| Oracle® Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle Imaging and Process Management 11g Release 1 (11.1.1) Part Number E12782-03 |
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PDF · Mobi · ePub |
| Oracle® Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle Imaging and Process Management 11g Release 1 (11.1.1) Part Number E12782-03 |
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|
PDF · Mobi · ePub |
This section covers the following topics:
Section 1.4, "Understanding Applications, Inputs, Searches, and Connections"
Section 1.7, "Oracle Imaging and Process Management Architecture"
This guide provides instructions for administering the Oracle Imaging and Process Management (Oracle I/PM) product software on Oracle WebLogic Server. The information contained in this document is subject to change as the product technology evolves and as hardware, operating systems, and third-party software are created and modified.
In this document and other documents in this product set, the terms application, search, input, and connection are typically being used in reference to object definition types within the Oracle I/PM product.
This guide assumes that Oracle I/PM is already installed. For information on installing Oracle I/PM and setting initial post-installation configuration options, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Installation Guide for Oracle Enterprise Content Management Suite.
This section provides an overview to the product architecture. Subsequent sections detail security contexts, initial configuration steps, administration procedures, and reference material for administering Oracle I/PM.
After installing Oracle I/PM and prior to configuring applications and other aspects of Oracle I/PM, ensure the following:
If using Oracle Document Capture or Oracle Distributed Document Capture, ensure that it has been configured with the Oracle I/PM 11g commit driver.
If installed on a Linux operating system, ensure that the GDFontpath values have been set.
Review the section on managing security to familiarize yourself with the security contexts within Oracle I/PM, the levels of security within those contexts and how they will apply to users and groups.
Ensure that Oracle Content Server is installed and configured for use with Oracle I/PM. See Oracle Fusion Middleware Installation Guide for Oracle Enterprise Content Management Suite for detailed information.
Obtain the necessary security, address, and port information to connect to a workflow server.
Obtain the necessary security, address, and port information to connect to an Oracle Content Server repository.
Oracle Imaging and Process Management (Oracle I/PM) provides organizations with a scalable solution upon which to develop process-oriented imaging applications and image-enablement solutions for enterprise applications. It enables image capture via Oracle Document Capture and Oracle Distributed Document Capture, annotation and markup of images, routing and approval automation, and support for high-volume applications for billions of items. With Oracle I/PM, organizations can quickly integrate their content and processes directly with Oracle enterprise applications, such as Oracle E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft Enterprise, and JD Edwards EnterpriseOne. Users benefit by having a single source for all transaction-based content, eliminating the need for double entry.
Oracle I/PM manages documents from image capture to archiving. A document is uploaded into Oracle I/PM either singly by individual users or in bulk via a background ingestion agent. Once uploaded, a document becomes part of an application. An application is a type of container for documents that defines metadata, storage information, and workflow process configuration for all documents within it. Applications are defined by the system administrator based on a specific business need. For example, an Invoicing application may track invoice number, date sent, date due, status, and any other metadata required by an accounting department. Applications use an input definition to map metadata from an input file to the correct application fields for bulk ingestion via the input agent. The input agent ingests the metadata and documents from a local file system or mapped network drive into Oracle I/PM.
Depending on how your repository is set up, uploaded documents can be stored within an Oracle database, on a file system, or in storage-specific hardware for retrieval. Security is applied to an Oracle I/PM document based on its application, ensuring access only by authorized users. And Oracle I/PM may be configured to initiate a business process instance within a workflow server.
Users can retrieve stored documents using a predefined search. Predefined searches are created to find documents based on document metadata and full-text indexes. With the proper permissions, users can:
View documents in a standard web-browser
Print, download, or e-mail the document to others
Annotate documents
Upload documents and initiate a workflow process if one is defined in the application
Delete, copy, or move documents
Applications, inputs, searches, and connections refer to specific objects within Oracle I/PM created using the Oracle I/PM interface or services in the application programming interface (API). Understanding what they are and how they work together to control access to documents is critical to creating them and working with Oracle I/PM.
Applications
Applications are the core of Oracle Imaging and Process Management. In Oracle I/PM, an application is not a separate software package, but a type of management container for documents uploaded to Oracle I/PM. In effect, an application is a category into which documents get sorted. Each application has unique security rights that are applied to documents in the application, and unique metadata fields to store the metadata values associated with each document. Changing security rights within an application affects access to all documents within the application. Similarly, adding a metadata field to an application adds the field to all documents within the application, however metadata values for the added field must be supplied individually to each document.
Inputs
Inputs are the way that documents are uploaded to Oracle I/PM and metadata is associated with them. Metadata values for a document are typically supplied when a document is uploaded. Documents can be uploaded individually and metadata values supplied manually by the person uploading the document. Most often documents are uploaded in bulk using a scanning station. When uploaded in bulk, the scanning station generates an input file. The input file includes the path to the scanned document and the values for the document metadata.
