Each WebLogic Portal is pre-configured with a default WLP repository. The default repository can be library services-enabled that includes content management features such as a customizable content workflows and versioning.
You can use the pre-configured repository and add additional repositories to suit your needs. If using a third-party repository, see Connecting to a Third-Party Repository.
When working with WLP repositories, you can choose the default database-based repository or switch to a WLP file system repository. Both types allow you to use WLP’s robust library services to manage your content. Table 3-1 lists the features and advantages of both types.
Table 3-1 Repository Types
Repository
Features
WLP Repository (default)
Pre-configured out-of-the-box.
Library services are built-in, including versioning and content workflows.
Stores all content and metadata in the portal database. No additional configuration necessary, unless you want to use multiple repositories.
WLP File System Repository
Stores published content in a file system.
Library services are built-in, including as versioning and content workflows.
Can have higher performance than a default WLP repository.
Can be used with legacy content that is stored in a file system.
Note:
Does not support transactions as a database-based repository does. If the network connection goes down when adding or modifying content, changes could be lost.
Working with a Default WLP Repository
The default WLP repository comes pre-configured for your portal application.
Before using your WLP repository, ensure that library services are enabled and add any custom properties needed for your environment. For example, add the necessary repository properties to enable integration with full-text search. Repository properties can also indicate if your repository can work in a streaming environment.
Note:
Library services allow you to version content and use workflows to manage the content creation process. For more information about library services, see Adding Content to a WLP Repository.
Enabling Library Services for a WLP Repository
Library services allow you to version content and use content workflows to route content through an approval and publishing process. If you are using a WLP repository, you should enable library services before organizing your repository.
Once you have enabled library services for a repository, they cannot be disabled.
To enable library services:
From the main menu of the WebLogic Portal Administration Console, select Content > Content Management.
Select Manage | Repositories.
In the resources tree, click the WLP repository for which you want to enable library services.
In the Summary tab, click Library Services.
In the Library Services dialog, select the Library Services Enabled check box and click Save.
Modifying a WLP Repository
You can modify the configuration of a WLP repository to suit your environment. For example, you can add custom properties for third-party repositories. You can also configure advanced WLP repository properties, such as cache and search settings.
If you want to use full-text search with your WLP repository, you must add full-text search properties to your repository connection. For more information, see Integrating Search.
To modify a repository connection:
From the main menu of the WebLogic Portal Administration Console, select Content > Content Management.
Select Manage | Repositories.
In the resources tree, click the repository you want to modify.
In the repository’s Summary tab, use the following sections to modify your repository connection:
In the Repository Details section, you can you can change the connection class, Datasource JNDI, or make the repository read-only. See Repository Details.
In the Library Services section, you can enable library services.
In the Properties section, you can add or modify repository properties. See Adding Custom Properties.
In the Repository Details section, you can change the connection class, Datasource JNDI, make the repository read-only, or change the password. See Figure 3-1.
Click Change Password to change the password for this repository. Passwords are generally used for third-party repositories.
Click Repository Details to change the connection class, Datasource JNDI, or make this repository read-only. Table 3-2 provides more information about the connection class property.
Table 3-2 Repository Connection Class Property Values
Repository Property
Definition
Repository Class
For WLP repositories, the connection class is the following:
For third-party repositories, please see your vendor SPI documentation.
Datasource JNDI Name
For the WLP repository, the default value is contentDataSource. JNDI names must be unique to the portal domain.
Read Only
Select to make the repository read only.
Figure 3-1 Edit Repository Details
Adding Custom Properties
You can define properties for repositories within the Virtual Content Repository. For example, if you are using a WLP file system repository, additional properties are required. Table 3-3 lists some examples of repository properties.
Note:
A node cannot have more than one binary property in a WLP File System Repository.
To add a property to a repository:
From the main menu of the WebLogic Portal Administration Console, select Content > Content Management.
Select Manage | Repositories.
In the resources tree, select the WLP Repository to which you want to add a property.
In the Properties section of the Summary tab, click Add Property.
In the Add Property dialog, enter a name and value for your property.
Click Save.
A summary of the new repository information is displayed in the Summary tab.
Note:
After you disconnect a repository or make any changes to repository properties, WebLogic Portal Administration Console users must log out and log back in to view the changes.
