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Oracle® WebCenter Content System Administrator's Guide for Content Server
11g Release 1 (11.1.1)

Part Number E10792-04
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8 Managing System Migration and Archiving

This chapter provides conceptual, reference, and step-by-step information about the tools and tasks for archiving and migrating structure and content of one Content Server instance to another.

8.1 Introduction to Migration Tools and Components

Several tools are available for archiving and migrating information from and to a Content Server instance. Each tool serves a different purpose and most can be used together.

This section provides an introduction to these tools and their uses.

8.1.1 Configuration Migration

The Configuration Migration Utility component is used to select elements of your Content Server instance to migrate to another instance. This component is installed and enabled by default with the Content Server instance.

Note:

This component supports Contribution Folders (also called virtual folders or Folders_g after the name of the component), but does not support the FrameworkFolders component (the replacement for Contribution Folders).

Overview

You can select individual elements (such as workflow tokens or content types) or entire sections (such as all user-related metadata or all metadata related to workflows). In addition, you can export and import an entire Content Server instance to create a snapshot of the Content Server instance at a certain point in time. It can be used to migrate a system from testing to production, or to provide an upgrade path from older versions of the Content Server instance. By using the migration tool, you can keep an older version of the Content Server software in production while testing new functionality on a newer version.

Each export configuration is packaged as a bundle which contains the information needed to re-create the configuration on another system. A bundle is a zip file that can be easily shared with other systems.

Functions

The Configuration Migration Utility is used to configure migration bundles for exporting to other systems. It is also used to upload and import bundles on an importing system. There are four main functions:

  • Upload Bundle: used to find a copy of an exported bundle and make it available for use on a receiving system.

  • Configuration Bundles: used to import the configuration from the uploaded bundle. This function creates new metadata fields or overwrites current fields, depending on options chosen during import.

  • Configuration Templates: used to create export bundles, which can later be uploaded and imported to another Content Server instance.

  • Recent Actions: used to view recent activity such as imports and exports and to view a log of those activities.

By using the Configuration Migration Utility with the Archiver, you can create a snapshot in time of your existing Content Server instance or you can use it to keep track of incremental updates to an existing system. The Configuration Migration Utility captures configuration information while the Archiver captures content.

For details about using the Configuration Migration Utility, see Section 8.2, "Migrating System Configurations."

8.1.2 Archiver

Archiver can be used with the Migration utility to migrate a complete Content Server instance, including content, from one system to another.

Note:

This component supports Contribution Folders (also called virtual folders or Folders_g after the name of the component), but supports only migrating tables for the FrameworkFolders component (the replacement for Contribution Folders).

Note:

Archiver does not include Digital Asset Management (DAM) video and audio renditions in the archives it creates. The archives do include the native file, thumbnail, the zip rendition that contains storyboard thumbnails, and the web-viewable .hcsp file, but do not include any additional video and audio renditions created by Inbound Refinery.

This limitation is by design. Many video files would make the archive too large, surpassing the 2GB limit on zip files. Also, in man production instances the video renditions are likely to be stored on a separate file system.

When using the Archiver with the Electronic Signatures component, make sure to use the table archive feature to move the Esig table. If this is not done, an error is returned in the Signatures Listing section on the Signatures Information Page after clicking the Signatures tab on a Content Information Page.

Overview

Archiver can be run as an Admin Applet, accessed from the Admin menu, or as a standalone version. The standalone version is required to:

  • Create collections

  • Create a new archive by copying from an existing archive

  • Browse the local file system to connect to new collections

For details about using Archiver in standalone mode, see Section 8.3.2.5, "Running the Archiver as a Standalone Application."

Functions

Archiver is a Java applet that is used to transfer and reorganize Content Server files and information. Archiver has four main functions:

  • Export: Used to copy native and web-viewable files out of the Content Server instance for backup, storage, or import to another Content Server instance. You can also export content types and user attributes. You export to an archive, which contains the exported files and their metadata in the form of batch files.

  • Import: Used to retrieve files and Content Server information from an exported archive. Importing is typically used to get a copy of content from another Content Server instance or to restore data that has been in storage. You can also change metadata values during an import.

  • Transfer: Used to transfer content from one Content Server instance to another over sockets. This is typically used to move or copy content across a firewall or between two Content Server instances that do not have access to the same file system. You can also use the Transfer function to transfer archive files between Content Server systems that have access to the same file system.

  • Replicate: Used to automate the export, import, and transfer functions. For example, you can use replication to automatically export from one Content Server instance, transfer the archive to another computer, and import to another Content Server instance.

The following illustration demonstrates these basic functions.

Figure 8-1 Archiver Functions

Description of Figure 8-1 follows
Description of "Figure 8-1 Archiver Functions"

Caution:

Do not use Archiver as your primary method of disaster recovery; use standard backup systems for the database and file system.

8.1.3 Folder Archiving

You cannot use the Archiver to move folder structure and content, but you can use Folder Archiving to migrate the total folder structure of your Content Server instance from one location to another. This does not archive the folder content, just the folder structure.

Using Folder Archiving you can export and import the folder hierarchical structure directly from the Folders administration interface. The entire folder hierarchy is exported to a text file in HDA format, which can then be read by the Content Server instance when it is imported.

This component supports Contribution Folders (also called virtual folders or Folders_g after the name of the component), but does not support the FrameworkFolders component (the replacement for Contribution Folders).

8.1.4 FolderStructureArchive Component

The FolderStructureArchive component is a separate product from the Folders_g component and must be installed separately.

Note:

This component supports Contribution Folders (also called virtual folders or Folders_g after the name of the component), but does not support the FrameworkFolders component (the replacement for Contribution Folders).

Overview

The FolderStructureArchive component can be used with the archiving aspect of the Folders component but its functionality differs in several ways:

  • It can export selected portions of the folder structure. The Folders Archive function can only export the entire folder structure.

  • It can create incremental archives. These are archives that contain only changed folders. The built-in Folder Archive function creates archives that contain all items.

  • It can include both the folder structure and folder content in the archives. The Folder Archive function can only export the folder structure and none of the content.

Functions

This component can be used for three major purposes:

  • As a backup tool. With this component you can copy the folder structure, including its content.

  • As a duplication tool. This component can be used to copy the folder structure and content and create an exact copy on another computer, helping to simplify multiserver setups.

  • As a synchronization tool. With this component you can ensure that copies of your folders and their contents are kept synchronized across different systems.

8.1.5 ArchiveReplicationExceptions Component

The ArchiverReplicationExceptions component is installed (enabled) by default with the Content Server instance. It enables administrators to prevent failed imports from stopping replication. It does this by capturing failed imports and putting them into an exceptions archive, then sending e-mail to the administrator that a failed import has occurred.

For content items to be processed by the ArchiverReplicationExceptions component, the administrator must manually set configuration entries in the IntradocDir/config/config.cfg file. The configuration variables customize the behavior of the importing Content Server instance to allow for certain situations and to distribute the error reporting based on the configured criteria.

Note:

This component supports Contribution Folders (also called virtual folders or Folders_g after the name of the component), but does not support the FrameworkFolders component (the replacement for Contribution Folders).

8.1.6 Archive Tool Summary and Comparison

The tools that can be used to archive Content Server structure, content, and folders all serve different purposes. All of the tools can be used together, but sometimes one might be preferred over the other. The following table summarizes each tool and its strengths and limitations.

Feature Configuration Migration Utility (CMU) Archiver Folder Archiving Folder Structure Archive Component

Primary purpose

A 'snapshot' tool, used to migrate one Content Server instance to another or to migrate to an upgraded instance.

Supports only Contribution Folders.

Primarily used for backup, storage, and transfer of data over sockets.

Supports Contribution Folders. Supports only migrating tables for the FrameworkFolders component.

Used to export and import a complete folder structure or hierarchy.

Supports only Contribution Folders.

Used to backup and duplicate a folder structure to synchronize the contents with another Content Server instance.

Supports only Contribution Folders.

Strengths

Enables you to choose specific parts of the Content Server instance to migrate.

Provides logging and trace files.

Works with older content.

Provides logging and trace files.

Ensures that the collection IDs on the target match those on the source.

Can export selected portions of the folder structure.

Limitations

Cannot be used on pre-6.2 versions of the Content Server software.

Migration of components can be difficult.

The standalone version is needed to create collections.

Imported revisions do not automatically enter a workflow.

All current folders and content items in the folders are removed from the Content Server instance and replaced by the imported folder hierarchy.

Does not ensure that the collection ID of folders on the target match those on the source content.

What it archives

  • Metadata

  • Security (roles and accounts)

  • Profiles

  • Schema

  • Workflow

  • Personalization

  • Add-on components

  • Content

  • Content types

  • User attributes

  • Subscriptions

  • Security groups

  • File Formats

  • Complete folder hierarchy (no content)

  • Complete or partial folder hierarchy and content

  • Only changed content (if desired)

What it does not archive

  • Content

  • Workflow state

  • Does not synchronize: this is an additive archive

  • Folder structure

  • Metadata, security and other features which are archived by CMU

  • Weblayout structure

  • Partial or selected folder hierarchy

  • Collaboration folders

  • Content

  • Metadata, security (other features which are archived by CMU)

Collaboration folders


8.2 Migrating System Configurations

Configuration migration is used with the Archiver to export one Content Server instance configuration to another Content Server instance. Archiver is used to migrate content and the Configuration Migration Utility exports the configuration and customization of the Content Server instance.

8.2.1 Configuration Migration Utility

This section describes the structure of the Configuration Migration Utility and how it uses templates and bundles. For an overview of this utility and how it compares to other archiving tools, see Section 8.1, "Introduction to Migration Tools and Components."

8.2.1.1 Migration Structure

A bundle is a set of configuration information that is packaged into a single zipped file and made ready for exporting to another Content Server instance.

Information is stored in the DomainHome/ucm/cs/cmu/instance/ directory.

Figure 8-2 Migration Directory Structure

Description of Figure 8-2 follows
Description of "Figure 8-2 Migration Directory Structure"

The bundles subdirectory contains specific bundles and associated information. The templates subdirectory contains configuration templates which can be used for new export files.

Figure 8-3 The Bundles Subdirectory

Description of Figure 8-3 follows
Description of "Figure 8-3 The Bundles Subdirectory"

Each configuration bundle is in a separate subdirectory and contains all the relevant files needed to export that bundle.

Figure 8-4 Files in Configuration Bundle

Description of Figure 8-4 follows
Description of "Figure 8-4 Files in Configuration Bundle"

Within the specific directories, any customization that is unique to the instance in that export (such as customized metadata fields, schemas, and so on) are included in a separate subdirectory.

Figure 8-5 Customization Stored in Directory

Description of Figure 8-5 follows
Description of "Figure 8-5 Customization Stored in Directory"

The following files are included in these different subdirectories:

File or Directory Description

bundle directory

Each bundle has a subdirectory in the /bundles directory. The subdirectory is given the name assigned to the bundle when the configuration export was created.

templates directory

Contains export rules created from bundles. When a configuration export is created and saved, a name is given to that export and the configuration is stored as a template in the templates directory

hda files

Contains definitions and details of customization and other elements of the exported instance. Depending on how the export was defined, information can be bundled into one .hda file or into several.


8.2.1.2 About Migration Templates and Bundles

A migration template is a set of configuration options which specify what Content Server items will be exported. For example, a template named FullCSExport may contain all Content Server items (schema, custom metadata, workflows, and so on). Another template named UserCSExport may only contain options that pertain directly to users (security groups, roles, and so on).

These templates are used to create configuration bundles. A bundle uses the template to determine what to export and to create the necessary definition files which will be exported with the Content Server items. The bundle name is used to identify the finished result of an import or an export. The bundled information is put into a zipped file, containing all the necessary definition files.

8.2.2 Migration Tips

It is important to remember that migration entails the bundling and copying of information about the Content Server instance. It does not include any of the actual content that is in the Content Server instance. Archiver is used to export content. You should take care that if you archive specific content and plan to export it to another system, the metadata information for that content is also migrated using the Configuration Migration Utility.

When migrating information from one Content Server instance to another, there is not a merging of information. Migration is an additive process. The exporting configuration bundle of metadata information is added to the metadata that currently exists in the importing Content Server instance. If metadata information currently exists that matches the metadata being imported, and if the Force Overwrite rule has been selected during import, then duplicate bundles are replaced. For information about the Force Overwrite option, see Section 8.2.3.6, "Uploading a Bundle."

Configuration Migration Utility administration tasks must be performed using a specific node of a cluster. If you do not use a specific node, then an error might occur because the job number assigned to an action is known only to the node that started the action.

You cannot import a configuration on a 6.2 version of the Content Server instance. The Edit, Preview, and History options will not appear on the bundle's options on the Configuration Bundles page on a 6.2 version Content Server instance.

If you import a template to use on another Content Server instance and if the importing system does not have the same metadata fields, you will not be able to use that template for export later. You must upload the template, import the configuration, and then use it for exporting. For details about the import process, see Section 8.2.3.3, "Importing a Template."

8.2.2.1 Limitations

Keep the following limitations in mind when using the Configuration Migration Utility:

  • When exporting workflow configuration information, only the workflow definition is exported. The state of the workflow is not exported.

  • If importing and overwriting existing workflows, ensure that you have the same step names for each workflow.

  • If you import a workflow to a new Content Server instance, the workflow will not retain the same state information as that of the exporting Content Server instance. For this reason, you should not plan to export active workflows.

  • This utility is not a cloner. It does not synchronize information with another system, it only copies and moves information.

  • This utility cannot be set up to migrate automatically.

  • Errors may arise when migrating docmeta information from earlier versions of the Content Server instance because of the use of schemas in later versions of the Content Server instance.

  • You cannot import users from a 6.2 or 7.0 version of the Content Server system to a later version due to Archiver limitations.

  • Migrating the config.cfg file may have errors because some values are not migrated for safety reasons (for example, IDC_Name). Others values, such as that for AutoNumberPrefix, are migrated.

  • Migrating components can be difficult because no preference prompts (for example, in Folders or RMA) and no database tables can be migrated.

  • No support is provided for bundles in components.

8.2.2.2 Migration Logs

You can enable migration trace logs to track activity during migration events. The logs are enabled by selecting System Audit Information on the Admin Applets screen or choosing it in the Administration tray. In the Tracing Section Information portion of the page, select cmu from the Active Sections menu. Configuration Migration Utility logs will be included in the trace files that are run.

To access the logs, click View Server Output from the Actions menu on the page. The Configuration Migration Utility log information is included with other tracing logs that are generated.

8.2.3 Managing Configuration Migration

Migration consists of several tasks such as creating migration templates, creating migration bundles, and exporting or importing the configuration.

8.2.3.1 Creating a Configuration Migration Template

  1. Choose Administration then Config Migration Admin.

  2. Choose Configuration Templates from the Config Migration Admin menu.

  3. Choose Create New Template from the Actions menu on the Configuration Templates Page.

    The Config Migration Admin Screen is displayed.

  4. Choose the Action Options for the export.

    • To create an export template that will continue the export process even if an error is encountered, select Continue on Error. The export will proceed but errors will be reported on the Action History Page.

    • To have e-mail sent to the person initiating the export, select Email Results. E-mail will be sent to the person who performs the export, not the person who created the export template.

    • To have known dependencies added to the export or import bundle, leave the Add Dependencies option selected. If this is unselected, dependencies are checked and noted with an error flag in the log file but the bundle action continues.

    • To ignore all dependencies during export or import, select Ignore Dependencies. Ignoring dependencies may avoid errors during the export process, but may cause errors when an import is done. If you are certain that all the necessary fields are present in the Content Server instance, you can deselect Add Dependencies and select Ignore Dependencies to import a field without dependencies being added.

  5. You can create a custom name for this bundle. Custom names should be used sparingly to avoid possible name collisions. If a custom name is not selected, the system creates a name based on the bundle name given when you save the template. Custom names cannot contain spaces or special characters (#, $, % and so on).

  6. Choose the Content Server sections to be included from the Content Server Sections portion of the screen.

    • To use all sections, choose Select All from the page Action menu.

      Note:

      Some Content Server sections are not displayed; not all are supported on all versions of the Content Server software and some cannot be safely migrated.

    • To use only specific Content Server items, click Content Server Sections then click the individual section name to include. To include all items in that section, choose Select All from the page Action menu. To use only a subset, select the individual items by putting a check in the selection box on the item's row. Some sections may have action options that are specific to that section. Select the option for the section by checking the selection box.

      Tip:

      If you want to use the majority of the metadata, choose the Select All menu option. Then click the individual sections that you do not want to use.

  7. Preview the selections you made by choosing Preview from the page Actions menu. The Preview Screen is displayed.

  8. Continue editing and adding selections by choosing Edit from the page Actions menu. Click Preview to view your changes.

  9. When the template is complete, choose Save from the page Actions menu. If you do not elect to save the template, your configuration changes will be lost.

    The Edit Export Rule Screen is displayed.

  10. Enter a name for the template. Names cannot contain spaces or special characters (#, $, %, and so on). A name can include details of the date of the export (for example, Nov10FullExport) or describe the contents (FullExportNoDependencies) or can be meaningful in any way that is appropriate for your use. Click Save when finished entering the name.

  11. The Config Migration Admin Screen is re-displayed.

    • To create another template using the current template, choose Save As from the page Actions menu. The Edit Export Rule Screen is displayed again where you can create a new name.

    • To alter the selections for exporting, make any changes then choose Save from the page Actions menu to change the selections and retain the name entered in step 10 or Save As from the page Actions menu to give it a new name on the Edit Export Rule Screen.

    • To export the configuration, choose Export from the page Actions menu. For details, see Section 8.2.3.5, "Exporting a Configuration."

After creating the configuration, you can export it and create a bundle for use on another system. For details, see Section 8.2.3.5, "Exporting a Configuration."

8.2.3.2 Editing a Configuration Template

  1. Choose Administration then Config Migration Admin.

  2. Select Configuration Templates.

  3. Choose a template to be edited. Use one of the following methods to choose a template from the Configuration Templates Page:

    • Select the template name.

    • Choose Edit from the individual template Actions menu.

    The Config Migration Admin Screen is displayed.

  4. Follow the steps detailed in Section 8.2.3.1, "Creating a Configuration Migration Template" to select the items you want in the revised template:

    • Choose the Action Options for the template.

    • Choose the Content Server sections to be included from the Content Server Sections portion of the screen.