An input agent is used to watch specified locations and process any input files placed there by the scanning station. The documents specified in the input file are uploaded to an application in Oracle I/PM. The target application is also specified in the input file. The metadata values in the input file populate the fields of the application based on an input definition created in Oracle I/PM. The input definition maps the metadata values in the input file to the correct metadata fields of the selected application. Once documents are uploaded into an application with the correct metadata values, a search is used to retrieve documents relevant to your business process.
Searches
Searches are used to retrieve a listing of documents from Oracle I/PM. A search can be run across one or multiple applications, and the returned results listing can be e-mailed to others or exported to a file. Documents listed in a search result can be viewed, downloaded, copied to other applications, or otherwise manipulated as your business need requires.
Searches are created using the Oracle I/PM interface in much the same way that applications are created. The person responsible for creating the search determines what fields are to be searched within which applications. Note that searches can span multiple applications. For example, someone in the Accounts Payable department at XYZ Company receives an invoice that references a purchase order number. Before the person pays the invoice, they must first verify that the purchase order is valid and that the goods listed on the invoice have been received. They could execute a single search on the purchase order number that would search both the documents uploaded into the Purchase Orders application and the documents uploaded into the Shipping Receipts application. The search results listing returned could show whether the purchase order existed and note if there is a shipping receipt associated with it, verifying that the goods were received. If the person needed more detailed information from the documents, they could open both the purchase order and the shipping receipt in the Oracle I/PM viewer and compare them to ensure that all items on the purchase order matched the items on the invoice and that all items on the invoice were listed as received on the shipping receipt.
Connections
Connections are created in Oracle I/PM and used to access necessary servers. Two types of server connections are defined in Oracle I/PM:
repository connections are created to connect to an Oracle Content Server or servers where documents are stored
workflow connections are created to connect to workflow servers where a workflow process is defined
Oracle I/PM stores documents in repositories set up using Oracle Universal Content Management. Multiple repositories can be used, with connections created in Oracle I/PM to each repository using the Oracle I/PM interface. If your business process requires documents in a particular application to move through a workflow, then a connection to the workflow server where the workflow is defined can also be created in Oracle I/PM, and the application can be set to initiate the workflow when a document is upload to it.
Controlling Access
Access to the documents is controlled by a number of factors. First, by controlling access to the Oracle I/PM system. Second, by assigning permissions to the applications, searches, and other tools provided by the Oracle I/PM system. Lastly, by assigning permissions to the documents within different applications. In the preceding XYZ Company example, only the people authorized to view the purchase order, shipping receipt, and invoice documents would have the rights to do so. The person accessing the documents must have the right to execute the search. If they do not, then they wouldn't even be able to retrieve the documents for viewing. They must also belong to a group that has access to the individual documents in each specific application they work with: Invoices, Purchase Orders, or Shipping Receipts. The type of document security rights granted to the group in the application determines what a person can do with the document. For example, a person in the Accounts Payable group may be able to delete an invoice, but not a shipping receipt, whereas someone in Shipping and Receiving could delete a shipping receipt, but not even view an invoice.
Oracle I/PM system administrators are typically responsible for the following tasks:
Installing Oracle Imaging and Process Management
Configuring Oracle I/PM
Creating Oracle I/PM applications
Creating Oracle I/PM inputs
Creating Oracle I/PM searches
Configuring Oracle I/PM connections
Configuring workflow injection
Monitoring and troubleshooting Oracle I/PM issues
The first user to log into Oracle I/PM after installation is given full administrative privileges for the installation. This user can give permissions to access the system to others. If for any reason system security needs to be reset, you can do so following the procedure in the section "Installation Security Initialization" in chapter 2 of the full Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle Imaging and Process Management documentation set.
Administration of Oracle I/PM is done using the following administration tools:
Oracle I/PM user interface. Administration capabilities are exposed in the interface based on user permissions.
Note that business users typically do not interact with the Oracle I/PM administrative interface. Most user contact with Oracle I/PM is accessing search results listings and viewing documents, both of which are typically done from an integration of Oracle I/PM with an existing business suite such as Oracle E-Business Suite or PeopleSoft.
Oracle Enterprise Manager can be used for reviewing statistics on deployed resources, statistics of individual domains, details of web services, and other information. For more information, see the documentation that comes with Enterprise Manager.
Oracle WebLogic Server can be used for reviewing log files, installed modules, installed Enterprise JavaBeans, configuration parameters, setting configuration MBeans for Oracle I/PM, and more. For more information, see the documentation available with Oracle WebLogic Server.