Table 3-3 Examples of WLP Repository Properties
Property
Definition
cm_fileSystem_webpath
When using a file system repository that is available over the web, this property indicates the path of that file system.
cm_fileSystem_webpath
When using a file system repository that is available over the internet, this property indicates the path of that file system.
webdav_enabled
Enables a third-party repository to use WebDAV. WebDav allows users to add content to your repository using Internet Explorer and other WebDAV supported applications. For more information about configuring WebDAV, see Using WebDAV with Your WLP Repository.
WEBDAV_TYPE
Provides the name of the content type to use when adding content to the repository when using WebDAV. For more information about configuring WebDAV, see Using WebDAV with Your WLP Repository.
cm_fireFederatedEvents
Enables events associated with all repository events including content, modifying workflows, and modifying content types. For more information about events, see the WebLogic Portal Interaction Guide.
cm_fireRepositoryEvents
Enables events associated with content changes. Used for full-text search. For more information about events, see the WebLogic Portal Interaction Guide.
CM_DATA_SOURCE
Associates a data source with a repository. Use when you have more than one WLP repository. For more information, see Configuring Additional WLP Repositories.
Editing Advanced Repository Properties
Advanced repository properties include cache settings and enabling different types of search features. Table 3-4 lists the advanced repository properties and how they are used.
Table 3-4 Advanced Repository Properties
Advanced Property
What it does:
Search Enabled
Enables users to search the repository using metadata.
Search Indexing Enabled
Allows content to be indexed for portal search. This enables portal developers to include full-text content search in any portlets that they develop.
Full-Text Search Enabled
Enables users to search the repository using the full-text of the content within the repository.
Streamable
Enables content to be streamed instead of stored in a memory buffer.
Binary Cache
Determines the time-to-live, maximum number of content items that can be cached, and the maximum size on an entry.
Node Cache
Determines the time-to-live and maximum number of content folders that can be cached.
To edit advanced repository properties:
From the main menu of the WebLogic Portal Administration Console, select Content > Content Management.
Select Manage | Repositories.
In the resources tree, click the repository you want to modify to view its Summary tab.
In the Advanced section, click Advanced.
In the Edit Advanced Properties for Repository dialog, edit the properties.
When finished making changes, click Save.
Your modifications display in the Advanced section of the Summary page.
Note:
After you disconnect a repository or make any changes to repository properties, WebLogic Portal Administration Console users must log out and log back in to view the changes.
Disconnecting a Repository
You can disconnect any repository within the Virtual Content Repository. When you disconnect a repository, your portal application can no longer access its content.
If you need to delete all content from a repository, you must delete the content store (database or file system). Deleting a datastore or database should only be done by a database administrator.
Note:
After you disconnect a repository or make any changes to repository properties, WebLogic Portal Administration Console users must log out and log back in to view the changes.
To disconnect a repository:
In the resources tree, select the Virtual Content Repository to see a list of repositories in the Browse tab.
In the Browse tab, select the Disconnect check box for the repository you wish to disconnect.
Click Disconnect.
Note:
If a repository was added manually (not through the WebLogic Portal Administration Console), you cannot disconnect it using the console.
Working with a WLP File System Repository
File system repositories allow you to use a file system in tandem with the database to store your content. When you use a file system repository, content binary files are stored in the file system you designate, while the metadata associated with the files (content type information) is stored in the database.
Typically, file system repositories increases performance for data retrieval within your portal. However, not all content management features are compatible with file system repositories. For more information see WLP File System Repository Considerations.
WLP File System Repository Considerations
When you use a file system repository, you must organize and manage content according to the same requirements you would have if storing content in a file system. For example, creating a folder in a file system repository creates a folder in the shared directory. For this reason, content requirements exist that help maintain the integrity of the repository and its associated file system.
A node cannot have more than one binary property in a WLP File System Repository.
The file system repository will maintain consistency between the name of the content item (node) and the name of the binary property (file):
If you create a content item (myNode) without a binary property and later add a binary property (bea.jpg), the content item will be renamed to the name of the binary property (bea.jpg).
If you create a content item with a name (myNode) and at the same time create its binary property (bea.jpg), the content item will change to the name of the binary property (bea.jpg).
If you create a content item with the same name and binary property (bea.jpg) and then later update the binary property (diagram.jpg), the content item will be renamed (to diagram.jpg).
If you create a node with the same name and property (bea.jpg) and then later rename the content item (diagram.jpg), the binary property will be renamed (to diagram.jpg).
You must always include the file extension when you name or rename content. For example, if you rename a content item called ball.gif to be named ball, the repository will fail to retrieve the content.
