| Oracle Files Administrator's Guide Release 2 (9.0.4.1) Part Number B10872-01 |
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| Oracle Files Administrator's Guide Release 2 (9.0.4.1) Part Number B10872-01 |
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View PDF |
Oracle Files is designed as an enterprise file server replacement, with added content management features (for example, versioning) that enable users to collaborate more productively. All content is stored in an Oracle database.
No additional client software is required, unless you choose to run Oracle FileSync, the file synchronization tool. Oracle FileSync must be installed separately on each client in order to be used.
Oracle Files provides:
These features and capabilities are designed to help IT managers lower costs through file server consolidation while simultaneously making employees more productive.
This chapter discusses basic concepts you should understand when administering Oracle Files. Topics include:
The following sections describe the technology underlying Oracle Files, as well as how the domain controller, nodes, and other processes interact. It also provides information about Oracle Internet Directory and the Oracle Files Subscriber model.
Oracle Files was built using the Oracle Content Management Software Development Kit (Oracle CM SDK), a robust development platform for content management applications. It provides a set of Java APIs for versioning, check-in/check-out, security, searching, extensible metadata and other standard content management operations.
You can find more information about Oracle Content Management SDK at:
http://otn.oracle.com/products/ifs
An Oracle Files domain is a logical grouping of Oracle Files nodes, running under the control of the domain controller process, and an Oracle9i database instance (called the "Files Information Store") that contains the Oracle Files data.
The Oracle Files schema is created in an Oracle database during the configuration process. The schema owns all database objects, including metadata about Oracle Files and configuration information (see Figure 1-1).
An Oracle Files node is the application software that comprises the product, along with the underlying Java Virtual Machine (JVM) required to support the software at runtime. The Oracle Files domain controller process (the "domain controller") controls and manages the nodes making up the domain.
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Important concepts to understand about nodes include:
Each regular node is monitored by a node guardian process, which automatically attempts recovery when error conditions occur. This means that the regular node has built-in fault tolerance.
The HTTP node is not guarded by a separate guardian process. However, administrators can use Oracle Enterprise Manager Web site to monitor the HTTP node and re-start it when necessary.
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The relationship between the domain, the Oracle Files schema, and the domain controller is 1:1:1. However, the Oracle Files domain is a logical construct, not a physical one, which means that the Oracle Files domain controller process, node processes, and the database itself can be physically configured on a single host machine, as shown in Figure 1-3, or across several, separate hosts, as shown in Figure 1-4.
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Note: For information about hardware requirements and sizing guidelines for Oracle Files, see the Oracle Files Planning Guide. |
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Note: If you choose the single-machine configuration illustrated in Figure 1-3, you must ensure that your server meets the recommended hardware requirements for all components. Be aware that administration is more complex in a single-machine environment. In most cases, you should install Oracle Internet Directory on a separate machine. |
With appropriate network load balancers and machine configuration, users may not be aware of whether the Oracle Files instance is running on one machine or across several machines. Users access content, such as folders and documents, using the appropriate client application for a particular Oracle Files protocol server.
Macintosh users can connect to Oracle Files through AFP using the Mac Chooser, the same client they use to connect to Macintosh-based AppleShare servers. Windows users can map a network drive (SMB or NTFS), or they can use the Web Folders feature (WebDAV) of Window's Map Network Drive dialog. UNIX and Windows clients can connect using NFS. Macintosh, UNIX, and Windows clients can connect through FTP or HTTP. See the Oracle Collaboration Suite Release Notes for specific client certifications.
Windows users can take advantage of Oracle FileSync, a file synchronization client program that lets you work offline (in disconnected mode) and then synchronize your file changes with a remote Oracle Files server.
When a user connects to a specific protocol server, the underlying service on the node manages authentication of that end user by means of the associated Oracle Internet Directory credential manager, and manages the connection to the database where the content is actually stored.
Each node supports a service with specific configuration parameters, such as language, default character set, credential managers, connections to the database, and cache sizes.