  5. Preview the selections you made by choosing Preview from the page Actions menu. The Preview Screen is displayed.

  6. Continue editing and adding selections by choosing Edit from the page Actions menu. Click Preview to view your selections.

  7. When the template is complete, choose Save from the page Actions menu to save the template under its current name, or choose Save As to give it a new name. If you do not elect to save the template, your configuration changes will be lost.

    The Edit Export Rule Screen is displayed where you can enter a new template name.

8.2.3.3 Importing a Template

Follow these steps to import a template from another system for use on the current instance.

  1. Choose Upload Bundle from the Config Migration Admin menu.

    The Upload Configuration Bundle Screen is displayed.

  2. Use the Browse button to find the bundle that contains the template you want to use.

  3. Select Create Export Template.

  4. Click Upload.

    The bundle appears on the Configuration Bundles Page. To use the template associated with that bundle, see Section 8.2.3.2, "Editing a Configuration Template."

    If you import a template to use for exporting and if the importing system does not have the same metadata fields, you must upload the template, import the configuration then use it for exporting. You cannot use the template for exporting unless the metadata fields are in place on the system that imported the template.

8.2.3.4 Creating a One-Time Export

Follow these steps to create an export template and immediately export the Content Server configuration.

  1. Choose Administration then Config Migration Admin.

  2. Choose Configuration Templates from the Config Migration Admin menu.

  3. Choose Create New Template from the page Actions menu on the Configuration Templates Page.

    The Config Migration Admin Screen is displayed.

  4. Preview the selections you made by choosing Preview from the page Actions menu. The Preview Screen is displayed.

  5. Continue editing and adding selections by choosing Edit from the page Actions menu. Click Preview to view your changes.

  6. When the template is complete, choose Export from the page Actions menu. The configuration is immediately exported and the name of the exported bundle appears in the Latest Action Screen with a unique identifier similar to the following:

    bundle-idcm1-25-20041110T135912
    

    The initial portion of the name (bundle-idcm1) indicates the default bundle name (bundle) and the instance name (idcm). The next portion indicates the sequence number (25). The date follows (20041110 for November 11, 2004). Finally a unique control number is used to identify the exported bundle.

8.2.3.5 Exporting a Configuration

  1. Choose Administration then Config Migration Admin.

  2. Choose Configuration Templates from the Config Migration Admin menu.

  3. Use one of the following methods to choose an export configuration template from the Configuration Templates Page.

    • Click the configuration name.

    • Choose Preview from the individual Actions menu if you want to view the items that will be exported.

    The Preview Screen is displayed.

  4. Choose Export from the page Actions menu. If you choose Export without previewing the bundle first, you are prompted to confirm that you want to perform the export.

    The Latest Action Screen is displayed.

  5. This screen refreshes automatically to show the most recent activities and their status.

To view details of the migration action, click the message in the Status column. For more information, see Section 8.2.3.9, "Viewing Status Information."

After exporting, the bundle name appears on the Configuration Bundles page, indicating that it has been bundled. A date and time indicator is appended to the configuration name, as in the following example:

Nov23Bundle-idcm-1-20041123T122436

The initial portion of the name is the original bundle name. The instance name follows (idcm), followed by the date (20041123 for November 23, 2004) and the time (122436 to indicate 12:24:36). From this Import page, you can download the bundle to a new location so it can be uploaded onto another system.

The original template name (Nov23Bundle) continues to appear on the Configuration Templates page, where it can be re-exported at another time.

8.2.3.6 Uploading a Bundle

Before a configuration can be imported it must be first uploaded. Follow these steps to upload a bundle from another Content Server instance:

  1. Choose Administration then Config Migration Admin.

  2. Choose Upload Bundle from the Config Migration Admin menu.

    The Upload Configuration Bundle Screen is displayed.

  3. Use the Browse button to find and select the zipped bundle file you want to use.

  4. If you want to use the template included with the bundle, select Create Export Template.

  5. If you want the new bundle information to overwrite existing Content Server configuration information, select Force Overwrite.

  6. Click Upload to load the bundle.

    Tip:

    If you are uncertain about the contents of a bundle, it is always safe to upload the bundle and preview the configuration contents. The bundle configuration is not applied to the importing system until you choose to import it.

8.2.3.7 Importing a Bundle

After a bundle is uploaded and resides on the importing system, it can be imported for use. Follow these steps to import the bundle:

  1. Choose Administration then Config Migration Admin.

  2. Choose Configuration Bundles from the Config Migration Admin menu.

    The Configuration Bundles Page is displayed.

  3. Choose Configuration Bundles from the Migration Options or from the top menu of any Migration screen.

  4. Select the name of the bundle you want to import.

    The Config Migration Admin Screen is displayed with Overwrite Duplicates in place of the Custom Name field. Selecting this field will permit the importing bundle to overwrite any duplicate fields. If not selected, the import will error on duplicates and stop. It will continue if Continue on Error was checked but a status of fail appears on the Latest Action Screen.

  5. Select an action from the page Actions menu:

    • To preview the import configuration, click Preview. The Preview Screen is displayed where you can either choose Edit from the page Actions menu to edit the configuration options or you can choose Import to import the selections as is.

    • To import the configuration without previewing, choose Import from the Configuration Bundles page Actions menu. You are prompted to confirm that you want to import the configuration without previewing it first.

      Important:

      You should verify that you want to import the settings in the Server Config portion of the Content Server sections. These settings determine configurations such as the type of web server used, the mail server, and other system-specific items. You may not want to import those configuration settings on a new Content Server instance.

  6. After choosing Import from either the Preview Screen or the Configuration Bundles Screen, the Latest Action Screen is displayed showing the status of the import.

  7. This screen refreshes automatically to show the most recent history and status.

    To view details of the action, click the message in the Status column. For more information, see Section 8.2.3.9, "Viewing Status Information."

8.2.3.8 Downloading a Bundle

A bundle can be downloaded and stored in an easily accessible location for other Content Server instances to use.

Follow these steps to download a bundle:

  1. Choose Administration then Config Migration Admin.

  2. Choose Configuration Bundles from the Config Migration Admin menu.

    The Configuration Bundles Page is displayed.

  3. Choose Download from the bundle Actions menu of the bundle to be downloaded. A prompt appears where you can enter the bundle location.

  4. Enter the appropriate location and click Save.

8.2.3.9 Viewing Status Information

Follow these steps to view status information for any import or export actions:

  1. Choose Administration then Config Migration Admin.

  2. Choose Recent Actions from the Config Migration Admin menu.

    The Latest Action Screen is displayed.

  3. To view details of the events, click a status in the message in the Status column.

    The Action History Page is displayed.

    Note:

    The Recent History screen automatically appears after an export or an import.

8.3 Archives, Collections and Batch Files

Archiving your Content Server content consists of three elements: the archive itself, a collection, and a batch file. This section covers the following topics:

8.3.1 Archive Details

This section describes the structure of the Archiver and how it uses collections and targets. For an overview of the Archiver and how it compares to other archiving tools, see Section 8.1, "Introduction to Migration Tools and Components."

8.3.1.1 Archive Structure

An archive is a set of exported content files and their associated batch files. Each archive has its own subdirectory in the collection it belongs to.

Caution:

Do not edit any of the files created by Archiver.

Figure 8-6 Archive Directory Structure

Description of Figure 8-6 follows
Description of "Figure 8-6 Archive Directory Structure"

An archive subdirectory includes the following:

File or Directory Description

Batch file directories

Each batch file has a subdirectory in the archive. The subdirectory name reflects the date and time of the export, with a default format of yy-MMM-dd_HH.mm.ss_SSS. For example, 03-feb-04_15.04.14_174.

temp directory

Contains transferred Zip files.

archive.hda file

Specifies information about the archive, such as export and import settings, the export query, field and value import maps, archiving history, and so forth.

doctypes.hda file

Lists the content types (DocTypes database table) in the source Content Server instance. This file is present only if content types were exported.

exports.hda file

Specifies the batch files that are included in the archive.

users.hda file

Lists the user attributes (Users database table) in the source Content Server instance. This file is present only if user attributes were exported.


Figure 8-7 Archive Subdirectory Structure

Description of Figure 8-7 follows
Description of "Figure 8-7 Archive Subdirectory Structure"

8.3.1.2 Collections

This section provides information about collections.

Summary

A collection is a set of archives on a particular Content Server instance.

  • Each instance has a default collection, which is located in the IntradocDir/archives/ directory. Additional collections can be created, but are necessary only in rare situations. For example, you could create a new collection if you want to save disk space by archiving to another system that does not have Content Server on it.

  • Collections can be created only through the standalone Archiver. For details about using the standalone Archiver, see Section 8.3.2.5, "Running the Archiver as a Standalone Application."

  • A collection can be removed from a Content Server instance, but this only makes it unavailable from the Archiver application; the archive and batch files remain until you delete them from the file system.

    Tip:

    Archiver collections are normally compatible between different versions of Content Server instances. One possible exception would be User Configuration information that was archived from a pre-3.0 version Content Server instance. The format of the Users database table changed in version 3.0, so this information might not be compatible between pre- and post-3.0 version Content Server instances.

Structure

An archive collection includes the following:

File or Directory Description

collection.hda file

Specifies the archives that are included in the collection.

collection.mrk file

Internal file used by Archiver.

Archive directories

Each archive has a subdirectory in the collection.


Figure 8-8 Collection Structure

Description of Figure 8-8 follows
Description of "Figure 8-8 Collection Structure"

8.3.1.3 Batch Files

This section provides information about batch files.

Summary

A batch file is a text file that contains the file records for archived content items. Batch files describe the metadata for each exported revision.

  • A new batch file subdirectory is created each time an archive is exported.

  • Each batch file contains up to 1000 file records. If an export contains more than 1000 revisions, a new batch file is created.

    Note:

    Archiver batch files are not the same as the batch files that are used with the Batch Loader application.

Structure

A batch file subdirectory includes the following:

File or Directory Description

Content files

A subdirectory named '1' in the batch file directory contains a vault structure that is copied from the source Content Server instance. If web-viewable files are being archived, this subdirectory also contains a weblayout structure.

Batch file

Specifies the metadata for each revision that was exported. Batch files are HDA files that are named with a unique number generated by Archiver. For example, 0335150414~1.hda.

docmetadefinition.hda file

Lists the custom metadata fields in the source Content Server instance (DocMetaDefinition database table). This file is used by Archiver to create import maps.


Figure 8-9 Batch File Structure

Description of Figure 8-9 follows
Description of "Figure 8-9 Batch File Structure"

8.3.1.4 Archive Targets

You can use the archiver to archive the following content:

  • Native files with associated standard metadata values

  • Web-viewable files (.pdf, .html, and so forth)

  • Metadata fields and changes

  • User information fields

  • Security groups (user attributes and settings)

  • User updates

  • Subscription types

  • File formats

  • Document types

  • Content types

  • User attributes (such as user login, full name, password, e-mail address, and so forth)

    Note:

    Content types and user attributes can be exported and imported manually, but cannot be transferred or archived automatically through replication. Table replication can be used, though, to replicate user information.

    Caution:

    Archiver cannot be used to move or copy data between two instances that share the same Content Server instance name (IDC_Name). To do so will corrupt the data on the target system.

8.3.1.5 Using Archive Logs

If you are experiencing Archiver problems, view the Archiver logs for more information.

Summary

The Archiver logs are listed by date and time. They are generated once per day when the first Archiver information status, irrecoverable error, or error occurs.

Click the Archiver Logs link on the Administration page to view information about imports, exports, and replications.

Click the link that appears for the desired log file. A table showing the type, date and time, and description of each action is displayed. It also includes the name of the Content Server instance that created the archive.

Figure 8-10 Archive Log File

Description of Figure 8-10 follows
Description of "Figure 8-10 Archive Log File"

Log Entries

The following types of archiver log entries are generated:

  • Info: Displays basic status information. For example, status information is logged when an export and an import starts and finishes.

  • Error: Displays user/administration errors that occur but do not stop the software from functioning. For example, an error is logged if there is no file information for a content item that you are trying to export.

  • Fatal: Displays errors that stop the software from functioning. For example, an irrecoverable error is logged if the Content Server instance cannot access the database. Check the connection string, user name, and password.

8.3.2 Managing Archives

After archives are created, they can be added to collections and manipulated as a group.

8.3.2.1 Creating a New Archive

To create a new, undefined archive:

  1. Display Main Archiver Screen in either standalone or browser mode.

  2. If necessary, open the collection where you want to create the new archive. See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  3. From Edit, select Add.

    The Add Archive Screen is displayed.

  4. Enter the archive name and description. The archive name cannot contain spaces.

  5. Click OK.

8.3.2.2 Copying an Existing Archive

To copy an existing archive to a different directory location:

Note:

This procedure copies the files in an archive. It does not create a new collection or update the collection.hda file if the archive is copied to a collection directory.

  1. Display the archiver in standalone mode.

  2. If necessary, open the collection that contains the archive to be copied. See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  3. Select the archive to be copied.

  4. From Edit, select Copy To.

    The Copy Archive Screen is displayed.

  5. Accept the original archive name, or change the name as necessary.

  6. In the Copy Archive To Directory field, enter the directory path where the archive will be copied.

  7. Click OK.

    The archive files are copied to the specified directory.

8.3.2.3 Creating a New Archive by Copying

You can copy archives from your system for storage or to your system from another archive if you are using the Archiver standalone version.

To create a new archive in the current collection by copying an existing archive:

  1. Display the archiver in standalone mode.

  2. If necessary, open the collection where you want to create the new archive. See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  3. From Edit, select Add.

    The Add Archive Screen is displayed.

  4. Enter the archive name and description. The archive name cannot contain spaces.

  5. Select Copy From.

  6. Click Browse.

  7. Navigate to and select the desired archive file (archive.hda).

  8. Click Open.

  9. Click OK.

    The archive files are copied to the default archive directory in the local Content Server instance.

8.3.2.4 Deleting an Archive

To delete an archive from a collection:

  1. Open the archive collection.

  2. Select the archive to delete in the Current Archives list.

  3. From Edit, select Delete.

    You are prompted to confirm the action.

  4. Click OK.

    The archive is deleted from the collection.

8.3.2.5 Running the Archiver as a Standalone Application

The following information details how to run the Archiver as a standalone application, which is required to create collections.

To run Archiver in Windows:

To run Archiver on a Windows operating system:

  1. Select the application from the Windows Start menu:

    Click Start, then choose Programs, Content Server, instance_name, Analzyer.

    A login screen or application screen is displayed.

    Tip:

    It may take several seconds for the login screen or the application screen to appear, and the screen may be hidden by other windows.

  2. If required, enter the administrator login name and password, then click OK.

    The Main Archiver Screen is displayed.

To run Archiver in UNIX:

To run Archiver on a UNIX operating system:

  1. Navigate to the DomainHome/ucm/cs/bin/ directory.

  2. Enter ./archive

  3. If required, enter the administrator login name and password.

    The Main Archiver Screen of the application is displayed.

8.3.3 Managing Collections

Collections are a set of archives and are used to group archives for different archive functions.

Note:

The standalone version of the Archiver application is required to create new collections or browse the local file system to connect to new collections.

8.3.3.1 Opening a Collection

To open an existing archive collection:

  1. Display the Archiver in standalone mode.

  2. From Options, choose Open Archive Collection.

    The Open Archive Collection Screen is displayed, with the default collection and any other connected collections listed.

  3. Select the collection from the list, or browse to a new collection as follows:

    To select the collection from a shared file system location (standalone Archiver only):

    1. Click Browse Local. The Find Archive Collection Definition File Screen is displayed.

    2. Navigate to and select the collection HDA file.

    3. Click Open.

    To select the collection from a remote Content Server instance:

    1. Click Browse Proxied.

      The Browse for Proxied Collection Screen is displayed. The list includes all Content Server instances to which an outgoing provider has been set up.

    2. Select the Content Server instance in the Proxied Servers list.

    3. Select the collection in the Collections list.

    4. Click OK.

  4. Click Open.

    The Browse To Archiver Collection Screen is displayed.

8.3.3.2 Creating a Collection

To create a new archive collection:

Note:

You can create a new collection only on the local Content Server instance using the standalone Archiver.

  1. Display the archiver interface in standalone mode.

  2. From Options, choose Open Archive Collection.

    The Open Archive Collection Screen is displayed.

  3. Click Browse Local.

    The Find Archive Collection Definition File Screen is displayed.

  4. Navigate to and select the directory where you want to create the new collection.

  5. Enter a file name for the new collection (collection.hda is the default).

  6. Click Open.

    You are prompted to create a collection definition (HDA) file.

  7. Click Yes.

    The Browse To Archiver Collection Screen is displayed.

  8. Enter a collection name in the Name field.

    • Collection names cannot contain spaces.

    • Use the same name for a collection and its directory to make navigation easier.

  9. Enter the directory path for the weblayout and vault directories in the Web Directory and Vault Directory fields.

    • Use the same path style as shown in the Location field.

    • To find the directory paths, display the Configuration Information Page.

  10. Click OK.

    The new collection is shown in the Open Archive Collection screen.

  11. Click Open to open the new collection.

8.3.3.3 Removing a Collection

To remove an archive collection:

Note:

You cannot remove the default collection.

  1. From Options, choose Open Archive Collection.

    The Open Archive Collection Screen is displayed.

  2. Select the collection to be removed.

  3. Click Remove.

    You are prompted to confirm the action.

  4. Click OK.

The collection is removed from the Content Server instance. (The collection and archive files remain in the file system, and must be deleted manually.)

8.3.3.4 Moving the Default Archive Collection

You can change the file system location of the default archive collection by moving the collection and pointing the Content Server instance to the new location. For example, you might want to keep all of your archive data on a separate drive from the program files for easier backup and expansion.

Note:

The default collection is the /archives/ directory.

To move the default archive collection:

  1. For data safety, close any standalone Archiver applications and stop the Content Server instance.

  2. Add the CollectionLocation configuration variable to the DomainHome/ucm/cs/bin/intradoc.cfg file:

    CollectionLocation=path
    
  3. To maintain the previously created archives for the default collection, move the contents of the /archives/ directory to the new location you specified in the CollectionLocation setting.

    If you do not move the contents, the system creates an empty collection.

  4. Start the Content Server instance.

    Note:

    The Content Server instance re-creates the default Domain_home/ucm/cs/archives/ directory when it is restarted, but the Archiver defaults to using the collection in the new location.

8.3.4 Managing Batch Files

A batch file describes the metadata for exported revisions. A batch file is created each time the Archiver performs an export.

