to the Spaces Administrator role. The password is the one provided during installation. Use this administrator account to log in to Spaces, and assign additional users the Administrator role. For details, see "Giving a User Administrative Privileges" in Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal: Spaces.

To find out what a Spaces administrator can do to customize Spaces out-of-the-box, follow the "Roadmap - Customizing Spaces for the First Time".

Note:

The Spaces administrator is also responsible for all on-going administrative tasks, for details see Section 3.4, "Application Administration for Spaces (Roadmap) ".

2.3 Installing WebCenter Portal: Spaces

WebCenter Portal: Spaces installation is described in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Installation Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal.

2.4 Setting Up Spaces for the First Time (Roadmap)

The flow chart depicted in Figure 2-1 and Table 2-1 in this section provide an overview of the tasks required to get the Spaces application up and running.

Figure 2-1 Setting Up the Spaces Application for the First Time

Setting Up Spaces Applications for the First Time Install WebCenter Portal: Spaces Start Node Manager Start the managed servers Log in to Spaces as the default administrator Grant administrative privileges to others Add/modify connections to back-end components External applications Pagelet producer WSRP producers Oracle PDK-Java producers Connect back-end severs to the same identity store as Spaces Configure single sign-on Configure SSL Configure WS-Security Spaces workflows Notification message channel Search crawlers Search settings RSS news feeds Restart WC_Spaces, the managed server on which Spaces is deployed Log in to Spaces Set global options and customize Spaces Grant application roles
Description of "Figure 2-1 Setting Up the Spaces Application for the First Time"

Table 2-1 Roadmap - Setting Up the Spaces Application for the First Time

Actor Task Sub-task Notes

Administrator

1. Verify your Spaces installation

1.a Install WebCenter Portal: Spaces

1.b Start Node Manager

1.c Start the managed servers

1.d Log in to the Spaces application as the default administrator

1.e Grant administrative privileges to others

 

Administrator

2. Add/modify connections to back-end components using either of the following tools:

  • Fusion Middleware Control

  • WLST

 

Back-end components may include:

Administrator

3. Connect external applications and portlet producers using either of the following tools:

  • Fusion Middleware Control

  • WLST

 

Portlet producers may include:

Administrator

4. Connect back-end severs to the same identity store as the Spaces application

 

Back-end servers may inlcude:

  • Oracle WebCenter Content Server

  • Oracle Secure Enterprise Search

  • BPEL server

  • Discussions server

  • Presence server

Administrator

5. Secure communication with the Spaces application

5.a Configure single sign-on

5.b Configure SSL

5.c Configure WS-Security

 

Administrator

6. (Optional) Configure Spaces options:

   

Administrator

7. Restart WC_Spaces, the managed server on which the Spaces application is deployed

   

Spaces Administrator

8. Log in to Spaces

   

Spaces Administrator

9. Set global options and customize Spaces

   

Spaces Administrator

10. Grant application roles

   

Footnote 1 Auto-configured out-of-the-box

2.5 Customizing Spaces for the First Time (Roadmap)

The roadmap in Table 2-2 outlines the tasks that a Spaces administrator might perform to customize Spaces for a new target audience.

Table 2-2 Roadmap - Customizing Spaces for the First Time

Task Documentation Actor

1. Log in to Spaces

Login to Spaces with administrative privileges and access the administration pages:

Tips:

Spaces URL is http://<host>:<port>/webcenter

Spaces Administration URL is http://<host>:<port>/webcenter/spaces/admin

Spaces Admin

2. Customize Spaces

Customize Spaces to suit your audience. Choose a name and logo for your application, apply a corporate brand, set language options, and more. For details, see:

Spaces Admin

3. Determine self-registration policy

Establish your policy regarding new user registration. Allow users outside of the Spaces community to self -register on an invitation-only basis or extend self-registration to the public:

Spaces Admin

4. Plan the public user experience

First impressions are extremely important. Determine the content displayed on your Welcome page and the appearance of Spaces before users login:

Spaces Admin

5. Create roles and delegate responsibilities to other users

Create roles to characterize groups of users and determine what they can see and do in the Spaces application. Manage and assign roles for any user in the identity store:

Spaces Admin

6. Customize the Home space

Design the default Home space for Spaces users. Give them instant access to important information and applications relevant to their roles:

Encourage or enforce a consistent look and feel through default page schemes and default page templates:

Spaces Admin

7. Set up discussion forums and announcements

Configure default options for discussion forums and announcements:

Spaces Admin

8. Set up people connection components

Configure defaults for activity streams, personal profiles, connections, messages boards, and feedback:

Spaces Admin

9. Set up mail notifications

Configure default options for everyone's mail:

Spaces Admin

10. Provide ready-made spaces and space templates

Users can create and manage their own spaces without centralized administration. Give them a head-start by creating templates for the types of workspaces and communities they are likely to build:

Spaces Admin