Configuring a File System Repository
When you configure a repository within the Virtual Content Repository, you are creating a connection to the repository’s datastore. In the case of a file system repository, the datastore is a file system on your network. When you add a connection file system repository, you also need to add custom properties that direct WebLogic Portal to that file system.
Before You Begin
The recommended way to implement a file system repository is to modify the properties of the default WLP repository.
The file system or directory where your file system repository will reside must already exist before creating the repository connection.
Creating a Connection to the New File System Repository
Using the WebLogic Portal Administration Console, edit the connection information for the default WLP repository.
From the main menu of the WebLogic Portal Administration Console, select Content > Content Management.
Select Manage | Repositories.
In the resources tree, click the WLP repository.
In the Repository Summary tab, click Repository Details.
In the Repository Details dialog, edit the connection class to be the following: com.bea.content.spi.internal.FileSystemRepositoryImpl
Click Save.
In the Properties section, click Add Property.
In the Name field, enter cm_fileSystem_path.
In the Value field, enter the path to the file system that contains your content. For example: /home/myData.
Note:
Be sure that each machine within your portal application cluster has network access to your file system.
Click Save.
If your file system is exposed though a web server, you should also set a cm_fileSystem_webpath property. This property enables users to access file system content through a web server.
To add this property, click Add Property.
In the Name field, enter cm_fileSystem_webpath.
In the Value field, enter the URL of your file system.
Note:
For example, if the cm_fileSystem_path is set to /home/myData, the cm_fileSystem_webpath property could reference the same path as http://mydomain.com/data/myData.
Click Create.
Configuring Additional WLP Repositories
You can create multiple content repositories within the Virtual Content Repository to meet your business needs. For example, if you need a physical separation of your content data from your portal application data, then you can create multiple WLP repositories.
Considerations for Additional WLP Repositories
Consider the following when adding repositories:
While multiple repositories can reside in the same database, each repository must store its data in separate content management tables.
Note:
For table separation, in some databases, you create a separate login and schema. In other databases, such as SQL Server and Sybase, table separation is accomplished by creating a separate database.
To effectively use multiple repositories when using library services, you must use a XA database driver. Note that XA database drivers for PointBase and MySQL database are not supported by WebLogic Portal. In this case use the LoggingLastResource global-transactions-protocol in the data source definition instead. For information on how to do this, see step 7.
For large projects with several thousand content items, you can use separate database instances and minimize changes done in the production environment.
Each WLP repository must have a unique name. This ensures that each repository can be indexed and searched individually.
Creating Database Objects for the New Repository
In this step, you create database objects for your additional content management database. This involves three basic tasks:
Using scripts to create the new database or database user for your content management repository, depending on your database vendor.
Connecting to your new database.
Running additional scripts to create the content management tables.
To create database objects for the new repository:
For Oracle or DB2 databases, create a new database user for your additional content management database. For SQL Server or Sybase, create a new database for your additional content management database objects.
Oracle provides sample scripts that can be copied and used to define the database resources that must be configured prior to running any additional .sql scripts. For each repository, a separate database or database user must be predefined according to the appropriate sample script. For more details, see the WebLogic Portal Database Administration Guide.
For Oracle, the following sample scripts are provided: <WLPORTAL_HOME>/portal/db/oracle/admin/create_tablespaces.sql and create_users.sql.
For SQL Server, the following sample scripts are provided: <WLPORTAL_HOME>/portal/db/sql_server/admin/create_database.sql.
For Sybase, the following sample scripts are provided: <WLPORTAL_HOME>/portal/db/sybase/admin/create_devices.sql and create_database.sql.
Note:
For both SQL Server and Sybase, the WEBLOGIC_INDEX file group must be defined for indexes created using the database-specific cm_create_tables.sql and cm_create_indexes.sql scripts to execute without errors.
For DB2, the following sample scripts are provided: <WLPORTAL_HOME>/portal/db/db2/admin/create_tablespaces.sql and create_users.sql.
Note:
PointBase is not recommended for a production repository.
Connect to the database as the database user created in
Step 1.
In your domain directory, navigate to the cmrepo_database.properties file.
Using a text editor, edit the cmrepo_database.properties file to match the database that you have created. For more information about this file, see the WebLogic Portal Database Guide.
Run the create_db.cmd/sh file from your domain directory, using the -database.properties parameter to indicate your content management-specific properties file (cmrepo_database.properties).