8.3.4.1 Removing Revisions from a Batch File

To remove individual revisions from a batch file:

  1. Open the archive collection. See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  2. Select the archive in the Current Archives list.

  3. Click View Batch Files on the Main Archiver Screen.

    The View Batch Files Screen is displayed.

  4. Select the batch file.

  5. Click Edit.

    The View Exported Content Items Screen is displayed.

  6. Use the Filter element and the navigation buttons to display the revision to be deleted.

  7. Select the revision to be deleted.

  8. Click Delete.

    The Status changes to Deleted for the selected revision.

  9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 to delete additional revisions.

  10. To undo the last deletion, click Undo. To return all deleted revisions to Archived status, click Refresh.

  11. Click Apply to delete the specified revisions.

  12. Click Close.

8.3.4.2 Deleting a Batch File

To delete a batch file from an archive:

  1. Open the archive collection. See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  2. Select the archive in the Current Archives list.

  3. Click View Batch Files on the Archiver (General Tab).

    The View Batch Files Screen is displayed.

  4. Select the batch file to delete.

  5. Click Delete.

    You are prompted to confirm the action.

  6. Click OK.

    The batch file is deleted from the archive.

  7. Specify whether to replace existing batch files upon export:

    • To delete all existing batch files when the next export is initiated, select Replace Existing Export Files.

    • To leave existing batch files in place when the next export is initiated, deselect Replace Existing Export Files.

  8. Specify which files to export:

    • To export the native (vault) and web-viewable (weblayout) files, select Copy Web Content.

    • To export only the native (vault) files, deselect Copy Web Content.

  9. Click OK.

    The export options are displayed in the Export Options section of the General tab.

8.4 Exporting Data in Archives

The Export function is used to copy native and web-viewable files out of the Content Server instance for backup, storage, or import to another Content Server instance. You can also export content types and user attributes. Note that this is a copy only; the original content remains.

8.4.1 About Exporting Data

You can export revisions that are in RELEASED, DONE, EXPIRED, and GENWWW status. You cannot export revisions that are in an active workflow (REVIEW, EDIT, or PENDING status) or that are DELETED.

8.4.1.1 Export Uses

Typical uses for the Export function include:

  • Copying files from an intranet to make them available to an extranet for vendor or customer viewing.

  • Creating an archive of content items that will then be imported back to the same instance with different metadata.

  • Removing content from the Content Server instance for permanent or temporary storage. For example, if space becomes limited or performance drops, you could remove all but the latest revision of each file.

  • Copying files, content types, and user attributes from a development Content Server instance for use in a production instance.

    Caution:

    Do not use Archiver as your primary method of disaster recovery; use standard backup systems for the database and file system.

8.4.1.2 Export Methods

After you set up the export criteria, you can export archives in the following ways:

  • Manual: A one-time export initiated from Archiver by an administrator. This creates an archive on the local Content Server instance.

  • Automatic (Replication): Export to a local archive is initiated automatically whenever a content item that meets the export criteria is indexed.

Section 8.4.2.1, "Manually Exporting" and Section 8.7, "Replicating Files" discuss these processes in more detail.

Note:

You can export expired revisions manually, but expired revisions do not get exported automatically.

8.4.2 Managing Exports

This section provides information about typical tasks used in managing exports.

8.4.2.1 Manually Exporting

To export content manually:

  1. Create an archive where the exported Content Server data will be stored. See Section 8.3.2.1, "Creating a New Archive."

  2. Select the archive in the Current Archives list.

  3. Create an export query. See Section 8.4.2.2, "Creating a Content Item Export Query."

  4. Set configuration information export options. See Section 8.4.2.3, "Exporting Configuration Information."

  5. Set the general export options. See Section 8.4.2.7, "Setting Export Options."

  6. Initiate the export. See Section 8.4.2.8, "Initiating the Export."

8.4.2.2 Creating a Content Item Export Query

Export queries define which revisions will be exported. Follow these steps to create an export query:

  1. Open the archive collection. See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  2. Select the archive in the Current Archives list.

  3. Click the Main Archiver Export Data Screen.

  4. Click Edit in the Export Query (Content) section.

    The Edit Export Query (Content) Screen is displayed.

  5. Select a metadata field from the Field list.

  6. Select an Operator from the list.

    • The available operators depend on which Field is selected.

    • The available operators map to basic SQL query operators. To use other SQL query operators, create a basic expression and then edit it in the Custom Query Expression box (see step 10).

  7. Enter the criteria in the Value field.

    Depending on the option selected in the Field list, you can enter text directly, click the Select button and select from the available values, or select directly from a list of the available values.

  8. Click Add.

    The query expression is added to the Query Expression box, and the SQL version of the query expression is displayed in the Custom Query Expression box.

  9. To add to the query expression, repeat steps 5 through 8. By default, each part of the expression is added using an AND operator.

    To update an existing query, select the line to be changed in the Query Expression box and edit the Field, Operator, and Value fields as necessary. Click Update. The specified query expression replaces the selected line.

    To delete a line from the query expression, select the line to be deleted in the Query Expression box. Click Delete. The selected line is deleted.

  10. To edit the SQL expression directly:

    1. Select Custom Query Expression.

    2. Edit the text in the Custom Query Expression box.

      You can use Idoc Script in the query expression. For example, to archive content more than one year old, you could use <$dateCurrent(-365)$> as the Release Date value. For more information, see Oracle WebCenter Content Idoc Script Reference Guide.

      Caution:

      If you deselect the Custom Query Expression checkbox, the query expression reverts to its original definition; all modifications will be lost.

  11. Specify whether to export revisions based on the last export date:

    • To export only revisions that have been released since the last export, select Export Revisions with Release Date later than most recent Export Date.

    • To export all revisions, deselect Export Revisions with Release Date later than most recent Export Date.

  12. Specify whether to export revisions that were published to the Content Server instance by Oracle Content Publisher:

    • To export published revisions, select Allow Export of Published Revisions.

    • To export only unpublished revisions, deselect Allow Export of Published Revisions.

  13. Specify which revisions to export:

    • To export all revisions of each content item, select the All Selected Revisions option.

    • To export only the latest revision of each content item, select the Latest Revisions option.

    • To export all revisions except the most recent, select the Not Latest Revisions option.

    • To export the most recent revision that matches the query, select the Single Revision Replication option. For details about how this option affects the replication process, see Section 8.7.1.1, "Single Revision Replications."

      Caution:

      Do not use the Latest Revision option and automatic replication. These options, used in conjunction, can cause unpredictable archive behavior. For more details about automatic replication, see Section 8.7, "Replicating Files."

  14. Click OK.

    The export query is displayed in the Export Query box on the Content tab.

  15. To see a list of revisions that will be included in the export, click Preview.

    The Previewing Export Queries (Content) Screen is displayed.

    Note:

    Although an unlimited number of revisions can be exported, a maximum of 100 revisions can be displayed in the Content Satisfying the Export Query screen. Use the Filter and Release Date since features to display subsets of the list as necessary.

  16. Review the list to ensure that the export includes the intended revisions.

  17. Click Close.

8.4.2.3 Exporting Configuration Information

To export content type and user attributes:

  1. Open the archive collection. See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  2. Select the archive in the Current Archives list.

  3. Click the Main Archiver Export Data Screen.

  4. Click Edit in the Additional Data section. The Edit Additional Data Screen is displayed.

  5. To export content types, select Export Content Configuration Information.

  6. To export user data, select Export User Configuration Information.

  7. Click OK.

    The configuration information options are displayed in the Additional Data section of the Export Data tab.

8.4.2.4 Adding a Table to an Archive

To add a table to an archive:

  1. Click the Main Archiver Export Screen (Table).

  2. Select an archive from the Current Archives list.

  3. Click Add.

    The Add New/Edit Table Screen is displayed.

  4. Complete the fields as appropriate. These fields are used to export the parent/child relationship in any tables used in schemas.

  5. Click OK.

    The table is added to the Table list on the Table tab.

    Caution:

    When exporting tables, ensure that the column names are the same if you are creating a relationship between two tables. If tables are imported individually, without assigning a relationship, it is not essential to match the column names. But if tables are imported in a relationship, the column names should be the same.

8.4.2.5 Editing the Archive Properties of a Table

To edit the archive properties of a table:

  1. Click the Main Archiver Export Screen (Table).

  2. Select an archive from the Current Archives list.

  3. Select a table from the Table list.

  4. Click Edit.

    The Add New/Edit Table Screen is displayed.

  5. Edit the fields as appropriate.

  6. Click OK.

8.4.2.6 Creating a Table Export Query

To create a query that defines which tables will be exported:

  1. Click the Main Archiver Export Screen (Table).

  2. Select a table from the Table list.

  3. Click Edit in the Export Query section.

    The Edit Export Query (Table) Screen is displayed.

  4. Select a metadata field from the Field list.

  5. Select an Operator from the list.

    • The available operators depend on which Field is selected.

    • The available operators map to basic SQL query operators. To use other SQL query operators, create a basic expression and then edit it in the Custom Query Expression box (see step 11).

  6. Enter the criteria in the Value field.

  7. Click Add.

    The query expression is added to the Query Expression box, and the SQL version of the query expression is displayed in the Custom Query Expression box.

  8. To add to the query expression, repeat steps 4 through 7. By default, each part of the expression is added using an AND operator.

  9. To update an existing query:

    1. Select the line to be changed in the Query Expression box.

    2. Edit the Field, Operator, and Value fields as necessary.

    3. Click Update.

      The specified query expression replaces the selected line.

  10. To delete a line from the query expression:

    1. Select the line to be deleted in the Query Expression box.

    2. Click Delete.

      The selected line is deleted.

  11. To edit the SQL expression directly:

    1. Select Custom Query Expression.

    2. Edit the text in the Custom Query Expression box. You can use Idoc Script in the query expression. For more information, see Oracle WebCenter Content Idoc Script Reference Guide.

      Caution:

      If you deselect the Custom Query Expression checkbox, the query expression reverts to its original definition; all modifications will be lost.

  12. Click OK.

    The export query is displayed in the Export Query box on the Table tab.

  13. To see a list of tables that will be included in the export, click Preview.

    The Previewing Export Queries (Content) Screen is displayed.

    Note:

    Although an unlimited number of tables can be exported, a maximum of 100 tables can be displayed in the Content Satisfying the Export Query screen. Use the Filter and Release Date since features to display subsets of the list as necessary.

  14. Review the list to ensure that the export includes the intended revisions.

  15. Click Close.

8.4.2.7 Setting Export Options

To set general export options:

  1. Open the archive collection. See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  2. Select the archive in the Current Archives list.

  3. Click the Main Archiver Screen.

  4. Click Edit in the Export Options section. The Edit Export Options Screen is displayed.

  5. Specify whether to replace existing batch files upon export:

    • To delete all existing batch files when the next export is initiated, select Replace Existing Export Files.

    • To leave existing batch files in place when the next export is initiated, deselect Replace Existing Export Files.

  6. Specify which files to export:

    • To export the native (vault) and web-viewable (weblayout) files, select Copy Web Content.

    • To export only the native (vault) files, deselect Copy Web Content.

  7. Specify whether to export content or not:

    • To export only tables, select Export Table Only.

    • To export content items, deselect Export Table Only.

  8. Click OK.

    The export options are displayed in the Export Options section of the General tab.

8.4.2.8 Initiating the Export

To manually export content and configuration information:

  1. Open Archiver for the Content Server instance that contains the files you want to export.

  2. Open the archive collection. See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  3. Select the archive to export to in the Current Archives list.

  4. From Actions, choose Export.

    The Export Archive Screen is displayed.

    Note:

    If the Export option is disabled, the archive is being exported automatically. You must disable the automatic replication to perform a manual export. For details, see Section 8.7, "Replicating Files."

  5. Specify whether to delete the revisions from the Content Server instance after the export is successfully completed:

    • To delete revisions after export, select Delete revisions after successful archive.

    • To leave revisions in the Content Server instance after export, deselect Delete revisions after successful archive.

  6. Click OK.

    The export process is initiated, and the status bar at the bottom of the Archiver screen displays progress messages.

8.5 Importing Data

Archives can be imported according to specified rules and at specified times. The data in the files can be mapped to fields in the receiving Content Server instance, but care should be taken that the correct rules are applied during import.

8.5.1 Imported Files

The Import function is used to retrieve files and Content Server information from an exported archive. Importing is typically used to obtain a copy of content from another Content Server instance or to restore data that has been in storage.

The Content Server instance to which you are importing must have the same metadata fields, security groups, and accounts as the instance that the archive was exported from. Errors can result if there are mismatches.

Caution:

Do not use Archiver as your primary method of disaster recovery; use standard backup systems for the database and file system.

Note:

Imported revisions will not enter a workflow upon import, even if they meet the criteria for an active workflow.

Before beginning the import process, consider the following points:

  • Determine the method to be used, either manual or automatic.

  • Determine the rules to be used for updating.

  • Determine the mapping and import options.

  • Test your process by importing selected revisions.

This section covers these topics:

8.5.1.1 Import Uses

Typical uses for the Import function include:

  • Placing data archived from an intranet on an extranet for vendor or customer viewing.

  • Changing metadata for a large number of content items. For example, if an employee leaves the organization, you could export all of their content items and then import them with another user specified as the Author.

  • Restoring content that was inadvertently deleted or configuration information that was inadvertently changed.

  • Copying files, content types, and user attributes from a development Content Server archive to a production instance.

8.5.1.2 Import Methods

You can import archives in the following ways:

  • Manual: A one-time import initiated from Archiver by an administrator.

  • Automatic (Replication): Import from a local archive is initiated automatically, about once per minute.

For more information, see Section 8.5.3, "Import Process" and Section 8.7, "Replicating Files."

8.5.2 Import Rules

An import rule defines how revisions are added, replaced, or deleted during import.

  • During import, Archiver compares each revision being imported with the existing revisions in the importing Content Server instance. The import rule specifies which action to take (add, replace, delete, or ignore), depending on comparison of the following information:

    • Content ID

    • Original Content Server

    • Revision number

    • Release date

  • Only one import rule can be selected for each import of an archive.

This section covers these topics:

8.5.2.1 Update Import Rule

Use the Update import rule to replace existing revisions and insert new revisions.

Caution:

The Update import rule will replace existing revisions without saving the existing files. Be extremely careful when importing so you do not accidentally replace content you meant to keep.

  • If an imported revision has a different Content ID (dDocName) than any existing revision, the imported revision is inserted as a new revision.

  • If an imported revision has the same Content ID (dDocName) as an existing revision, the imported revision is inserted, ignored, or replaces the latest existing revision.

8.5.2.2 Insert Revision Import Rule

The Insert Revision import rule imports only revisions that have both the most recent revision number and the most recent release date.

  • If an imported revision has a different Content ID (dDocName) than any existing revision, the imported revision is inserted as a new revision.

  • If an imported revision has the same Content ID (dDocName) as an existing revision, but has a different Revision ID (dRevisionID) than any existing revision and a later release date (dInDate) than that of the latest existing revision, the imported revision is inserted as a new revision with a new revision label.

Figure 8-12 Import Rule: Insert Revision

Description of Figure 8-12 follows
Description of "Figure 8-12 Import Rule: Insert Revision"

8.5.2.3 Insert Create Import Rule

The Insert Create import rule imports only revisions that have the most recent release date, regardless of the revision number.

  • If an imported revision has a different Content ID (dDocName) than any existing revision, the imported revision is inserted as a new revision.

  • If an imported revision has the same Content ID (dDocName) as an existing revision, and the release date (dInDate) of the imported revision is later than that of the latest existing revision, the imported revision is inserted as a new revision with a new revision label.

Figure 8-13 Import Rule: Insert Create

Description of Figure 8-13 follows
Description of "Figure 8-13 Import Rule: Insert Create"

8.5.2.4 Delete Revision Import Rule

Use the Delete Revision import rule to delete individual revisions.

  • If an imported revision has the same Content ID (dDocName) and Revision ID (dRevisionID) as an existing revision, the existing revision is deleted.

Figure 8-14 Import Rule: Delete Revision

Description of Figure 8-14 follows
Description of "Figure 8-14 Import Rule: Delete Revision"

8.5.2.5 Delete All Revisions Import Rule

Use the Delete All Revisions import rule to delete all revisions of a content item.

  • If an imported revision has the same Content ID (dDocName) as any existing revision, all existing revisions with that Content ID are deleted.

Figure 8-15 Import Rule: Delete All Revisions

Description of Figure 8-15 follows
Description of "Figure 8-15 Import Rule: Delete All Revisions"

8.5.3 Import Process

This section provides information about the import process and related tasks.

Tip:

To determine which archive contains the data you want to retrieve, you can prepare an Archive History report using the Web Layout Editor.

You can also examine the files generated by the archive at the file system level, but preparing a report is more efficient if you frequently need to find archived data.

Important:

If you are using Sybase and you want to import an archive, you must perform the following tasks:

  1. Make sure you are logged into the Content Server instance as an administrator.

  2. Choose Administration.

  3. On the Administration Applets page, click Repository Manager.

  4. Open the Indexer tab.

  5. In the Automatic Update Cycle section, click Configure.

  6. Make sure Indexer Auto Updates is unselected.

  7. Close Repository Manager.

  8. Use Archiver to import the archive.

  9. Open Repository Manager, and select Indexer Auto Updates again.

This section covers these topics:

8.5.3.1 Importing Archived Data Manually

  1. In the Current Archives list, select the archive from which to retrieve data.

  2. Review the batch files in the archive. If necessary, remove revisions from the batch files. See Section 8.3.4.1, "Removing Revisions from a Batch File."

  3. If you want to change metadata fields or values during the import, set up the field and value mappings. See Section 8.5.3.2, "Setting Field Maps" and Section 8.5.3.3, "Setting Value Maps."

  4. Set the general import options. See Section 8.5.3.4, "Setting Import Options."

  5. Test the import mappings and rules on a few individual revisions. See Section 8.5.3.5, "Importing an Individual Revision."

  6. Initiate the import. See Section 8.5.3.6, "Initiating the Import."

8.5.3.2 Setting Field Maps

Field maps specify how metadata values are copied from one metadata field to another during import. If you do not want to copy metadata values, do not specify any field maps.

To set up field maps:

  1. Open the archive collection. See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  2. Select the archive in the Current Archives list.

  3. Click the Import Maps Main Screen.

  4. Click Edit in the Field Maps section.

    The Edit Field/Value Maps Screen is displayed.