The service, in turn, supports the servers. Each server is either a protocol server or an agent. The protocol servers listen for requests from clients on a specific Internet Protocol (IP) port and respond to requests according to the rules of the protocol specification. By default, each protocol server listens on the industry-standard well known port (for example, FTP listens on port 21) and adheres to the specification of the protocol server. Each protocol may interact with Oracle Files in a different way. For example, when uploading a file, FTP just inserts the file, while SMB creates a 0-byte dummy version of the file before creating the actual file.
Agents are similar to protocol servers, but rather than responding to requests from clients, agents perform operations periodically or in response to operations executed by other servers. For example, the Content Garbage Collection Agent, which is installed automatically during configuration, deletes objects no longer associated with any document in Oracle Files. It does so based on an activation period parameter that you set for the server configuration object. See Appendix C, "Server Configuration Properties" for more information. If you don't configure the Garbage Collection Agent to run, performance of your Oracle Files instance can be adversely affected.
All the shipped agents must be run to ensure a healthy system. Each agent must be run only on a single node. Different agents can run in different nodes.
The Oracle Files architecture is flexible: services and servers are de-coupled so that you can configure services, protocol servers, and agents across a wide array of hardware to best meet your business needs. For example, you can run all protocol servers on one node, and run all agents on another node.
By default, a single service starts on each node, and that service supports all protocol servers selected during installation.
Given the flexibility and granularity of the deployment options, it is important to think about the physical configuration before you install and configure the system. You should plan how the various processes that comprise the system--the domain controller, nodes, agents, and so on--will be configured across your hardware.
The Oracle Files Configuration Assistant sets up an initial domain and node configuration for you, but you can change this later. You can configure the protocol servers at any point by using the Oracle Enterprise Manager Web site.
For example, you could configure a service on one node to support the Chinese language and character set, and configure another service on the same node to provide the same servers (on different port numbers) for English. You could also create a separate node to accomplish this.
See Appendix B, "Service Configuration Reference" for more information about viewing or modifying service configuration parameters.
An Oracle Files service handles user authentication by means of a credential manager. A user's credentials authenticate the user to the system being accessed (for example, any one of the Oracle Files protocol servers). The credential manager associated with the service tells the service where and how to obtain the credential.
Oracle Files uses Oracle Internet Directory for its identity management directory (in other words, for its list of users and passwords). During configuration of Oracle Files, you use the Oracle Files Configuration Assistant to select an Oracle Internet Directory server to be used with Oracle Files.
When an Oracle Internet Directory credential manager is created during installation, it is created with these default characteristics:
To administer the Oracle Internet Directory associated with Oracle Files, use Oracle Directory Manager and other associated Oracle Internet Directory management tools. See the Oracle Internet Directory Administrator's Guide for more information.
In Oracle Files, a Subscriber is an organizational entity whose users collaborate. Oracle Files Subscribers are based on Oracle Internet Directory Subscribers. The Site Administrator chooses which Subscriber to associate with the Oracle Files domain during Oracle Files configuration.
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Note: Because you must use Single Sign-On (SSO) for Oracle Files, and because of current SSO limitations, you can have only one Oracle Files Subscriber. |
The Oracle Files Subscriber has a designated Subscriber Administrator to manage quota, specify Subscriber settings, and perform other tasks. See Chapter 3, "Oracle Files Administrative Roles and Tasks" for more information about the different types of administrators in Oracle Files.
Oracle Files administrators should be familiar with the following key features:
There are three different administrative roles in Oracle Files:
Each administrative role does not have to be filled by a different person. In some cases, a single user may act in multiple roles. In addition, each role has a different set of access permissions. See Chapter 3, "Oracle Files Administrative Roles and Tasks" for more information about the different types of administrators in Oracle Files.
A workspace is where a selected group of Oracle Files users store and collaborate on files and folders. The content of a workspace is visible and editable only by its members. A workspace includes at least one administrator, and can include participants and viewers.
Each workspace is allocated a quota. The contents of each workspace, including its Public folder and Trash folder, count against the workspace's allocated quota. Exceeding the workspace's quota prevents the workspace members from storing additional content into the workspace. The workspace's administrators can, however, request that the Subscriber Administrator increase the workspace's quota.