WebLogic Scripting Tool (WLST) is a command-line interface for navigating, monitoring, and configuring Oracle WebLogic Server. It can be used to configure Oracle I/PM parameters, review log files, and more. For more information on using WLST, see Oracle Fusion Middleware WebLogic Scripting Tool Command Reference.
Some Oracle I/PM system administration tasks are not covered in this guide. The following table explains what these tasks are and where to find more information.
Table 1-1 System Administration Tasks and Information Not Covered in This Guide
| Task | Where to Go For More Information |
|---|---|
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Administering Oracle SOA Suite |
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Administering Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control |
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Administering Oracle WebLogic Server |
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Administering Universal Content Management |
Oracle Fusion Middleware System Administrator's Guide for Oracle Content Server |
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Oracle Document Capture Administrator's Guide |
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Administering Oracle Distributed Document Capture |
Oracle Distributed Document Capture Administrator's Guide |
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Administering Oracle Application Adapters for Oracle E-Business Suite and Oracle PeopleSoft |
This section contains the following topics:
Oracle I/PM integrates with Oracle Document Capture and Oracle Distributed Document Capture to allow you to convert physical documents into an electronic format to be uploaded to Oracle I/PM. If using Oracle Document Capture or Oracle Distributed Document Capture, ensure that it has been configured with the Oracle I/PM 11g commit driver. Talk to the Oracle Document Capture administrator or see the administration documentation for Oracle Document Capture or Oracle Distributed Document Capture.
Oracle I/PM leverages Oracle Content Server as a repository for document storage and retrieval. Oracle Content Server supports both out-of-the-box content management services and open, customizable integration options that can manage a broad range of enterprise content such as emails, documents, and images from different content sources. Oracle Content Server supports Oracle, SQL Server, and DB2 databases to allow indexing and storage of content in a variety of ways. Depending on the database and configuration, documents and metadata can be stored within the database, on a file system, or a combination of both. Flexible search options allow you to configure the repository to support either metadata searching or full-text searching per Oracle I/PM application to provide the most applicable search capabilities.
Oracle I/PM is designed to leverage many of the features of Oracle WebLogic Server including its standard J2EE architecture, integrations with Oracle security components, scalability including clustering, system management tools like Enterprise Manager, WebLogic Scripting Tools, and WebLogic Server Console.
For production environments that require increased application performance, throughput, or high availability, you can configure two or more Managed Servers to operate as a cluster. A cluster is a collection of multiple Oracle WebLogic Server managed servers running simultaneously and working together to provide increased scalability and reliability. In a cluster, most resources and services are deployed identically to each Managed Server (as opposed to a single Managed Server), enabling failover and load balancing. A single domain can contain multiple Oracle WebLogic Server clusters, as well as multiple Managed Servers that are not configured as clusters. The key difference between clustered and nonclustered Managed Servers is support for failover and load balancing. These features are available only in a cluster of Managed Servers. For more information on configuring a clusters in WebLogic Server, see the guide Oracle Fusion Middleware Using Clusters for Oracle WebLogic Server.
A connection to an workflow server is used to initiate a workflow process when documents are uploaded to Oracle I/PM, allowing for business process integration across the enterprise.
Oracle I/PM business logic produces business objects for defining applications, document control, and security. The following sections describe the underlying technology for Oracle I/PM:
Oracle I/PM resides within Oracle WebLogic Server, connected to a database. Oracle I/PM events are routed through Oracle WebLogic Server using Java Messaging Service (JMS) to communicate with its background agents. Custom applications can interact with Oracle I/PM through its set of custom Oracle I/PM application programming interfaces (APIs). For more information about Oracle I/PM APIs, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle Imaging and Process Management.
Custom applications integrating with an Oracle I/PM system can communicate with Oracle I/PM through the Oracle I/PM public API. The API is available in two forms:
through standard web services generated with the Java API for XML Web Services (JAX-WS)
through Oracle I/PM Java APIs, a set of portable Java class files
The Remote Java API uses the same API as the Oracle I/PM user interface.
Oracle I/PM provides architectural concepts that are designed to help business managers simplify the process of building imaging solutions. These architectural concepts, such as applications, searches, and inputs, provide convenient constructs around which a business user can organize their solution, grant security to relevant user groups, and finally migrate between differing system instances, for example, development and production. Oracle I/PM's public API provides services aligned with these architectural concepts whose implementations reside in Oracle I/PM's business logic layer. Although most requests flow directly through these layers producing immediate responses, some tasks are better performed in the background. These tasks are relegated to a collection of Oracle I/PM background processes known as agents.
Standard Java Management J2EE Beans (or MBeans) are used to configure the operation of Oracle I/PM's business logic as well as its agents. The values of these MBean configuration objects can be manipulated through Oracle Enterprise Manager and WebLogic Scripting Tool, allowing you to choose the best system management tool for your needs.
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