  5. Click Browse For Fields.

    The Browse for Fields/Values Screen is displayed.

  6. Select a source for the list of available metadata fields:

    • To retrieve the metadata fields from the local Oracle WebCenter Content Server instance, select Local System.

    • To retrieve the metadata fields from a batch file, select Batch and select a batch file from the list.

  7. Click OK.

    The Export Field option list is populated with the metadata fields that are associated with the Content Server instance or the selected batch file.

  8. In the Export Field list, select the metadata field from which you want to copy metadata.

    The selected metadata field is displayed in the Export Field. (You can also edit this field directly. Make sure to use the internal field name, such as dDocAuthor or xComments.)

  9. In the Target Field list, select the metadata field you want the Export metadata to be copied to.

  10. Click Add.

    The mapping expression is added to the Field Maps box.

  11. To add to the mapping expression, repeat steps 8 through 10.

  12. To update an existing mapping expression:

    1. Select the line to be changed in the Field Maps box.

    2. Edit the Export Field and Target Field as necessary.

    3. Click Update.

      The specified mapping expression replaces the selected line.

  13. To delete a line from the mapping expression:

    1. Select the line to be deleted in the Field Maps box.

    2. Click Delete.

      The selected line is deleted.

  14. Click OK.

    During import, the values from the Export field replace any existing values in the Target field.

  15. To test the results of your field maps, import a few individual revisions from an archive. See Section 8.5.3.5, "Importing an Individual Revision."

8.5.3.3 Setting Value Maps

Value maps specify how specific metadata values are to be changed during import. If you do not want to change metadata values, do not specify any value maps.

To set up value maps:

  1. Open the archive collection. See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  2. Select the archive in the Current Archives list.

  3. Click the Import Maps Main Screen.

  4. Click Edit in the Value Maps section.

    The Edit Field/Value Maps Screen is displayed.

  5. To change all metadata values for a particular field, select All. Continue with step 11.

  6. To change a specific metadata value, click Browse For Values.

    The Browse for Fields/Values Screen is displayed.

  7. Select a batch file from the From Batch File list.

  8. Select a metadata field from the From Field list.

  9. Click OK.

    The Input Value option list is populated with the values that are associated with the selected metadata field in the selected batch file.

  10. In the Input Value list, select the metadata value to be changed.

  11. In the Field list, select the metadata field to be changed.

  12. In the Output Value field, enter the new metadata value.

    • You can use Idoc Script in the output value. For example, to set the expiration date one week in the future for all imported revisions, you could use <dateCurrent(7)$>. For more information, see Oracle WebCenter Content Idoc Script Reference Guide.

    • To delete all values from the input metadata field, leave the output value blank.

  13. Click Add.

    The mapping expression is added to the Value Maps box.

  14. To add to the mapping expression, repeat steps 5 through 13.

  15. To update an existing mapping expression:

    1. Select the line to be changed in the Value Maps box.

    2. Edit the Input Value, Field, and Target Value as necessary.

    3. Click Update.

      The specified mapping expression replaces the selected line.

  16. To delete a line from the mapping expression:

    1. Select the line to be deleted in the Value Maps box.

    2. Click Delete.

      The selected line is deleted.

  17. Click OK.

    During import, the specified Input Values in the specified metadata Fields will be replaced with the Target Values.

  18. To test the results of your value maps, import a few individual revisions from an archive. See Section 8.5.3.5, "Importing an Individual Revision."

8.5.3.4 Setting Import Options

To set general import options:

  1. Open the archive collection. See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  2. Select the archive in the Current Archives list.

  3. Click the Archiver (General Tab).

  4. Click Edit in the Import Options section.

    The Edit Import Options (Select Rules) Screen is displayed.

  5. Select an option in the Override Import Rules list to specify how existing revisions are added, replaced, or deleted during import. For detailed descriptions, see Section 8.5.2, "Import Rules."

    Caution:

    The Update import rule will replace existing revisions without saving the existing files. Be extremely careful when importing so that you do not accidentally replace content you meant to keep.

  6. Specify whether option list values are validated during import:

    • To import only revisions with valid option list values (validated option lists only), select Import only revisions with valid option list values.

    • To skip option list validation, deselect Import only revisions with valid option list values.

      Tip:

      The Import only revisions with valid option list values checkbox applies to all validated option lists. If you want to validate some option list fields but not all of them, you can change the Option List Type in the Configuration Manager. Use Select List Validated for option lists you want to validate; use Select List Not Validated for option lists you do not want to validate.

  7. Specify whether to recalculate times in metadata date fields to reflect the time zone of the target Content Server instance:

    • To recalculate times, select Translate the dates to the current system time zone.

      For example, if the time zone of the source (export) Content Server instance is Central Standard Time and the time zone of the target (import) Content Server instance is Eastern Standard Time, the release times, create times, expiration times, and any custom times will be changed to one hour later.

    • To leave times unchanged, deselect Translate the dates to the current system time zone.

  8. Click OK.

  9. To test the results of your import options, import a few individual revisions from an archive. See Section 8.5.3.5, "Importing an Individual Revision."

8.5.3.5 Importing an Individual Revision

To import a specific revision:

Tip:

Before importing an entire batch file, use this procedure to import a few individual revisions to test the results of your import maps and rules.

  1. Open the archive collection. See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  2. Select the archive in the Current Archives list.

  3. On the Archiver (General Tab), click View Batch Files.

    The Removing Revisions from a Batch File is displayed.

  4. Select the batch file that contains the file you want to import.

  5. Click Edit.

    The View Exported Content Items Screen is displayed.

  6. Use the Filter feature and the navigation buttons to display the revision to be imported.

  7. Select the revision.

  8. Click Import.

    If the revision was imported successfully, a confirmation message is displayed.

8.5.3.6 Initiating the Import

To manually import content and configuration information:

  1. Open Archiver for the Content Server instance that you want to import to.

  2. Open the archive collection that you want to import from. (This collection must be accessible through the file system.) See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  3. Select the archive in the Current Archives list.

  4. From Actions, choose Import.

    The Import Archive Screen is displayed.

  5. Specify the information to be imported:

    • To import content, select Import Batched Revisions.

    • To import content and tables, select Import Tables.

      Note:

      The User Configuration and Content Configuration options are available only if the selected archive includes this information (users.hda or doctypes.hda file).

  6. Click OK.

    The import process is initiated, and the status bar at the bottom of the Archiver screen displays progress messages.

8.6 Transferring Files

The Transfer function is used to move or copy content from one Content Server instance to another over sockets.

8.6.1 File Transfer Overview

You can use the Transfer function to transfer files between Content Server instances on a shared file system, but transfers do not require a shared file system. Transferring files between non-shared file systems requires an outgoing provider on the source Oracle WebCenter Content Server instance.

Transfers will be successful only between Content Server version 4.5 or newer systems.

Caution:

Archiver cannot be used to move or copy data between two instances that share the same Content Server instance name (IDC_Name). To do so will corrupt the data on the target system.

This section covers these topics:

8.6.1.1 Transfer Uses

Typical uses for the Transfer function include:

  • Exporting and importing over a firewall.

    Note:

    To transfer across a firewall, you might need to configure the firewall to permit the outgoing provider's socket to pass through it.

  • Transferring content between Content Server instances in different physical locations (buildings, cities, or countries).

  • Transferring content between Content Server instances using a shared drive. (A transfer over a file system share can handle large archives better than a socket transfer.)

  • Avoiding the need to build a FTP or HTTP interface to move files from one file system to another.

  • Combining the batch files from two archives into a single archive.

8.6.1.2 Transfer Methods

You can transfer files in the following ways:

  • Manual Transfer: A one-time transfer initiated from Archiver by an administrator. This copies an archive to another archive.

  • Automatic Transfer: Moving archive files to another archive is initiated automatically whenever the source archive is updated.

8.6.1.3 Transfer Terms

The following terms are related to the Transfer function:

  • local archive: An archive that belongs to a local collection.

  • local collection: A collection that the Content Server instance can reach by file access using a mapped or mounted network share.

  • local transfer: A transfer between local archives. Both the source archive and the target archive are in a local collection.

  • proxied: In Archiver, the term proxied refers to any Content Server instance to which the local Content Server instance is connected through an outgoing provider.

  • proxied archive: An archive that belongs to a proxied collection.

  • proxied collection: A collection on another Content Server instance that the local Content Server instance can reach through an outgoing provider.

  • pull transfer: A transfer over an outgoing provider that is owned by the proxied (remote) Content Server instance.

  • push transfer: A transfer over an outgoing provider that is owned by the local Content Server instance.

  • source archive: An archive that contains batch files to be transferred.

  • target archive: An archive that receives transferred batch files.

  • targetable archive: An archive that is enabled to be a target archive.

  • ransferring: The process of copying or moving batch files and their associated content files from one archive to another. There are three types of transfers: local, push, and pull.

  • transfer owner: The Content Server instance that performs and monitors a transfer.

  • transfer source: See source archive.

  • transfer target: See target archive.

8.6.2 Transfer Types

This section provides information about the different transfer types, listed in order from simplest to most complex.

8.6.2.1 Local Transfer

A local transfer is a transfer between local archives, which belong to collections that both the source and target Content Server instances can reach through a mapped or a mounted drive. An outgoing provider is not required. This type of transfer is typically used to combine the batch files of two archives.

Note:

If you are transferring between Content Server instances on a shared file system, the mapped or mounted drive must be available to both Content Server instances. The computers must be on and logged in as a user who has system access to both Content Server instances.

Figure 8-16 Local Transfer

Description of Figure 8-16 follows
Description of "Figure 8-16 Local Transfer"

8.6.2.2 Pull Transfer

A pull transfer is a transfer that is owned by the proxied (remote) Content Server instance, which is the instance that is the target of the outgoing provider.

  • Multiple pull transfers can be concurrent.

  • If you are running a pull transfer across a firewall, you might need to configure the firewall to permit the outgoing provider's socket to pass through it.

    Note:

    In Archiver, the term proxied refers to any Content Server instance to which the local instance is connected through an outgoing provider. This does not have to be a proxied instance of the master Content Server instance.

Figure 8-17 Pull Transfer

Description of Figure 8-17 follows
Description of "Figure 8-17 Pull Transfer"

8.6.2.3 Push Transfer

A push transfer is a transfer that is owned by the local Content Server instance, which is the instance on which the outgoing provider is set up.

  • For performance monitoring of a push transfer, you also should set up an outgoing provider from the target (proxied) Content Server instance back to the source (local) Content Server instance. This 'talkback' provider can then notify the source Content Server instance when each transfer is complete. A push transfer will work without the talkback provider, but the source Content Server instance would not be aware of transfer completion or problems.

  • Only one push transfer can be in progress at a time.

  • If you are running a push transfer across a firewall, you might need to configure the firewall to permit the both providers' sockets to pass through it.

Figure 8-18 Push Transfer

Description of Figure 8-18 follows
Description of "Figure 8-18 Push Transfer"

8.6.3 Transferring Batch Files

This section provides information about transferring batch files.

Transfer Process

When a transfer is initiated, the following actions occur:

  1. Each batch file in the archive is zipped together with its associated content files.

  2. The Zip files are transferred to the target Content Server instance by a local file system move (local transfer) or by the outgoing provider (push or pull transfer).

  3. The Zip files are unzipped and placed in the appropriate file system locations.

  4. For an automated transfer, the batch files and their associated content files are removed from the source Content Server instance. For a manual transfer, the batch files and associated content files remain in the source Content Server instance.

    The transferred archive is now available for import through the Archiver of the target Content Server instance.

Figure 8-19 The Transfer Process

Description of Figure 8-19 follows
Description of "Figure 8-19 The Transfer Process"

Transfer Rules

The following list provides applicable transfer rules:

  • If you are transferring between Content Server instances on a shared file system, the mapped or mounted drive must be available to both Content Server instances. The computers must be on and logged in as a user who has system access to both Content Server instances.

  • The Content Server instance that has an outgoing provider set up is considered the 'local' server, and the target Content Server instance for the outgoing provider is considered the 'proxied' server. Files are always transferred in the direction of the outgoing provider, from the local (source) instance to the proxied (target) instance.

  • To transfer multiple archives from a Content Server instance, you must set up a separate outgoing provider from the local instance for each target instance.

  • Only archives that are identified as 'targetable' can be transfer targets. When you are selecting a transfer target, the 'targetable' attribute can help you find the target archive quickly.

  • At least one archive in the transfer must be local to the transfer owner. For example, you cannot set up a transfer between two Content Server instances that is owned by a third Content Server instance.

  • An archive can contain only one copy of each batch file. Therefore, if a batch file being transferred already exists in the target archive, the batch file and its associated content files will be ignored.

8.6.4 Managing Transfers

This section provides information about tasks for managing transfers.

8.6.4.1 Transfer Process

To transfer content between Content Server instances:

  1. In the source Content Server instance, create the archive to be transferred and set up an export to this archive. See Section 8.4.2.1, "Manually Exporting."

  2. In the target Content Server instance, create the archive to receive transferred content and make the target archive 'targetable.' See Section 8.6.4.2, "Making an Archive Targetable."

  3. Set up communications between Content Server instances:

    • If the source and target archives are on a shared file system, ensure that both computers are on and logged in as a user who has system access to both Content Server instances.

    • If the source and target archives are not on a shared file system, create an outgoing provider from the source Content Server instance to the target Content Server instance. See Section 8.6.4.3, "Defining an Outgoing Transfer Provider."

  4. From the source archive, specify the target archive. See Section 8.6.4.4, "Setting a Transfer Destination (Target)."

  5. Initiate the transfer. See Section 8.6.4.5, "Initiating a Manual Transfer."

    The batch files and content files are copied to the target archive.

8.6.4.2 Making an Archive Targetable

To indicate that an archive can receive transfers from other archives:

  1. Open the archive collection that contains the target archive. See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  2. Select the target archive in the Current Archives list.

  3. Click the Main Archiver Transfer Screen.

  4. Click Edit in the Transfer Options section.

    The Transfer Options Screen is displayed.

  5. Select Is Targetable.

  6. Click OK.

8.6.4.3 Defining an Outgoing Transfer Provider

To create an outgoing provider for transfer purposes:

  1. On the source Content Server instance, create an outgoing provider. Enter the following information:

    Field Description

    Provider Name

    Enter a name. This will become a subdirectory in the DomainHome/ucm/cs/data/providers/ directory.

    Provider Description

    Enter a user-friendly description. For example, Transfer Provider.

    Server Host Name

    Enter the server host name of the target Content Server instance. For example, extranet_server.

    Server Port

    Enter a unique port number on which the provider will communicate with the target Content Server instance.

    Instance Name

    Enter the name of the target Content Server instance. For example, instance_on_extranet.

    Relative Web Root

    Enter the relative web root of the target Content Server instance. For example, /company/.

    Proxied checkbox

    Select this checkbox only if the target Content Server instance was installed as a proxy of the local (master) Content Server instance. See the Caution message below.


    Caution:

    Do not select this checkbox if the relative web root is the same for both Content Server instances.

  2. In the System Properties utility of the target Content Server instance, set the IP Address Filter or Hostname Filter to the IP address or host name of the source Content Server instance. (The IP Address Filter setting is recommended.)

  3. If you are setting up a push transfer (transfer owned by the local Content Server instance), consider setting up a 'talkback' outgoing provider from the target Content Server instance back to the source Content Server instance.

  4. If you are transferring across a firewall, configure the firewall to permit the outgoing providers' sockets to pass through it.

8.6.4.4 Setting a Transfer Destination (Target)

To specify the target archive to receive transferred content:

  1. Open Archiver from the Content Server instance that will own the transfer.

    • For a pull transfer, the transfer owner is the target (proxied) Content Server instance.

    • For a push transfer, the transfer owner is the source (local) Content Server instance.

  2. Open the archive collection that contains the source archive. See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  3. Select the source archive in the Current Archives list.

  4. Click the Main Archiver Transfer Screen

  5. Click Edit in the Transfer Destination section.

    The Archive Collections Screen is displayed.

  6. Select the collection that contains the target archive.

  7. Select the target archive.

    Note:

    The target archive must be identified as targetable. See Section 8.6.4.2, "Making an Archive Targetable."

  8. Click OK.

8.6.4.5 Initiating a Manual Transfer

To transfer content manually:

  1. Open Archiver on the source Content Server instance.

  2. Open the archive collection that contains the source archive. See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  3. Select the source archive in the Current Archives list.

  4. Select Actions, and then click Transfer.

    The transfer process is initiated, and the status bar at the bottom of the Archiver screen displays progress messages.

8.6.4.6 Deleting a Transfer

This section provides information about the methods to delete a transfer.

Deleting a Transfer from the Transfer To Tab:

  1. Open the archive collection that contains the source archive. See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  2. Select the source archive in the Current Archives list.

  3. Click the Main Archiver Transfer Screen.

  4. Click Remove in the Transfer Destination section.

    You are prompted to confirm the action.

  5. Click Yes.

Deleting an Automated Transfer from the Automation for Instances Screen:

  1. Open the archive collection. See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  2. Choose Options then View Automation For Instance.

    The Automation Screen is displayed.

  3. Click the Transfers tab.

  4. Select the automated transfer to delete.

  5. Click Remove.

    The automated transfer is removed from the list.

8.7 Replicating Files

The Replication function is used to automate the Archiver's export, import, and transfer functions.

8.7.1 Introduction to Replication

If you are automating an import using replication, each batch file is removed as soon as the automatic import is complete. However, you can view the archiving results by preparing an Archive History report using the Web Layout Editor.

If you are replicating files to a contribution server, you should map the Security Group and/or Account field so that users have only Read permission to the imported files. Otherwise, changed files in the importing instance could be overwritten by exported files during a later replication cycle.

For performance reasons, replication is not recommended for large archives (approximately 20,000 files or more). Export and import of large archives should be run manually, during periods of non-peak usage if possible.

Caution:

Archiver cannot be used to move or copy data between two instances that share the same Content Server instance name (IDC_Name). To do so corrupts the data on the target system.

This section covers these topics:

8.7.1.1 Single Revision Replications

When using the Single Revision Replication option on the Edit Export Query (Content) Screen, be aware of the following considerations:

  • If the new document matches the archiver query on checkin, it is archived. If it does not match the query, nothing happens.

  • If a document has multiple revisions and the most recent matching revision is deleted or updated so it no longer matches the query, the next most recent matching revision of that document is replicated. If no revisions match the query, that document is deleted through replication.