See "Workspace Management" in the online help for Oracle Files for detailed information.
Each user has a Public folder where he or she can store files, viewable by all users in the Subscriber.
Each user has a Private folder where only he or she can access, store, and view files.
See "File Management" in the online help for Oracle Files for detailed information.
Users can conduct simple or advanced searches. Advanced searching lets users refine and combine search criteria.
See "Search Options" in the online help for Oracle Files for detailed information.
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Note: In addition to the Oracle Files search feature, Oracle Collaboration Suite users can take advantage of Oracle Collaboration Suite Search, an application that lets users search any and all configured applications in the Oracle Collaboration Suite. See "Oracle Collaboration Suite Search Configuration" for more information. |
By associating categories with files or folders and modifying the attributes of a category, users can organize and classify their information. Users can also search for files by category.
See "Categories" in the online help for Oracle Files for detailed information.
Users can retain a history of file modifications by creating and saving one or more snapshots of a file.
See "Versioning" in the online help for Oracle Files for detailed information.
Users can submit files for review to a specified set of reviewers. These reviewers fall into two categories: Approvers, who can approve or reject the file, or simply Reviewers, who have read-only access to the file.
The backbone of a review process in Oracle Files is Oracle Workflow. Using a review process, any workspace member can submit for review one or more files from their workspace to other members of their workspace. A review process ends in the approval or rejection of these files, or the process can expire or be canceled. Members can either be Approvers or Reviewers of a review process:
When you complete the review process, the initiator is notified of the approval or rejection of the files.
See "Review Processes and Workflow" in the online help for Oracle Files for detailed information.
You can create custom review processes, also called workflow processes, to use in Oracle Files. A workflow designer, a person with the necessary skills to design a workflow process in Oracle Workflow Builder, creates the custom workflow process. Then, the Site Administrator registers the custom workflow process with Oracle Files.
See "Using Custom Workflows in Oracle Files" in Chapter 7 for detailed information.
Files deleted in Private and Public folders are moved to Personal Trash. Files deleted in workspaces are moved to a corresponding Trash folder. A user can request that the Subscriber Administrator restore files that have been emptied from their trash, or from the trash of Workspaces in which they collaborate.
See "File Management" in the online help for Oracle Files for detailed information.
Using Microsoft Web Folders, Windows users can open and edit an Oracle Files workspace file and save their changes directly back to Oracle Files. When a user opens a workspace file from Microsoft Web Folders to edit in Microsoft Office, the file is automatically locked in Oracle Files. Any changes made to the file are automatically saved back to Oracle Files. When the user closes the file in Microsoft Office, the file is automatically unlocked in Oracle Files.
See "File Management" in the online help for Oracle Files for detailed information.
Oracle FileSync synchronizes all file changes between a local machine and Oracle Files, ensuring that the contents of selected local folders and remote folders match.
See "Oracle FileSync Client Software" for information about how to install Oracle FileSync. Consult the online help for Oracle FileSync for information about how to synchronize your files.
Oracle Files, a part of the Oracle Collaboration Suite, is middle-tier software that leverages the capabilities of both Oracle9i Database Server and Oracle9i Application Server.
Oracle Collaboration Suite is an integrated suite of enterprise information management products. It provides a number of shared, "cross-product" features such as an integrated portal home page, a consistent web UI look-and-feel, and federated search for content across all products.
Oracle Files uses the database to store all content and metadata.
All content and metadata about the Oracle Files instance is stored in an Oracle database. These objects include tablespaces, tables, indexes, views, sequences, and procedures owned by the schema (by default, IFSSYS) that ultimately provide the underpinnings of the fully functioning system.
There are additional schemas created to ensure secure connectivity to other systems. By default, these schemas are IFSSYS$CM, IFSSYS$DR, and IFSSYS$ID. When you backup or migrate your system, make sure to include these schemas.
User content--word processing files, spreadsheets, sound files, presentations, and other business content--is stored by Oracle Files in the database as LOBs (large objects).
LOBs enable fast access and optimized storage for large amounts of content. The metadata in the Oracle Files schema is stored as standard data types in various tables.