In your domain directory, navigate to the database.properties file.
Using a text editor, edit the database.properties file to match the database that you have created. For more information about this file, see the WebLogic Portal Database Guide.
Run the create_db.cmd/sh file from your domain directory, using the -database.properties parameter to indicate your content management-specific properties file (database.properties).
You can now connect your repository to WebLogic Server.
Connecting the New Repository to the Server
Configure your WebLogic Server to point to the new repository by creating a new data source for the repository you want to use. To connect the new repository to the server:
Start WebLogic Server for your domain, and log in to the WebLogic Portal Administration Console.
In the Domain Structure tree, open Services > JDBC > Data Sources. Figure 3-2 shows an example of the Summary of JDBC Data Sources page.
Figure 3-2 Summary of JDBC Data Sources in the WebLogic Server Console
" id="wp1079633"/>
Click Lock & Edit to ensure that the server is locked before proceeding.
In the Data Sources table, click New. Figure 3-3 shows an example of the Create a New JDBC Data Source page.
Figure 3-3 Create a New JDBC Data Source—JDBC Data Source Properties Page
In the JDBC Data Source Properties page, complete the fields using Table 3-5.
Note:
The data source name and JNDI name need to be unique to the domain.
Table 3-5 JDBC Data Source Properties
Field Name
Input
Name
Enter a unique name for your new JDBC Data Source.
JNDI Name
Enter a unique JNDI name for your new data source. This name is used when you configure your repository.
Database Type
Use the drop-down list to select the database type that corresponds with your repository.
Database Driver
Choose a database driver. If using library services, you must use an XA driver.
Note:
WebLogic Portal does not support XA database drivers for PointBase or MySQL databases. See
Step 7.
Click Next.
In the Transaction Options page, select any transactions options you require. If you previously selected an XA driver, there are no transaction options to select.
Note:
If you use library services, you must select an XA driver.
Note:
For PointBase or MySQL databases where an XA Database Driver is not supported or available, select Supports Global Transactions, which uses the LoggingLastResource global-transactions-protocol in the data source definition.
Click Next. Figure 3-4 provides an example of the Connection Properties page.
Figure 3-4 Create a New JDBC Data Source—JDBC Data Source Connection Properties Page
In the Connection Properties page, use the information in Table 3-6 to complete the dialog fields.
Table 3-6 Create a New JDBC Data Source—Connection Properties
Connection Property
Description
Database Name
The name of the database you are using.
Host Name
Enter the host name used for the database you are using.
Port
Enter the port number of the port hosting your database.
Database User Name
Enter the database user name for the database login required for this database.
Password
Enter the database password.
Confirm Password
Enter the database password again to confirm.
Click Next.
Optionally, in the Test Database Configuration page, click Test Configuration. If the database test is successful, click Finish.
Click Next.
In the Select Targets page, select one or more targets to deploy your new data source, typically, AdminServer.
Figure 3-5 Create a New JDBC Data Source—Select Targets
Click Finish.
When finished adding your data source, click Activate Changes. The server is updated.
Connecting the New WLP Repository to the Virtual Content Repository
After you have configured the new repository, you need to connect it to the Virtual Content Repository.
Use the WebLogic Portal Administration Console to connect to a new repository.
From the main menu of the WebLogic Portal Administration Console, select Content > Content Management.
Select Manage | Repositories.
In the resources tree, select the Virtual Content Repository. Figure 3-6 provides an example of the Browse tab within the Repositories section.
Figure 3-6 Browse Tab within the Virtual Content Repository
On the Browse tab, click Add Repository Connection.
In the Add Repository Connection dialog, provide the following information:
Table 3-7 Repository Connection Information
Field
Description
Name
The name you give your new repository. For example: MyNewRepository
Use the Datasource JNDI name you created when you connected this repository to your server. The default value of contentDataSource is used for the WLP repository. JNDI names must be unique to the portal domain.
Username
The user name field is only used when connecting to a third-party repository. When configuring a WLP repository, you can leave this blank.
Password
Used only when connecting to a third-party repository. When configuring a WLP repository, you can leave this blank.
Retype Password
Used only when connecting to a third-party repository. When configuring a WLP repository, you can leave this blank.
Enable Library Services
Deselect this check box if you do not want to use library services with this repository.
Click Save.
Within the Repositories section, click the repository you just created to verify that it has been created and view its Repository Summary.