  • If a system (A) is replicating to system (B) and the Single Revision Replication option is used, system B will at any given time only have one revision of each document. The revLabel of each revision is 1, no matter what the revLabel was on the document that was replicated.

This archiving option allows an administrator to create a staging system and a production system. The staging system can archive all documents that have a specific metadata field set to 1. The production system will always have the most recent revision of each document that has this metadata flag set. Setting this flag to 0 on the staging system removes it from the production system and rolls it back to the next most recent revision with that metadata field set to 1.

8.7.1.2 Replication Uses

Typical uses for the Replication function include:

  • Automatically exporting from one Content Server instance and importing to another Content Server instance to synchronize two web sites.

  • Copying content automatically between two contribution/consumption servers.

  • Automatically moving certain documents from a contribution server to a higher-security Content Server instance.

  • Automatically moving old content to a storage location.

8.7.1.3 Replication Methods

You can automate Archiver functions in the following ways:

  • Automatic Export: Export to a local archive is initiated automatically whenever a content item that meets the export criteria is indexed.

  • Automatic Import: Import from a local archive is initiated automatically, about once per minute.

  • Automatic Transfer: Moving archive files to a different Content Server instance over sockets is initiated automatically whenever the source archive is updated.

    Note:

    You can export expired revisions manually, but expired revisions do not get exported automatically.

8.7.2 Managing Replication

Several tasks are involved in managing the replication process, including setting up automatic exports, imports and transfers. This section provides information about replication tasks.

8.7.2.1 Setting Up Automatic Export

To set up an automatic export:

  1. Set up the export and run a manual export. See Section 8.4.2.1, "Manually Exporting."

  2. Open Archiver on the Content Server instance that content is to be exported from.

  3. Open the archive collection.

  4. Select the archive to export to automatically in the Current Archives list.

  5. Click the Replication tab.

  6. Click Edit.

    The Registered Exporter Screen is displayed.

  7. Select Enable Automated Export.

  8. Click Register.

    The current collection is added to the Registered Exporters box.

  9. Click OK.

    Each revision that meets the export criteria will be exported to this archive when it is indexed. The batch file is removed as soon as each export is complete.

    Note:

    You can export expired revisions manually, but expired revisions do not get exported automatically.

8.7.2.2 Setting Up Automatic Import

To set up an automatic import:

  1. Set up the import and run a manual import. See Section 8.5.3, "Import Process."

  2. Open Archiver on the Content Server instance that the archive is to be imported to.

  3. Open the archive collection.

  4. Select the archive to import automatically in the Current Archives list.

  5. Click the Replication tab.

  6. Click Register Self.

    You are prompted to confirm the action.

  7. Click OK.

    The selected archive will be imported automatically, about once per minute. All source batch files are removed as soon as each import is complete.

    Note:

    The Replication function does not import content types and user attributes.

8.7.2.3 Setting Up Automatic Transfer

To set up an automatic transfer:

  1. Set up the transfer and run a manual transfer. See Section 8.6.1, "File Transfer Overview."

  2. Open Archiver on the source Content Server instance.

  3. Open the archive collection.

  4. Select the source archive in the Current Archives list.

  5. Click the Transfer To tab.

  6. Click Edit.

    The Transfer Options Screen is displayed.

  7. Select Is Transfer Automated.

  8. Click OK.

  9. Test the automatic transfer:

    1. In the source Content Server instance, check in a new document that meets the export criteria.

    2. If the export is automated, wait until automated export occurs after indexing. Otherwise, export the source archive manually.

      The archive should be transferred to the target Content Server instance within a few minutes.

      Note:

      The Replication function does not import content types and user attributes.

8.7.2.4 Disabling Automatic Import

This section provides information about the methods to disable an automatic import.

Unregistering an Importer from the Replication Tab:

  1. Open the archive collection. See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  2. Select the archive in the Current Archives list.

  3. Click the Replication tab.

  4. Click Unregister.

    Automatic importing from the selected archive is disabled.

Disabling a Registered Importer from the Automation for Instance Screen:

  1. Open the archive collection. See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  2. From Options, choose View Automation For Instance.

    The Automation for Instance Screen is displayed.

  3. Click the Importers tab.

  4. Select the registered importer to delete.

  5. Click Remove.

    The registered importer is removed from the list.

8.7.2.5 Disabling Automatic Export

To disable automatic export:

  1. Open the archive collection. See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  2. Select the archive in the Current Archives list.

  3. Click the Replication tab.

  4. Click Edit.

    The Registered Exporter Screen is displayed.

  5. Deselect Enable Automated Export.

  6. Click OK.

    Automatic exporting of the selected archive is disabled.

8.7.2.6 Disabling Automatic Transfer

To disable automatic transfer:

  1. Open Archiver on the source Content Server instance.

  2. Open the source archive collection. See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  3. Select the source archive in the Current Archives list.

  4. Click the Transfer To tab.

  5. Click Edit.

    The Transfer Options Screen is displayed.

  6. Deselect Is Transfer Automated.

  7. Click OK.

    Automatic transfer of the selected archive is disabled.

8.7.2.7 Deleting a Registered Exporter

This section provides information about the methods to delete a registered exporter.

Deleting a Registered Exporter from the Replication Tab:

  1. Open the archive collection. See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  2. Select the archive in the Current Archives list.

  3. Click the Replication tab.

  4. Click Edit.

    The Registered Exporter Screen is displayed.

  5. Select Enable Automated Export.

  6. Select the Content Server instance to delete in the Registered Exporters list.

  7. Click Remove.

    The registered exporter is removed from the list.

  8. Click OK.

Deleting a Registered Exporter from the Automation for Instance Screen:

  1. Open the archive collection. See Section 8.3.3.1, "Opening a Collection."

  2. From Options, choose View Automation For Instance.

    The Automation for Instance Screen is displayed.

  3. Select the registered exporter to delete.

  4. Click Remove.

    The registered exporter is removed from the list.

8.8 Archive and Migration Strategies

This section provides information about several typical archiving and migration strategies.

Note:

All of the scenarios described in this section can be run manually or automatically (through replication).

This section covers these topics:

8.8.1 Export

This section provides information about exporting.

Summary

A simple export is typically used to:

  • Store and later remove outdated content on a file system.

  • Store content on a file system for later retrieval.

  • Retain a 'snapshot' of a Content Server instance at a certain date and time.

Configurations

The following are possible export-only configurations, shown in order from most to least typical:

  • Export to a collection on an external file system.

Figure 8-20 Export to External File System

Description of Figure 8-20 follows
Description of "Figure 8-20 Export to External File System"

  • Export to one of the Content Server instance's own collections.

Figure 8-21 Export to Own Collection

Description of Figure 8-21 follows
Description of "Figure 8-21 Export to Own Collection"

8.8.2 Import

This section provides information about importing.

Summary

A simple import is typically used to:

  • Retrieve content from storage after an unintended deletion.

  • Restore content from an archived 'snapshot' of a Content Server instance.

Configurations

The following are possible import-only configurations, shown in order from most to least typical:

  • Import from a collection on an external file system.

Figure 8-22 Import from External File System

Description of Figure 8-22 follows
Description of "Figure 8-22 Import from External File System"

  • Import from one of the Content Server instance's own collections.

Figure 8-23 Import from Own Collection

Description of Figure 8-23 follows
Description of "Figure 8-23 Import from Own Collection"

8.8.3 Self Export/Import

This section provides information about self export.

Summary

Self export/import is typically used to change content metadata to new values.

Configurations

The following are possible self export/import configurations, shown in order from most to least typical:

  • Export to and import from one of the Content Server instance's own collections.

Figure 8-24 Self Export/Import from Own Collection

Description of Figure 8-24 follows
Description of "Figure 8-24 Self Export/Import from Own Collection"

  • Export to and import from a collection on an external file system.

Figure 8-25 Self Export/Import from External File System

Description of Figure 8-25 follows
Description of "Figure 8-25 Self Export/Import from External File System"

8.8.4 One-to-One Archiving

This section provides information about one-to-one archiving.

Summary

One-to-one archiving is used to copy or move content from one Content Server instance to another.

Configurations

The following are possible one-to-one archiving configurations, shown in order from most to least typical:

  • Export, transfer, and import over sockets.

Figure 8-26 One-to-One Archiving: Over Sockets

Description of Figure 8-26 follows
Description of "Figure 8-26 One-to-One Archiving: Over Sockets"

  • Export, transfer, and import on a shared file system.

Figure 8-27 One-to-One Archiving: On Shared File System

Description of Figure 8-27 follows
Description of "Figure 8-27 One-to-One Archiving: On Shared File System"

  • Export to and import from a collection on a shared external file system.

Figure 8-28 One-to-One Archiving: On Shared External File System

Description of Figure 8-28 follows
Description of "Figure 8-28 One-to-One Archiving: On Shared External File System"

  • Export to the source Content Server collection and import directly from that collection on a shared file system.

Figure 8-29 One-to-One Archiving: Export to Collection and Import from Collection on Shared File System

Description of Figure 8-29 follows
Description of "Figure 8-29 One-to-One Archiving: Export to Collection and Import from Collection on Shared File System"

  • Export from the source Content Server instance directly to a collection on the target Content Server instance and import from that collection on a shared file system.

Figure 8-30 One-to-One Archiving: Export from Source to Collection and Import from Collection on Shared File System

Description of Figure 8-30 follows
Description of "Figure 8-30 One-to-One Archiving: Export from Source to Collection and Import from Collection on Shared File System"

8.8.5 One-to-Many Archiving

This section provides information about one-to-many archiving.

Summary

One-to-many archiving is typically used to copy or move content from a contribution server to consumption servers.

Configurations

The following are possible one-to-many archiving configurations, shown in order from most to least typical:

  • Export, transfer, and import over sockets.

    When this configuration is automated using replication, a separate export archive is required for each target server because the source files are deleted upon transfer. However, for manual transfer, you could transfer a single archive to multiple targets.

Figure 8-31 One-to-Many Archiving: Over Sockets

Description of Figure 8-31 follows
Description of "Figure 8-31 One-to-Many Archiving: Over Sockets"

  • Export, transfer, and import on a shared file system.

    When this configuration is automated using replication, a separate export archive is required for each target server because the source files are deleted upon transfer. However, for manual transfer, you could transfer a single archive to multiple targets.

Figure 8-32 One-to-Many Archiving: On Shared File System

Description of Figure 8-32 follows
Description of "Figure 8-32 One-to-Many Archiving: On Shared File System"

  • Export to and import from a collection on a shared external file system.

    When this configuration is automated using replication, a separate export archive is required for each target server because the source files are deleted upon import. However, for manual import, you could import a single archive from multiple targets.

Figure 8-33 One-to-Many Archiving: On Shared External File System

Description of Figure 8-33 follows
Description of "Figure 8-33 One-to-Many Archiving: On Shared External File System"

  • Export to the source Content Server collection and import directly from that collection on a shared file system.

    When this configuration is automated using replication, a separate export archive is required for each target server because the source files are deleted upon import. However, for manual import, you could import a single archive from multiple targets.

Figure 8-34 One-to-Many Archiving: Export to Collection and Import from Collection on Shared File System

Description of Figure 8-34 follows
Description of "Figure 8-34 One-to-Many Archiving: Export to Collection and Import from Collection on Shared File System"

  • Export from the source Content Server instance directly to collections on the target Content Server instances and import from those collections on a shared file system.

Figure 8-35 One-to-Many Archiving: Export from Source to Collections and Import from Collections on Shared File System

Description of Figure 8-35 follows
Description of "Figure 8-35 One-to-Many Archiving: Export from Source to Collections and Import from Collections on Shared File System"

8.8.6 Many-to-One Archiving

This section provides information about many-to-one archiving.

Summary

Many-to-one archiving is typically used to:

  • Copy or move content from several contribution servers to one consumption server.

  • Move sensitive content from several contribution servers to a more secure contribution server.

Configurations

The following are possible many-to-one archiving configurations, shown in order from most to least typical:

  • Export, transfer, and import over sockets.

Figure 8-36 Many-to-One Archiving: Over Sockets

Description of Figure 8-36 follows
Description of "Figure 8-36 Many-to-One Archiving: Over Sockets"

  • Export, transfer, and import on a shared file system.

Figure 8-37 Many-to-One Archiving: On Shared File System

Description of Figure 8-37 follows
Description of "Figure 8-37 Many-to-One Archiving: On Shared File System"

  • Export to and import from a collection on a shared external file system.

Figure 8-38 Many-to-One Archiving: On Shared External File System

Description of Figure 8-38 follows
Description of "Figure 8-38 Many-to-One Archiving: On Shared External File System"

  • Export to the source Content Server instances' collections and import directly from those collections on a shared file system.

Figure 8-39 Many-to-One Archiving: Export to Collections and Import from Collections on Shared File System

Description of Figure 8-39 follows
Description of "Figure 8-39 Many-to-One Archiving: Export to Collections and Import from Collections on Shared File System"

  • Export from the source Content Server instances directly to a collection on the target Content Server instance and import from that collection on a shared file system.

Figure 8-40 Many-to-One Archiving: Export From Sources to Collection and Import from Collection on Shared File System

Description of Figure 8-40 follows
Description of "Figure 8-40 Many-to-One Archiving: Export From Sources to Collection and Import from Collection on Shared File System"

8.8.7 Archiver Examples

This section provides examples that illustrate how to use Archiver to solve common business problems.

8.8.7.1 Copying a Content Server Instance to a Laptop

In this example, you need to set up a laptop computer with a copy of a Content Server instance for a colleague who will be traveling.

This procedure assumes that the source Content Server instance and the laptop computer have access to the same file system, and that the laptop computer has Content Server software installed.

  1. Open Archiver on the source Content Server instance.

  2. Create a new archive.

  3. Because you want to export all content, you do not need to create an export query.

  4. To limit the file size of the archive, choose the Latest Revisions option on the Edit Export Query screen.

  5. If content types and user attributes need to be copied to the laptop system, select Content Configuration and User Configuration on the Export Data tab.

  6. Set export options from the General tab:

    • To save space on the local system, select Replace Existing Export Files.

    • If your colleague needs web-viewable files, select Copy Web Content.

  7. Initiate the export manually.

  8. Open Archiver on the laptop Content Server instance.

  9. Open the source collection and select the archive to import.

  10. If content type and user attributes were exported, select these options on the Import Archive screen.

  11. Initiate the import manually.

8.8.7.2 Transferring by Content Type and Author

In this example, you have a contribution Content Server instance where users submit content. You want to automatically archive HR content that is contributed by JChang to a Content Server instance in another building that serves as a Human Resources portal.

This procedure assumes that the two Content Server instances do not have access to a shared file system, and that the Human Resources portal server should contain only the latest revision of each content item.

Set up an automated export on the Contribution Content Server instance:

  1. Create an archive.

  2. Set these export queries for the archive:

    Field Operator Value

    Content Type

    Is

    HR

    Author

    Is

    JChang


  3. On the Edit Export Query screen:

    • Select Export Revisions with Release Date later than most recent Export Date.

    • Select the Latest Revisions option.

  4. Set export options from the General tab:

    • To save space on the local system, select Replace Existing Export Files.

    • To include web-viewable files in the archive, select Copy Web Content.

  5. Export the archive manually.

  6. On the Replication tab, register the archive as an automated exporter.

Set up an automated import on the HR Portal Content Server instance:

  1. Create a target archive.

  2. Select the target archive and ensure that the Update Override Action is set on the General tab.

  3. Import the target archive manually.

  4. On the Replication tab, register the archive as an automated importer.

Set up an automated pull transfer from the Contribution server to the HR Portal server:

  1. On the Contribution Content Server instance, create an outgoing provider to the HR portal Content Server instance.

  2. Open Archiver on the HR portal Content Server instance.

  3. Open the target collection and make the target archive 'targetable.'

  4. Open the source collection and select the source archive.

  5. On the Transfer To tab, select the target archive as the target destination.

  6. Run a manual transfer.

  7. Set the transfer to be automated.

8.8.7.3 Changing Metadata Fields

In this example, you have a custom metadata field, ApprovedBy, which was used in one Content Server instance, but the field name must be changed to Sponsor for consistency with other Content Server instances.

  1. Create the new Sponsor metadata field.

  2. Create an archive.

  3. Manually export all content to the archive. (You do not need to create an export query.)

  4. Set up the following import field map for the archive:

    Export Field Target Field

    xApprovedBy

    Sponsor


  5. From the General tab, select Update as the Override Action.

  6. Initiate the import manually.

  7. Delete the ApprovedBy field from the Content Server instance.

8.8.7.4 Adding Content ID Prefixes

In this example, you have two Content Server instances that are used as contribution servers, but you want to have all content available for consumption from both servers. You can set up an automatic transfer in both directions. However, both Content Server instances use automatic Content ID generation with similar numbering schemes, which could result in errors or overwritten revisions if you import files with Content IDs that already exist on the target Content Server instance.

  • One way to avoid conflicts is to add a unique prefix in the Auto Number Prefix system property on both Content Server instances.

  • Another way to accomplish this is to add a unique prefix during the import process:

To add content ID prefixes:

  1. Set up the following value map on the first Content Server instance's import archive:

    Input Value Field Output Value

    All checkbox

    Content ID

    server2_<$dDocName$>


  2. Set up the following value map on the second Content Server instance's import archive:

    Input Value Field Output Value

    All checkbox

    Content ID

    server1_<$dDocName$>


8.8.7.5 Changing Release Dates

In this example, you are copying archives to other Content Server instances using replication or transfer, but you want the release date on the target Content Server instance to be the date the content item was copied.

  1. Set up an export and import for replication or transfer.

  2. Select the archive to import in the target Content Server instance.

  3. Set up the following import value map for the archive:

    Input Value Field Output Value

    All checkbox

    Release Date

    <$dateCurrent()$>


The release dates will reflect the local date and time of the target Content Server instance.

8.8.8 Configuration Migration Tips

There are several points to keep in mind when using the Configuration Migration Utility.

  • If you use directory locations on the target system that differ from the standard Content Server installation directories, you cannot use Configuration Migration but must do a manual copy of the pertinent directories.

    For example, if you use partitioned file systems and want to split Content Server storage on the partitions, you must add configuration variables to the DomainHome/ucm/cs/bin/intradoc.cfg file to point to the correct locations for the directories that are stored elsewhere.

  • If you are using different web servers for the source and the target systems, make sure to exclude the web server information when using Configuration Migration to prepare an export.