Oracle Advanced Queueing provides an infrastructure for distributed applications to communicate asynchronously using messages. Oracle Advanced Queueing is built into the Oracle9i Database Server.
See "Using Custom Workflows in Oracle Files" for information on how Oracle Files uses Oracle Advanced Queueing to integrate with Oracle Workflow.
Oracle Text is full-text retrieval technology built into the Oracle9i Database Server for indexing and searching documents stored in the Oracle database. Oracle Text supports mixed languages and character sets in the same index. Oracle Files uses the text indexing and retrieval features of Oracle Text.
A cluster is a group of servers that can be used as a single computing system, effectively taking advantage of the combined resources (memory and CPUs) of all the servers in your cluster.
In a traditional single-server configuration, if the server goes down due to a hardware, software, or power failure, the Oracle database instance on the server is not available. The single server has many points of failure.
With Oracle9i Real Application Clusters, if one of the servers in your cluster fails, users are automatically transferred to a remaining live server. This failover operation can occur rapidly, since your shared database is already up and running on the other servers in your cluster, effectively masking server failures from your users.
RAC is based on Oracle's CacheFusion architecture, which provides the ability to share your database on a common set of disks and enables efficient communication between servers. It delivers near-linear scalability as each additional server is added to the cluster.
For more information about setting up Oracle9i Real Application Clusters, consult your database documentation. For more information about setting up Oracle Files for use with RAC, see the Oracle Files section of the Oracle Collaboration Suite Installation and Configuration Guide.
Oracle Files is designed to integrate with several important components from the Oracle9i Application Server product family, including Oracle Internet Directory, Oracle Enterprise Manager Web site, and Oracle9iAS Containers for J2EE (OC4J).
See the Oracle Collaboration Suite Installation and Configuration Guide for detailed information on recommended Oracle Files installation and deployment models.
Oracle9iAS Containers for J2EE (OC4J) is a J2EE-compliant application server that supports Java Server Pages (JSP), Java servlets, Enterprise Java Beans, and many other APIs from the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE). Services are deployed to an OC4J instance using XML-based configuration files as standard .WAR (Web Application Archive), .EAR (Enterprise Application Archive), and .JAR (Java Archive) files. Oracle Files uses the Java Servlet and the runtime environment of OC4J to support the HTTP/DAV servlet, application servlet, and portlet servlet.
OC4J is automatically configured for the Oracle Files HTTP node as part of the Oracle Files configuration process. You can manage OC4J through the Oracle Enterprise Manager Web site.
Oracle Enterprise Manager is systems management software that enables you to manage and monitor Oracle9i Application Server instances and other Oracle server products. Oracle Files uses the Oracle Enterprise Manager Web site to operate and monitor system processes associated with the Oracle Files domain and nodes.
Using a Web browser from anywhere on the network, you can connect to an Oracle9i Application Server instance Web site, from which you can launch the Oracle Files domain controller process, start and stop Oracle Files nodes, and monitor the domain and nodes.
The administration page you see when you access Oracle Enterprise Manager Web site is called the "Oracle9iAS Home page."
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Oracle Internet Directory is Oracle's LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) v.3-compliant directory service implementation. Oracle Internet Directory provides user authentication and other directory-service features to Oracle Collaboration Suite components, including Oracle Files.
For more information about Oracle9i Application Server and its components, see the Oracle9i Application Server Installation Guide, Oracle Internet Directory Administrator's Guide, and Oracle Enterprise Manager Concepts.
Oracle Workflow is business-process automation software. Oracle Workflow lets you automate the process of routing and approving information, according to business rules you specify. Key components include:
Oracle Files comes with a default workflow process (also called review process) that enables Oracle Files users to submit their documents for review. In addition, a workflow designer, a person with the necessary skills to design a workflow process in Oracle Workflow Builder, can create custom workflow processes for Oracle Files. Once a custom workflow process has been created, the Site Administrator is responsible for registering it with Oracle Files.
See "Using Custom Workflows in Oracle Files" in Chapter 7 for more information about custom workflows.
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