  • Not all components can be exported using the Configuration Migration Utility. For example, components that require an interactive installation cannot be exported. They must be installed separately on the target system.

  • Dynamic Converter rules are not transferred with the Configuration Migration Utility. They must be manually added to the target system by copying the /data/conversion/cvtemplates.hda file from the source system to the target system. In addition, you should create an archive for dynamic converter templates and transfer them to the target system before transferring other content. Otherwise an error occurs when a document that is eligible for dynamic conversion is imported.

  • The Configuration Migration Utility is particularly useful for propagating a part of an instance to another. For example, some customization, such as workflows or content profiles, may best be designed and tested on a development instance. After they are tested they can be migrated to your production system. Other development work, such as component development, is probably best done using the Component Wizard and Component Manager for testing and deployment.

  • Problems can occur when importing archives if required fields and validated option lists are not considered. If metadata fields have been changed to be required or if option lists have been altered between one migration and another, it will be difficult to import content into another system with those same metadata field definitions. To avoid this problem, temporarily change required fields to be non-required and change option lists to be non-validated before importing data on a target system.

  • You can use the Configuration Migration Utility with the archiver to create a regular 'snapshot' of your instance.You should also make sure to make appropriate backups of your databases at the same time, to ensure that the entire system stays synchronized.

  • You should create a configuration migration package before creating an archive package to ensure that the appropriate metadata information is available on the importing Content Server instance.

  • Remember that migration is an additive process. The exporting configuration bundle of metadata information is added to the metadata that currently exists in the importing Content Server instance. If metadata information currently exists that matches the metadata being imported, and if the Force Overwrite rule has been selected during import, then the metadata on the importing Content Server instance is overwritten by the metadata from the exported bundle.

8.9 Folder Archiving

This section provides information about folder archiving.

8.9.1 Folder Archive Functions

The Folder Archive is part of the Folders_g component and has the following functionality:

  • Export a folder hierarchy: Used to assign a filename to an exported archive file and save it in a specified location.

  • Import folder hierarchy: Used to specify the filename of an archive to import. The imported folder structure removes all current folders and replaces them with the folder hierarchy.

The Virtual Folder Administration Configuration page is used to export and import folder archives.

Figure 8-41 Virtual Folder Administration Configuration Page

Description of Figure 8-41 follows
Description of "Figure 8-41 Virtual Folder Administration Configuration Page"

8.9.2 Exporting an Archived Folder Structure

To export a folder hierarchy as an archive, use the following procedure:

  1. Log in to the Content Server instance as an administrator.

  2. Choose Administration then Folder Configuration.

  3. Click Export Archive.

    A File Download window is displayed.

  4. Click Save.

    A Save As window is displayed.

  5. Navigate to the directory where you want to save the folder archive file.

  6. Specify a new file name so that you can easily identify the archive file (for example, 041127_CollectionArchive).

    Note:

    In the Windows operating system, if you leave the file type as Text Document, a .txt extension will be appended to the file name (for example, CollectionArchive.hda.txt). To save the file with just the .hda extension, select the All Files file type.

  7. Click Save.

    The folder hierarchy is exported to the specified file.

    Note:

    Depending on the size of the folder hierarchy that is being exported as an archive file, the default heap size value for the JVM may not be adequate. If memory errors are issued during the export procedure, the heap size may need to be increased.

8.9.3 Importing an Archived Folder Structure

Use the following procedure to import an archived folder structure:

Caution:

This procedure removes all current folders and replaces them with the imported folder hierarchy. Typically, you should perform this procedure only on a Content Server instance that has no content items in the repository.

  1. Log in to the Content Server instance as an administrator.

  2. Choose Administration then Folder Configuration.

  3. Click Browse and navigate to the archive file you want to import.

  4. Click Open.

    The path and file name appear in the field.

  5. Click Import Archive.

    A confirmation prompt is displayed.

  6. Click OK.

    The archived folder is imported and re-created.

For details about exporting and importing folders, see Oracle WebCenter Content Application Administrator's Guide for Content Server.

8.10 Folder Structure Archiving

The Folder Structure Archive component enables you to archive the folder structure as well as its associated content (if desired) for Contribution Folders and Folders_g folders. The structure of the folders is archived through database table replication. You can configure which folders (along with all subfolders) should be archived. The folder archives can be accessed by the Content Server Archiver utility for further processing (for example, replication or transfer to a different Content Server instance).

Note:

Folder Structure Archive does not support Folders. The Archiver can be used to move Folders structure and content. For details, see Section 8.12, "Folders_g Migration to Folders."

The Folder Structure Archive component is installed, but disabled, by default with the Content Server instance. To use the component you must enable it with the Component Manager.

This section covers the following topics:

8.10.1 Overview of Folder Structure Archive

The Folder Structure Archive component has several uses, including:

  • As a backup tool: You can use this component to back up the folder structure (including its content, if desired) and store it in a safe place to be restored in a server malfunction or other calamity.

  • As a duplication tool: You can use this component to copy the folder structure (including its content, if desired) and create an exact copy on a different computer to simplify multiserver setups.

  • As a synchronization tool: You can use this component to keep the folders environment between two systems synchronized (for example, a development system and a production system, or two identical, redundant systems). Folder archives created using this component can be transferred or replicated to another system.

    Important:

    Please ensure that you read the Section 8.10.4, "Important Implementation Considerations."

8.10.2 Differences With Built-in Folders Archiving Features

Folders Structure Archive has its own built-in archiving features, which are accessed on the Contribution Folder Administration Configuration page.

Functionality Differences

Folder Structure Archive can be used alongside built-in archiving features, but its functionality differs in several important ways:

  • The component can export selected portions of the folder structure, whereas the built-in Contribution Folders archiving features can only export the entire folder structure.

  • The component can create incremental archives-that is, archives that contain only changed folders compared to an earlier version- whereas the built-in Contribution Folders archiving features can only create archives that contain all items, even unchanged ones.

  • The component can include both the folder structure and folder content in the archives (depending on the value of a Folder Structure Archive Component Variables), whereas the built-in Contribution Folders archiving features can only export the folder structure and none of the content in the folders.

  • Unlike the built-in Contribution Folders archiving features, the component allows the creation of multiple source folder archives, which can all be imported, transferred, or replicated to the same target Content Server instance using Content Server's Archiver utility.

Processing Differences

If you export the complete folder structure using the built-in Contribution Folders archiving features and you import it into another Content Server instance (using the Contribution Folders user interface), then that server's existing folder structure is deleted entirely and replaced with the imported structure.

If you create an archive using Folder Structure Archive and you import, transfer, or replicate it to another Content Server instance (using the Archiver utility), then the existing folder structure is not deleted, and the archived structure is merged into the existing structure.

Note:

For more information on the built-in archiving features of the Folders_g component, see Oracle WebCenter Content Application Administrator's Guide for Content Server.

8.10.3 Managing Folder Structure Archives

This section provides information about working with folder structure archives:

8.10.3.1 Creating a Folder Structure Archive

To create a new folder structure archive, complete the following steps:

  1. Log in to the Content Server instance as an administrator.

  2. Choose Administration then Folder Archive Configuration.

    The Folder Archive Configuration Page is displayed.

  3. In the Collection Name list, select the archive collection that the new folder structure archive should be part of.

  4. In the Archive Name field, specify the name of the new folder structure archive.

    Important:

    Ensure that you provide an archive name before selecting folders to be included in the archive. If you select folders first and then specify an archive name, nothing happens when you click Add. (The folder tree collapses completely and your folder selection is lost).

  5. In the shaded area, select all folders to include in the folder structure archive.

    If you click the checkbox of a parent folder, all its child folders are selected automatically as well. You can also select and unselect any of the child folders individually. A parent folder will only be selected if all of its subfolders are selected as well. If you unselect any of the child folders, its parent folder is automatically unselected, too. This does not affect the virtual folder path properties of the child folder.

  6. Click Add.

    A message is displayed saying that the folder archive was added successfully. The archive is now included in the Archive Name list, and also in the list of current archives for the Content Server instance; see Section 8.10.3.3, "Using a Folder Structure Archive."

8.10.3.2 Updating a Folder Structure Archive

You can use the definition of an existing folder structure archive, modify it, and create an updated archive. Complete the following steps:

  1. Log in to the Content Server instance as an administrator.

  2. Choose Administration then Folder Archive Configuration.

    The Folder Archive Configuration Page is displayed

  3. If required, assign the archive to a different collection in the Collection Name list.

  4. In the Archive Name list, select the name of the folder structure archive to update.

    The folder archive tree in the shaded area is updated to reflect the current selections for the archive.

    Note:

    You cannot save the selected archive under a different name. If you change the name in the Archive Name field and click Add, the archive is considered a new archive and you must select the folders again before clicking Add.

  5. When defining the folder structure archive on the Folder Archive Configuration Page, you can select a folder without selecting its parent folder.

    If you click the checkbox of a parent folder, all its child folders are selected automatically as well. You can also select and unselect any of the child folders individually. A parent folder will only be selected if all of its subfolders are selected as well. If you unselect any of the child folders, its parent folder is automatically unselected, too. This does not affect the virtual folder path properties of the child folder.

    Note:

    By default, if a parent folder is not selected, its source collection ID is not passed on to its child folders. If you want the source collection ID of a folder to be retained even if its parent folder is not selected, set the AllowMigrationOfParentFoldersMeta variable to true (this is not the default). For details, see Section 8.10.3.4, "Folder Structure Archive Component Variables."

  6. Click Update.

    A message is displayed saying that the folder archive was updated successfully. To process this archive further, see Section 8.10.3.3, "Using a Folder Structure Archive."

8.10.3.3 Using a Folder Structure Archive

After you create a new folder structure archive, its files are located in the Intradoc_Dir/archives/Archive_Name directory, and it is included in the list of current archives for the Content Server instance in the Archiver utility:

Figure 8-42 Folder structure archive in Archiver utility

Description of Figure 8-42 follows
Description of "Figure 8-42 Folder structure archive in Archiver utility"

The Name column contains the name that was given to the archive when it was created. See Section 8.10.3.1, "Creating a Folder Structure Archive." The Description column will always say "Archive with folder structures" to indicate the archive's purpose.

The folder structure archive can now be processed further. All normal Archiver functions can be used. For example, the archive can be transferred or replicated to a different Content Server instance.

Note:

For several important considerations that should be taken into account when implementing the Folder Structure Archive component, see Section 8.10.4, "Important Implementation Considerations."

8.10.3.4 Configuration Variables

There are several configuration variables that you can use to modify the behavior of folder structure archiving. This section provides information about the types of such variables.

Folder Structure Archive Component Variables

The variables for the Folder Structure Archive component are set in the following file: IdcHomeDir/components/FolderStructureArchive/folderstructurearchive_environment.cfg. This is a read-only file, so if you want to modify a setting, use the Admin Server: General Configuration Page.

The following configuration parameters are supported:

  • ArchiveFolderStructureOnly=true|false: If this variable is set to true, the archive will only include the folder structure and none of the content items contained in the structure. This variable enables you to create a copy of the folder structure for backup purposes or identical multiserver setup. The default is false, which means that content items are included in the folder archive.

  • AllowArchiveNoneFolderItem=true|false: If this variable is set to true, the archive will include content items, even if they are not in the folder structure. The content that does not belong to any folder is included in the folder structure archive. If it is set to false, only content items that are in the folder structure are exported. You can use this configuration variable to set up replication for folders and content at the same time; otherwise additional replication for folders and normal content would be required. The default is true, which means that content items outside of the folder structure are also included in the folder archive.

  • AllowMigrationOfParentFoldersMeta=true|false: If this variable is set to true, the source collection ID of a folder is retained (migrated from the parent folder), even if the parent folder is not selected on the Folder Archive Configuration Page. The default is false, which means that metadata of parent folders is not passed on unless the parent folder is specifically selected.

    Important:

    After modifying a configuration parameter value, ensure that you restart the Content Server instance.

Folders_g Component Variables

The variables for the Folders_g component are set in the following file: IdcHomeDir/components/Folders_g/folders_environment.cfg. This is a read-only file, so if you want to modify a setting, use the Admin Server: General Configuration Page.

The following Folders_g configuration variable is useful with the Folder Structure Archive component:

  • CollectionIsConsumptionOnly=true|false: If this variable is set to true, the folders environment on the Content Server instance is locked, which means the server is set to receive folder data only (hence consumption). Users with RWD permissions are not allowed to create, move, modify, or delete folders. Users with Admin permissions are not allowed to create folders, but they can move, modify, and delete folders.

    This setting should typically be set on a Content Server instance that is the target of an archive transfer or replication. It prevents out-of-sync errors between the source server and target server, which could arise if folders were manipulated manually on the target server.

    The default setting is false, which means the folders environment on the Content Server instance is not locked.

    In a replication setup, any deleted folders on the source system are not automatically deleted on the target system. Even with the target system in consumption-only mode, system administrators can manually delete the affected folder on the target system. (Please note that they cannot create folders.)

    Caution:

    If users are allowed to manipulate folders on the target server, ensure that you select a different initial collection ID (InitialColID setting) for the target server than for the source server during the Folders_g component installation. Otherwise there may be collection ID collision errors.

    Important:

    After modifying a configuration parameter value, ensure that you restart the Content Server instance.

8.10.4 Important Implementation Considerations

Please note the following important implementation considerations:

  • The Folder Structure Archive component cannot be used to replicate Site Studio web sites. The folder tree on the Folder Archive Configuration Page will include all Site Studio website folders, and you can archive and replicate them to another system. However, the replicated website may not work correctly on the target system. If you want to replicate a Site Studio website, use Site Studio's built-in replication features.

  • If you are using the Folder Structure Archive component as a duplication or synchronization tool between two systems, it is recommended that you select different initial collection IDs (InitialColID setting) for the source and target system when installing the Folders_g component. If the initial collection IDs are the same and users are allowed to manipulate folders on the target system, there may be collection ID collision errors during the duplication or synchronization process.

  • You can select a folder in the tree on the Folder Archive Configuration Page without selecting its parent folder. This does not affect the folder's virtual folder path-in other words, the virtual path will remain to be [Parent_Folder]/[Folder], even if [Parent_Folder] is not selected. If you transfer or replicate the archive to another Content Server instance and the parent folder does not exist on that server, it is automatically created, but without the metadata of the corresponding folder on the source server.

  • If you want to transfer or replicate a folder structure archive between two Content Server instances, it is recommended that you do not manually create the folder structure on the target system. Folders that do not exist on the target system are created automatically during the transfer or replication process. If you do create folders manually, this may lead to out-of-sync errors during the process since the folder names may match, but their underlying unique identifiers (xCollectionID) do not. To help reduce mismatching folder issues, you can use the CollectionIsConsumptionOnly configuration variable to lock the folders environment on the target system.

  • If you set up replication between two systems using the Folders Archive Structure component, folders that are created or moved on the source system are automatically created or moved on the target system as soon as content is added to the source folder. Also, if you change the metadata of a folder on the source system, these changes are automatically reflected on the target system as well (as soon as content is added to the target folder). Any folders that are deleted on the source system are automatically deleted on the target system. When a folder is deleted, all its information is gone. However, any folders that are deleted on the source system are not automatically deleted on the target system, which means the two systems are out of sync. This is because the Folders_g component does not keep track of deleted folders. When a folder is deleted, all its information is gone. When the Archiver utility starts the replication process, it does not know what folder(s) to delete from the target system.

    Similarly, if a folder move causes the folder to no longer reside in an archived folder, this folder will not be archived and replicated. Consider a system with folders /FolderA, /FolderA/SubfolderA, /FolderB, and /FolderB/SubfolderB. If /FolderA is set up to be archived and /FolderB is not, moving SubfolderA to /FolderB means it will not be replicated. However, if both /FolderA and /FolderB are archived, the move of SubfolderA would be replicated.

  • If you set up archiving or replication of folders and content items using the Folders Archive Structure component, the shortcuts of the folders and content items are not archived or replicated.

  • It is recommended that you use the Folder Structure Archive component with the Doc Folder Archiving component. This component was installed along with the Folders add-on if, during the Folders installation, you chose to preserve the folder structure of content during archiving. When you import a content item that belongs to a folder, this component will create the folder structure on the target system if it does not yet exist on that system. If the identical folder structure (with the same or a different xCollectionID) exists on the target system, then it makes sure that the xCollectionID of the content item being imported into the target system matches with the existing folder on the target system.

    Consider a content item on the source system in a folder. The xCollectionID of the content item is 8, and the folder is called FolderA. Now assume that you are using Doc Folder Archiving component to archive that content item to a target system. If FolderA does not exist in the target system at the same level, then Doc Folder Archiving will create FolderA in the target system and then import the content item into that folder. More than likely the xCollectionID of the FolderA will be different than FolderA on the source system. If FolderA already exists on the target system at the same level but has different xCollectionID (for example, 7), then Doc Folder Archiving will not delete that folder. It will keep the folder, but it will change the xCollectionID of the content item that you are transferring from 8 to 7, so that the content item still belongs to the correct folder.

8.11 Archiver Replication Exceptions

The Archiver Replication Exceptions component can be used to prevent failed imports from stopping replication. This component is installed and enabled by default with the Content Server instance.

This section covers the following topics:

8.11.1 Overview of Archiver Replication Exceptions

The Archiver Replication Exceptions component enables administrators to prevent failed imports from stopping replication. It does this by capturing such failed imports and putting them into an exceptions archive and sending e-mail to the administrator that such a failed import has occurred.

8.11.1.1 How Archiver Replication Exceptions Works

Several configuration entries must be manually added to the IntradocDir/config/config.cfg file to support Archiver Replication Exceptions. The configuration entries define a variety of conditions to determine the level of error reporting, to direct failed imports to an exceptions directory, and to ignore and handle multiple failed imports when a systemic error is detected. Parameters for both automatic and manual imports are provided.

8.11.1.2 Scenario 1

In this scenario an import of a document has failed because the content type "DOC" does not exist in the importing server. The error reporting level (ArchiverEmailErrorLevel) was set to collision, standard, severe, and the ArchiverErrorNotifyUser was set to sysadmin. The following is an example of an archiver import failure e-mail notification:

Archiver Import Failure
There was a serious error during the import of a document which may prevent that 
document from being properly synchronized in state with the exporting content 
server. Content item 'test1' was not successfully checked in. The content 
type 'DOC' is not defined in the system.
Revision Being Imported
Collection:  idc
Archive Name:  ar1
Source Instance:  idc
Batch Name:  07-sep-24_15.15.41_766/07267151541~1.hda
Content ID:  test1
Title:  test1
Author:  sysadmin
Revision:  1
Release Date:  9/24/07 3:13 PM
Create Date:  9/24/07 3:14 PM

The Document Has Been Copied To An Exceptions Archive

Collection:  idc
Archive Name:  ImportExceptions
Batch Name:  07-sep-24_15.15.41_766/07267151541~1.hda
Total Captured In Archive:  1

8.11.1.3 Scenario 2

An import is being attempted but continually fails. The system administrator is aware that there may be problems during the import, but does not want an e-mail notification of every failure. By setting the ArchiverMaxConsecutiveImportErrors (default is 10), the system administrator can set several failures that can occur before the cessation of e-mail notification. E-mail is sent until this number of errors is reached. If any import from the exporter should succeed before the set number is reached, or if the Content Server instance is restarted, the counter is reset to 0. Note that when the maximum number of errors is reached the automated import of the archive is aborted.

8.11.2 Administering and Using Archiver Replication Exceptions

The primary purpose for the Archiver Replication Exceptions component is to allow filtering of failed imports to optimize the handling and notification of such failures. For content items to be processed by Archiver Replication Exceptions, the administrator must manually set configuration entries in the IntradocDir/config/config.cfg file. The configuration variables customize the behavior of the importing Content Server instance to allow for certain situations and to distribute the error reporting based on the configured criteria.

The following configuration variables can be used to customize behavior. These values should be set in the IntradocDir/config/config.cfg file under #Additional Variables.

By prepending any of the configuration entries with the name of an archive, with a colon (:) as a separator, that configuration entry will only apply to that archive. For example, to enable capturing exceptions for the archive MyRemoteImportArchive, use the following entry in the config.cfg file:

MyRemoteImportArchive:IsArchiverCapturingExceptions=true

If an archive name prefix is not applied, then the value set is the global default for all archives.

  • IsArchiverCapturingExceptions: The primary functionality of this component is not enabled unless this configuration entry is turned on.

    Default is false.

  • ArchiverImportExceptionsArchiveName: The name of the archive to hold failed imports. The archive will be created in the same archive collection as the archive that contained the document that failed an import.

    The default is ImportExceptions.

  • ArchiverMaxConsecutiveImportErrors: The maximum number of consecutive import errors before the import of the archive is aborted.

    The default is 10.

  • ArchiverErrorNotifyUser: The user to notify when there is an import failure. The default is sysadmin. The e-mail is generated only if the import error is at a level that is configured to generate e-mail.

    The entry can be a comma separated list of user names, but all the user names have to be defined in the Content Server instance and have associated e-mail addresses.

  • ArchiverEmailErrorLevels: The error levels at which an import error should generate e-mail during automated import. The possible levels are as follows:

    • collision: The import failed because an existing revision of a document blocked it. Usually this is caused by the importing revision having a release date (or create date depending on configuration) that is earlier than the date of the latest revision of an existing document.

    • standard: The import failed because of a normal error. A typical such error would be a metadata field that has an invalid value.

    • severe: The import failed because of a severe unexpected error in the Content Server instance. A typical reason for this might be a network failure to either the file system or database.

    The configuration entry is set to a comma separated list of any of the above values. If an automated import error occurs, it is classified in one of the above levels and if the level is in the list configured for this parameter then an e-mail is generated for that error.

    The default is collision,standard,severe (or all).

  • ArchiverManualImportEmailErrorLevels: This is similar to ArchiverEmailErrorLevels except it applies to manual archive imports. A manual import is one directly driven by an end user or administrator and is not part of an import done by a "registered automated importer".

    The default is empty (or none).

  • ArchiverCaptureExceptionErrorLevels: A list of error levels for which an import error should capture a copy of the document and put it into the exceptions archive (see ArchiverImportExceptionsArchiveName). If the document is captured then the error will not stop an automated import. The automated import will delete the document from the archive when the batch file containing the document has been fully imported. See ArchiverEmailErrorLevels for a list of error levels and how to configure the entry.

    The default value is collision,standard.

  • ArchiverManualImportCaptureExceptionErrorLevels: This is similar to the ArchiverCaptureExceptionErrorLevels parameter except it applies to manual archive imports (see ArchiverManualImportEmailErrorLevels for more on manual imports). If an import error is captured it is copied into the exceptions archive but it does not delete it from the originating archive. If the error is captured it will not count against the maximum number of errors allowed during a manual import (see the standard Content Server configuration entry MaxArchiveErrorsAllowed which defaults to 50).

    The default is empty (or none).

  • ArchiveExceptionsMaxNumberDocuments: The maximum number of documents that can be stored in the exceptions archive.

    When this number is reached, then import failure will again prevent continued automated import. However, e-mail is sent to ArchiverErrorNotifyUser indicating that the import failed and that the exceptions archive is full. Unlike the other configuration entries, if you use an archive prefix (separated by a colon) to limit the configuration entry to a particular archive, the archive name must be the name of the exceptions archive not the archive with the originating documents being imported.

    The default is 50.

The parameter ArchiverMaxConsecutiveImportErrors addresses the issue of skipping over errors and sending e-mail notifications on the errors when the error is caused by a systemic problem (such as all documents having the same wrong metadata field on export). This results in numerous documents being unnecessarily captured and generating the attendant volume of unwanted e-mail. This configuration entry helps detect such scenarios. During an automated import, if too many consecutive import errors are detected, then the current archive import is aborted. Manual imports follow the standard rules for maximum errors (see MaxarchiveErrorsAllowed).If any import (from any archive) is successful, then the consecutive import failure count is reset to 0.

If the same document fails an import (twice or more) sequentially e-mail is sent out only for the first failure. If the same document fails an import but is from a different batch load file, the e-mail for it is not suppressed if e-mail for that document has already been sent for a previous error.

8.12 Folders_g Migration to Folders

The Folders Migration utility migrates folder content and structure from Contribution Folders (Folders_g component) to Folders (FrameworkFolders component). The utility is available when the tables associated with Contribution Folders are present in the database schema and the FrameworkFolders component is enabled. For more information about Folders and the FrameworkFolders component, see Oracle WebCenter Content Application Administrator's Guide for Content Server.

Note:

FrameworkFolders is the name of the component that replaces the older Folders_g component. The older Folder interface is now referred to as Contribution Folders. The interface supported by the FrameworkFolders component is referred to as Folders.

The FrameworkFolders component is installed (disabled) by default with a new installation of WebCenter Content. A WebCenter Content system that is updated from an earlier version using the Folders_g component can continue to use that component or can be migrated to use the FrameworkFolders component. You can migrate both Folders_g folder structure and folders content over to Folders.

Important:

Do not have both Folders_g and FrameworkFolders components enabled and running at the same time in a production system. If you do have both components enabled simultaneously, an alert will be displayed on the web interface and certain functionality will not work as expected, such as WebDAV.

Technically you never need to have both components enabled simultaneously. However, during the process of migration it may be convenient to have both components enabled if any of the Folders_g data needs to be groomed, and it is acceptable to have both components enabled during this process.

Caution:

The migration operation can be performed multiple times. This enables you to validate that the migrated data is in the shape you expect after the migration is complete or to otherwise change configurations or modify source data and retry the migration.

The primary concern is if any content has manually been moved from Folders_g into the new Folders structure before the migration has been done. If this is this case, the migration may result in losing the manually set location of the item in the new Folders structure. To avoid this issue, any item moved into the new Folders structure should be removed from Folders_g before the migrations or have its xCollectionID field set to 0 (zero).

This section contains the following topics:

8.12.1 Preparing to Migrate Folders

You can set several migration variables in the Content Server config.cfg file to modify migration operations.

  • FolderMigrateExcludeList: Specifies a list of folders to exclude from the migration. This list can include folder IDs and folder marks. Use upper case letters and separate items with commas. This variable is best modified using the Modify Excluded Folders dialog on the Folder migration page. If this variable is not set, only the TRASH folder is excluded.

  • FldMigrateDefaultSecurityGroup: Specifies the default Security Group to assign to migrated folders if one is not already associated with the folders. If the variable is not set, the default value is Public. Folders in Folders_g do not need and may not have a Security Group setting. Migrated folders are required to have a Security Group setting.

  • FldMigrateRootBaseName: Specifies the base name for the root folder created in Folders when the migration is run. The root folder has the form: <$FldMigrateRootBaseName$>_<$date$>_#<$run_index$>. If the variable is not set, the default value is Migrate.

  • ShowFolderMigrationMenu: Specifies whether the Folder Migration option is displayed in the Administration menu. If migration is possible (Folders_g tables are available in the database schema) and if the variable is not specified, the default is 1, which displays the option. To prevent the option from showing in the Administration menu, set this variable to 0 (zero).

8.12.2 Migrating to Folders

To migrate Folders_g folders structure and folders content to Folders:

  1. Using a web browser, log in to your Content Server instance.

  2. If you haven't already enabled the FrameworkFolders component, do so now. For more information, see Section 6.2.2, "Enabling and Disabling a Component."

    Note:

    Technically you never need to have both components enabled simultaneously. However, during the process of migration it may be convenient to have both components enabled if any of the Folders_g data needs to be groomed, and it is acceptable to have both components enabled during this process.

  3. Choose Administration then Folder Migration.

    The Folder Migration Screen is displayed.

  4. In the Run Migration section, the following pre-migration information is displayed:

    • Folder sub-trees that will be excluded from the migrate option (by default, TRASH)

    • Number of folders to migrate

    • Number of content items in folders that will be migrated

    • Number of shortcuts to migrate

    • Number of folders to exclude from migration

    To add folders to be excluded from the migration, click Modify Excluded Folders. This displays the Folders Migration: Excluded Folders Dialog. Select one or more folders from the Browse Legacy Folders tree and they are automatically moved to the Legacy Folders to Exclude from Migration pane.

  5. If the Show Advanced Migration Options link is displayed, you can click the link to display options for creating links between content items and folders during the migration. An owner link is the primary association between a content item and a folder in Folders. A content item can have only one owner link (as opposed to unlimited secondary shortcuts). The owner link options specify how to handle situations where the migration process attempts to create an owner link for a content item that has an existing owner link from a previous migration or prior manual assignment.

    The Options for Existing Owner Links section lists the following three options:

    • Remove existing owner link. Allow migration to create new owner link.

      This is the default selection. It is most likely to be used when an administrator is migrating folders and content from a populated Folders_g hierarchy to a completely empty Folders hierarchy.

    • Convert existing owner link to shortcut. Allow migration to create new owner link.

      If the Folders hierarchy has begun to be populated with folders and content before the folder migration process is started, there is the possibility that a content item exists in both the legacy Folders_g hierarchy and the new Folders hierarchy. A user can add a content item into a Folders folder while it is also within a Folders_g folder. When migration occurs, the migration process will try to take the Folders_g version of that content item and put it into the newly created and migrated Folders folder that corresponds to the Folders_g folder. However, only a single owner link is allowed to the content item, so that same content item cannot be placed into the new Folders folder without breaking the link to the Folders folder it already resides in. If you want to keep the information instead of breaking the link, this option changes the Folders_g owner link to a Folders shortcut.

    • Leave existing owner link. Change migrated link to shortcut.

      If the Folders hierarchy has begun to be populated with folders and content before the folder migration process is started, there is the possibility that a content item exists in both the legacy Folders_g hierarchy and the new Folders hierarchy. A user can add a content item into a Folders folder while it is also within a Folders_g folder. When migration occurs, the migration process will try to take the Folders_g version of that content item and put it into the newly created and migrated Folders folder that corresponds to the Folders_g folder. However, only a single owner link is allowed to the content item, so that same content item cannot be placed into the new Folders folder without breaking the link to the Folders folder it already resides in. If you want the pre-migration Folders folder to have the single owner link to the content item, this option allows the migrated folder have a shortcut to the item.

  6. Click Migrate Folder Data. A status bar and messages will display the progress of the migration.

    When the migration is complete, the following post-migration status information is displayed in a table:

    • Migration run number

    • Date and time the migration started

    • Date and time the migration ended

    • User ID of the user who ran the migration

    • Number of folders successfully migrated

    • Number of migrated content associations

    • Number of migrated shortcuts

    Surrounding text describes foldermigrationend.gif.
  7. To view more details about a specific migration run, click the Info icon next to the run number. The Folder Migration Information screen is displayed with information about the GUID, legacy folder ID, name, and type of each folder that was migrated.

    When you no longer have any use for the data from a specific migration, you can click Delete Migration Data on the Folder Migration Information screen.

  8. For information on migration runs that may have had data removed, click Show Additional Migration Data. This displays a table with the same columns as the post-migration status information, but it contains information about runs that had data removed. If the columns are empty, no runs had data removed.

    To block this display, click Hide Additional Migration Data.

  9. When you are satisfied with the completed migration, if the Folders_g component is enabled, then disable it.

8.12.3 After Folders Migration is Complete

When the folder migration process is complete and you have verified the data has been transferred into the Folders structure successfully, it is unlikely that you would want to migrate again. To prevent arbitrary and unwanted future migrations it is recommended that the variable ShowFolderMigrationMenu=0 is set in the Content Server config.cfg file. This variable setting prevents the Folder Migration option from being displayed in the Administration menu.

8.13 Troubleshooting Archiving Issues

This section provides solutions to several common archiving issues. Please attempt the solutions recommended in this guide before contacting Support.

8.13.1 Importing Issues

This section covers the following topics:

8.13.1.1 File Extension Errors on Import System

Symptom

I am receiving errors on the importing system indicating that there are transfer and file extension problems with the documents.

Problem

The following errors were issued to the Archiver log:

Error: Event generated by user <user_name> at host <host_name>. File I/O error. Saving to file collection.hda. Write error.
Error: Import error for archive <archive_name> in collection <collection_name>: 
Content item <item_name> was not successfully checked in. The primary and 
alternate files must have different extensions.

Recommendation

The I/O error on the export side probably corrupted the batch file and is, in turn, causing the file extension error on the import side. Possible solutions include:

  • Open the batch file in a text editor and check for invalid data. Try deleting the exported collection.hda file and manually re-run the export/import function.

  • On the exporting server, open the applicable collection.hda file and look for the lines associated with the content items that caused the file extension error. Some of the revisions of these content items may have the native file in the vault location listed in the alternate file location. There might also be a format entry for the alternate file. Delete these lines and re-import the files.

  • Add an alternate extensions configuration setting to the Content Server's configuration config.cfg file (IntradocDir/config/config.cfg) on the importing server:

    1. Open the config.cfg file in a text editor:

      IntradocDir/config/config.cfg

    2. Locate the General Option Variables section

    3. Enter the following configuration setting:

      AllowSamePrimaryAlternateExtensions=true
      

      This configuration setting allows checked in content items to use identical document extensions for both the alternate and primary files.

    4. Save and close the config.cfg file.

      Note:

      Although it probably is not necessary to add this configuration setting to the Content Server config.cfg file on the exporting server, it may be worthwhile to do so for general preventative measures.

    5. Restart the Oracle WebCenter Content Server instance.

8.13.1.2 Selecting Specific Batch Files for Import

Question

How can I select and re-run specific batch files from the General tab of the Archiver utility without deleting the remaining files that are required for backup purposes?

Recommendation

The most efficient method would be to create a new collection, copy the desired archives to the new collection, and run the import from there.

8.13.1.3 Import Maps Do Not Work After Archive Import

Symptom

I configured a value map to change metadata values during the import on an archive collection. But after the transfer, the import maps do not work.

Problem

The metadata values didn't reflect the configured metadata value changes.

Recommendation

To ensure that metadata value changes are retained when the files are exported into an archive and then later imported from that archive, the value maps must be configured on both sides of the transfer process. This means that the same value map must be configured on both the source (exporting) server as well as the target (importing) server.

8.13.1.4 Identifying Imported Content Items From Archive

Question

Due to a system crash, I need to import content from the old archive into a new archive without changing the content information (metadata) of the documents. How can I preface each content item using a letter or number to indicate that all the documents with this designation are new imports (but actually originated from the old archive)?

Recommendation

The archived documents can be re-imported and appropriately marked to distinguish them from other imported content items by applying an import map using the Content ID metadata field. An import map allows you to configure how values are copied from one metadata field to another during import. To set up the import mapm, complete the following steps:

  1. On the Import Maps tab of the Archiver utility, click Edit in the Field Maps section.

    The Edit Value Maps screen is displayed.

  2. Select All (leave the Input Value field blank).

  3. Select Content ID from the Field list.

  4. Enter X<$dDocName$> in the Output Value field.

    Where 'X' is the letter or number used to distinguish the re-imported content items and 'dDocName' is the database table field value for the document Content ID.

  5. Click OK.

After you re-import the archive, the letter or number used for 'X' should be added to the content ID of each content item. Be sure to configure the same value map on both the source (exporting) server and the target (importing) server. This ensures that the metadata value changes are retained when the files are imported from the archive.

8.13.1.5 Duplicate Content Items in Content Server

Symptom

When I try to check in or import a content item, the following error message is issued:

Content item already exists.

Recommendation

This error is issued when archiving is done between contribution servers that are using the same autonumbering scheme for content IDs. For example:

  • 'Content ID 003' is checked into Content Server instance A and later archived to Content Server instance B. If a file is checked into Content Server instance B and the next auto-generated number happens to be 003, the error occurs.

  • 'Content ID 005' is checked into both Content Server instance A and Content Server instance B. If this same content item is archived from Content Server instance A to Content Server instance B, the error occurs.

Possible solutions include:

  • Set up an import value map that will add a prefix to the content ID of the imported files. For details, see Section 8.13.1.4, "Identifying Imported Content Items From Archive."

  • In each Content Server instance, use the System Properties utility to set up an automatic numbering prefix for checked-in content items:

    1. Start the System Properties utility.

    2. Open the Options tab.

    3. Select Automatically assign a Content ID on check in.

    4. Enter the desired prefix in the Auto Name Prefix field.

    5. Click OK.

    6. Restart the Oracle WebCenter Content Server.

8.13.1.6 Importing Archived Content to Proxied Server Fails

Symptom

I am trying to import content from an exported archive to my proxied Content Server, but the import fails.

Recommendation

For more information about Archiver problems, open and view the Archiver logs (accessible from the Content Server instance's Administration page). These logs provide the type of message along with more descriptive information about the logged messages.

For example, if the Archiver log indicates that an import problem involves a metadata field option value that is unavailable, information about configured option lists for metadata fields can be found on the Information Fields tab of the Configuration Manager utility (accessible from the Administration page).

Using this information, compare the option list for the problem metadata field on both the exporting and importing servers. If there are any differences, corrections in one of the servers will make both option lists identical. This would resolve the unavailable option discrepancy.

8.13.1.7 No Importing Errors But Documents Are Missing

Symptom

When I run the import function, no errors are issued, but not all of the documents are being imported.

Problem

I exported 428 documents from the development server along with the configuration information (the metadata fields). Then, I transferred the archive to the main production server and ran the import. No errors were issued, so I thought everything had gone well. Unfortunately, when I searched the documents, I discovered that only 198 of the original 428 were actually imported.

Recommendation

Suggestions to resolve this problem include:

  • Make sure that all Microsoft Word documents are included in the search index.

    Particular versions of the search component do not include Microsoft Word documents with embedded links in the search index. Thus, these files will not be found in search queries.

    You can remove all embedded links from the affected documents or add the following configuration setting to IntradocDir/config/config.cfg:

    CheckMkvdkDocCount=true
    

    This configuration setting ensures that all Word files are included in the search index. However, only the metadata is included, not the full text.

  • Try exporting the original set of documents and ensure that the source files are deleted. Then re-import the archive that was just exported.

8.13.1.8 Errors About Invalid Choice List Values

Symptom

My imports are failing.

Problem

The system issues error messages indicating that there are invalid choice list values. I am currently using an option list in the Dependent Choice List applet to configure and control the values.

Recommendation

Apparently a specific metadata taxonomy has been established for your option lists such that there are probably fields that are dependent on each other. In this case, certain values in option lists are available based on what values have been selected in a previous option list. Unfortunately, when using the Archiver, the dependencies in your option lists are obviously conflicting with the Content Server instance's capacity to work with custom metadata fields.

A workaround for the conflict involves using the Content Server instance's Configuration Manager utility rather than the Dependent Choice List applet. This necessitates that you enter the metadata fields and corresponding option list values on the Information Fields tab of Configuration Manager:

  1. Log in to the Content Server instance as an administrator.

  2. Go to the Administration page and click the Configuration Manager link.

    The Configuration Manager utility is started.

  3. Open the Information Fields tab.

  4. Click the Add button and enter one of your metadata field names in the Add Custom Info Field dialog.

  5. Click OK.

    The Add Custom Info Field window is displayed.

  6. Complete the fields as appropriate.

  7. In the Option List Type field, choose the Select List Not Validated option.

  8. This option ensures that content whose specified value does not match one currently entered in the Use Option List are nevertheless checked in with the specified value. The Use Option List field lists the name for the list of values a user may choose from for the specified field.

  9. Click OK.

  10. Click Update Database Design.

  11. Click Rebuild Search Index.

Use this method for the duration of your import process.

8.13.1.9 Import Fails Due to Missing Required Field

Symptom

I used the Archiver to export documents. Now, I'm trying to import them and the process fails.

Problem

When I try to import the previously exported documents, the Content Server issues an error indicating that the 'Company' metadata file is required.

Recommendation

You will need to use the Content Server instance's Configuration Manager utility to edit the 'Company' field and make it a non-required field:

  1. Log in to the Content Server instance as an administrator.

  2. Go to the Administration page and click the Configuration Manager link.

    The Configuration Manager utility is started.

  3. Open the Information Fields tab.

  4. Select the Company metadata field from the Field Info list.

  5. Click Edit.

    The Edit Custom Info Field window is displayed.

  6. Deselect Require Value.

  7. Click OK.

  8. Click Update Database Design.

  9. Click Rebuild Search Index.

You should now be able to successfully re-import the archive.

8.13.1.10 Changed Metadata Field Makes the Archiver Freeze During an Import

Symptom

Some of our product names have changed and we need to update one of the metadata fields in the affected documents. After exporting all the documents with the old product name metadata field, I then attempt to import the documents using the new product name metadata field. But, every time I try this, the Archiver processes only a portion of the total archiving task and then stops.

Problem

Once the Archiver freezes, I am unable to navigate the Content Server user interface and I must shut down all of the open browsers. Also, during the next five minutes after shutting down the browsers, I have no connectivity to the Content Server at all. After this five-minute interval, I can access the Content Server again.

In addition to this freezing problem, the following error message is issued:

Stream error (299) - SKIPPING

Recommendation

One or more processes seem to be interrupting the import. Some possible problem solutions could be any of the following:

8.13.1.10.1 Checking the Metadata Field Properties

The product name metadata field may not have been properly updated in Configuration Manager. Depending on the type of metadata field that the 'product name' is, changing the value could be the reason for the lock-up problem. Is the product name metadata field a (long) text field only or also an option list? If it is an option list, make sure that the new name value is a selection on the corresponding list.

  1. Log in to the Content Server instance as an administrator.

  2. Choose Administration then Configuration Manager.

    The Configuration Manager utility is started.

  3. Select the Information Fields tab.

  4. Select the product name metadata field from the Field Info list.

  5. Click Edit.

  6. The Edit Custom Info Field window is displayed.

  7. If the Field Type value is Text or Long Text and Enable Option List is unselected, click OK or Cancel (this should not cause the lock-up problem).

    Otherwise,

    If Enable Option List is selected, then make sure that the new product name metadata field value is included as a selection on the corresponding list:

    1. Locate the Use Option List field and click Edit.

    2. Enter the new product name metadata field value in the Option List dialog.

    3. Click OK.

  8. Click OK again (on the Edit Custom Info Field window).

  9. Click Update Database Design.

  10. Click Rebuild Search Index.

8.13.1.10.2 Checking the Indexing Automatic Update Cycle

The lock-up problem may be due to the indexer's automatic update cycle. The error message indicates that the indexer is failing because it loses connectivity. Every five minutes, the indexer executes an automatic update cycle and could somehow be grabbing the index file and locking it. If so, it might be useful to disable the indexer's automatic update cycle while you run the import.

  1. Log in to the Content Server instance as an administrator.

  2. Choose Administration then Repository Manager.

    The Repository Manager utility is started.

  3. Open the Indexer tab.

  4. Click the Configure button in the Automatic Update Cycle section.

    The Automatic Update Cycle dialog is displayed.

  5. Deselect Indexer Auto Updates.

  6. Click OK.

    Note:

    Be sure to reactivate the automatic update cycle after completing the import. Otherwise, the server will no longer automatically update the index database, which could adversely impact future search results.

8.13.2 Exporting Issues

This section covers the following topics:

8.13.2.1 Total Export Possible with Blank Export Query

Question

If I do not create an export query to define the content items to export, will the entire contents of my Content Server be exported?

Recommendation

Yes, test exports have confirmed that leaving the Export Query section blank (not defining an export query) will ensure that the Content Server contents are completely exported.

8.13.2.2 New Check-Ins and Batch File Transfers

Question

If I check some documents into the Content Server after I have initiated a large export (but before it completes), will these documents be included in the export? Or, does the Archiver read the timestamp information and determine that the new files are more recent than those originally allocated for the export and not include them? Also, what happens to the archive export if the connection between the servers is interrupted or lost during the export?

Recommendation

When the export is initiated, Archiver runs a query on the system to build a list of the documents that are to be exported. This information is cached and used to build the export archive. Therefore, any new documents that are checked in during the export process will not be included even if they match the export query definition.

If the connection between servers is disrupted, the export process on the source server continues but the transfer to the target server stops. The source server accumulates a number of batch files. While waiting to transfer these files, the source server continues to ping the target server for a connection at regular interval. When the connection is reestablished, the accumulated batch files are transferred to the target server.

If you have used an automated (replicated) transfer, the batch files and their associated content files are removed from the source Content Server. If you have used a manual transfer, the batch files and their associated content files remain in the source Content Server.

8.13.2.3 Exporting User Attributes

Question

How can I export users in an archive?

Recommendation

You can export a users.hda file, which contains the user attributes from the Users database table, as follows:

  1. Log in to the Content Server instance as an administrator.

  2. Choose Administration then Archiver.

    The Archiver utility is started.

  3. Select the Export Data tab.

  4. Click Edit in the Additional Data section.

    The Edit Additional Data dialog is displayed.

  5. Select Export User Configuration Information.

  6. Click OK.

8.13.2.4 Folder Archive Export Doesn't Work If Collections Table Has Many Records

Symptom

I use the folder archive export feature to move my website hierarchy created by Site Studio. Initially, I can export folders by using the Virtual Folder Administration Configuration page without any problem. However, as my web site grows, this function does not work anymore. The following errors are issued during the export procedure:

Error <timestamp> Event generated by user '<user>' at host '<host_name>'. Referred 
to by http://<host>/intradoc-cgi/nph-idc_cgi.exe?IdcService= COLLECTION_GET_ADMIN_
CONFIG. Unable to retrieve content. Unable to execute service method 
'loadCollectionArchive'. (System Error: Unknown error.)
Error <timestamp> IdcAdmin: Event generated by user '<user>' at host '<host>'.
Unable to obtain the console output. Unable to execute the service 
'GET_SERVER_OUTPUT' on Content Server 'contribution'. Unable to receive request.
Response from host has been interrupted. Read timed out.

There is also an out-of-memory error in the Content Server output console:

<timestamp> SystemDatabase#Thread-13: SELECT * FROM Collections, ColMeta WHERE Collections.dCollectionID=ColMeta.dCollectionID AND dParentCollectionID=564
java.lang.OutOfMemoryError
Reporting error on thread Thread-13 occurring at <timestamp>.
java.lang.OutOfMemoryError
java.lang.OutOfMemoryError

Problem

Depending on the size of the folder hierarchy that is being exported as an archive file, the default heap size value for the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) may not be adequate.

Recommendation

Modify the heap size setting in the application server to provide more heap memory for Content Server. For details, see the appropriate application server documentation.

After restarting Content Server, the archive export function should work correctly again.

8.13.3 Transfer Issues

This section covers the following topics:

8.13.3.1 Transfer Stopped When Target Locked Up

Symptom

The automated transfer function stopped when the target server locked up.

Problem

After restarting the target server, the log file listed an error message stating that there was a problem with a security group and that this prevented the import on the target server.

Recommendation

In this case, obviously the security group problem on the target server must be corrected before the transfer can proceed. Two additional procedures to perform that can help include:

8.13.3.1.1 Verifying and Testing the Outgoing Provider

Verifying and testing the outgoing provider ensures that it is set up and working properly:

  1. Log in to the source Content Server instance as an administrator.

  2. Go to the Administration page and click the Providers link.

    The Providers page is displayed.

  3. Click the Info link of the appropriate outgoing provider.

    The Outgoing Provider Information page is displayed.

  4. Verify the information.

  5. Return to the Providers page and click the Test link corresponding to the outgoing provider.

8.13.3.1.2 Restarting the Oracle WebCenter Content Server

In some cases, after problems have been corrected on either the source or the target server, the source server may stop transferring or possibly the automation function no longer works. In either case, restarting Content Server should resolve the problem.

8.13.3.2 Aborting/Deleting a Running Transfer

Question

I accidentally started transferring an excessively large file to the production Content Server instance. What is the most efficient way to stop the transfer process while it is running?

Recommendation

There are several methods to abort or delete a transfer, including:

8.13.3.2.1 Disabling the Outgoing Provider

The fastest method to abort a running transfer is to disable the source server's outgoing provider:

  1. Log in to the source Content Server instance as an administrator.

  2. Go to the Administration page and click the Providers link.

    The Providers page is displayed.

  3. Click the Info link of the appropriate outgoing provider.

    The Outgoing Provider Information page is displayed.

  4. Click the Disable button.

8.13.3.2.2 Deleting a Transfer from the Transfer To Tab

To delete a transfer from the Transfer To tab, complete the following steps:

  1. Log in to the source Content Server instance as an administrator.

  2. Choose Administration then Archiver.

    The Archiver utility is started.

  3. Select Options then Open Archive Collection.

  4. Select the applicable collection from the list.

  5. Click Open.

  6. On the Archiver window, select the source archive in the Current Archives list.

  7. Open the Transfer To tab.

  8. Click Remove in the Transfer Destination section.

  9. You are prompted to confirm the action.

  10. Click Yes.

8.13.3.2.3 Deleting an Automated Transfer

To delete an automated transfer from the Automation for Instance screen, complete the following steps:

  1. Log in to the source Content Server instance as an administrator.

  2. Choose Administration then Archiver.

    The Archiver utility is started.

  3. Choose Options then View Automation For Instance.

    The Automation For Instance window is displayed.

  4. Open the Transfers tab.

  5. Select the automated transfer to delete.

  6. Click Remove.

    The automated transfer is removed from the list.

8.13.3.3 Verifying the Integrity of Transferred Files

Question

What is the best approach to verify the integrity of the files that have been transferred between two servers? Obviously, the documents in the target Content Server instance should be identical to those in the source instance. I need to ensure that all documents were in fact transferred and if some were not transferred, I must determine which ones failed to transfer.

Recommendation

To ensure that the transferred documents are identical to those on the source server, two items can easily be checked.

  • The Revisions table:

    Specifically, match the contents of the dDocName and dRevLabel columns on both instances and verify the accuracy or discrepancies between them.

  • The file system:

    Check the native file repository:

    (DomainHome/ucm/cs/vault/content_type)

    and web-viewable file repository:

    (DomainHome/ucm/cs/weblayout/groups/public/documents/content_type)

    on each server and verify the accuracy or discrepancies between them.

8.13.3.4 Transfer Process Is Not Working

Symptom

The transfer process is not setting up properly.

Recommendation

If the transfer process is not functioning correctly, check the outgoing provider on the source server and ensure that the information is correct. In particular, make sure that the server host name is correct and matches the HTTP server address.

To verify the server host name on the source server, complete the following steps:

  1. Start the System Properties utility.

  2. Open the Internet tab.

  3. Note the HTTP server address setting.

  4. Go to the Administration page and click Providers.

    The Providers page is displayed.

  5. Click the Info link for the appropriate outgoing provider.

    The Outgoing Provider Information page is displayed.

  6. Check the server host name and make sure it corresponds exactly to the HTTP server address setting in System Properties.

  7. If the server host name setting is different than the HTTP server address, click the Edit button.

  8. Modify the Server Host Name setting as necessary.

  9. Click Update.

  10. Restart the Content Server instance.

8.13.4 Replication Issues

This section covers the following topic:

8.13.4.1 Stopping the Automatic Import Function

Question

How can I stop the automatic import function?

Recommendation

When content meets the specified criteria, the automatic importer is, by default, configured to automatically perform an import every five minutes. However, there are two ways to disable the automatic import function:

8.13.4.1.1 Unregistering an Importer from the Replication Tab

To unregister an importer from the Replication tab, complete the following steps:

  1. Log in to the source Content Server instance as an administrator.

  2. Choose Administration then Archiver.

    The Archiver utility is started.

  3. Select the archive in the Current Archives list.

  4. Select the Replication tab.

  5. Click Unregister.

    The automatic import function is disabled from the selected archive.

8.13.4.1.2 Deleting a Registered Importer from the Automation for Instance Screen

To delete a registered importer from the Automation for the Instance screen, complete the following steps:

  1. Log in to the source Content Server instance as an administrator.

  2. Choose Administration then Archiver.

    The Archiver utility is started.

  3. Choose Options then View Automation For Instance.

    The Automation For Instance screen is displayed.

  4. Open the Importers tab.

  5. Select the registered importer to delete.

  6. Click Remove.

    The registered importer is removed from the list.

8.13.5 Oracle Database Issues

This section covers the following topic:

8.13.5.1 Allotted Tablespace Exceeded

Symptom

I cannot transfer files. Every time I try to transfer files, I get 'max extents' error messages.

Problem

The following error messages (or similar) are issued:

IdcApp: Unable to execute query '<query_name>'. Error: ORA-01631: max # extents (50) reached in table <table_name>.
ORA-01631 max # extents (<text_string>) reached in table <table_name>.

Recommendation

When the Content Server instance creates its database tablespace, it only allocates 50 extents. As the database grows and is re-indexed, it uses more space (extents). Eventually, the 50 extents limit is exceeded. At some point in the transfer, one of your files tried to extend past the 'max extents' limit. In this case, try implementing one or more of the following solutions:

  • Look for weblayout queries that are excessively large, eliminate them, and retry your transfer.

  • Perhaps a Content Server user does not have the right permission grants (resource and connect) to the Content Server schema. That user must have the temporary tablespace and default tablespace set to the Content Server defaults.

  • If the system 'max extents' limit is less than the system maximum, you must increase the number of extents that are available. Refer to your Oracle Database documentation or ask your database administrator for the appropriate Oracle SQL command to increase the tablespace extents.

  • You can optionally choose to re-create the database using larger initial, next or percent to grow parameters for the tablespaces. In this case, it is advisable to set the initial extents and next extents to 1Mb. Set the percent to grow parameter (PCTINCREASE) to 0% to allow the tables to automatically grow on an as-needed basis.

8.13.6 Miscellaneous Issues

This section covers the following topics:

8.13.6.1 Archiving Does Not Work With Shared File System

Symptom

I am trying to transfer between two Content Server instances with access to a shared file system but it is not working.

Recommendation

When transferring between Content Server instances on a shared file system, the mapped or mounted drive must be available to both Content Server instances. This means that the computers must be on and logged in as a user who has system access to both Content Server instances. Make sure that all of the following conditions are met:

  • Both computers are turned on.

  • Both computers are logged in as a user with system access to both Content Server file systems.

  • The shared drive has been properly mapped or mounted so the Content Server instance can 'see' it. Having network access to the computer is not sufficient.

8.13.6.2 Archiving Does Not Work Over Outgoing Provider

Symptom

I am trying to transfer between two Content Server instances over an outgoing provider but it is not working.

Recommendation

The Content Server instance that has an outgoing provider set up is considered the 'local' server, and the target Content Server instance for the outgoing provider is considered the 'proxied' server. Files are always transferred in the direction of the outgoing provider, from the local (source) instance to the proxied (target) instance.

It is possible that when the outgoing provider was added and defined for the source Content Server instance, the Proxied checkbox was selected. However, because the relative web root is the same for both Content Server instances, the outgoing provider is confused. The Proxied checkbox should be selected only if the target Content Server instance was installed as an actual proxy of the local (master) Content Server instance. This server option should not be selected if the relative web root is the same for both Content Server instances.