This guide provides an overview of the features and applications associated with Oracle WebCenter Content, which is a comprehensive suite of digital content management tools that enable you to manage content through its life cycle from creation, collaboration, approval, revision, publishing, search, and retrieval to retention, archiving, and destruction.
This guide includes the following chapters:
Chapter 5, "Integrating Oracle WebCenter Content into Your Environment"
Chapter 6, "Overview of Oracle WebCenter Application Adapters"
Chapter 7, "Overview of Oracle WebCenter Content Connectors"
Much of the software discussed in this document uses other applications to increase functionality and flexibility. For example, Oracle WebCenter Enterprise Capture is used to capture physical documents into digital formats so that they can be archived into either WebCenter Content or WebCenter Content: Imaging.
Most of the software mentioned in this overview uses Oracle WebCenter Content to manage the files used in the product set. Because of this interaction, it is recommended that you read this entire document to familiarize yourself with the entire product family available with Oracle WebCenter Content.
Detailed documentation is available for all of the features and applications discussed in this document as well as online help. In addition to the guides, you can access information about product functionality with context-sensitive tooltips, quick help, and the help menu. Click the Help button where available on pages and screens to view context-sensitive help for that page or screen.
This chapter also discusses the following topics:
Content management used to be focused only on organizing content along departmental lines, for specific niche uses. Now many companies are struggling with growth in the sheer amount of information to be managed. Content is often stored in disparate locations, including the corporate repository, laptop and desktop computers, email accounts as well as being stored in a variety of formats.
Oracle WebCenter Content can help a corporation unify, manage, and leverage all types of content across the entire enterprise. All corporate lines of business such as marketing, brand management, web presence, accounting, sales, human resources, and engineering can share the same tools and easily access the same information in a common repository.
By centralizing information and allowing access to information by qualified users, Oracle WebCenter Content provides cost savings, eliminates redundancy and increases efficiency. At the same time, information is properly managed, tracked, and disposed of as needed
In addition to proper content management, enterprises are now faced with the need to manage content in conjunction with legislative compliance laws or for litigation purposes. Organizations must be able to find the correct information in a timely manner. It is also essential that information be preserved or disposed of in accordance with an enterprise-wide policy. If an organization cannot track content, it makes it difficult if not impossible to enforce corporate policies regarding information security and disposal.
Oracle WebCenter Content, an Oracle Fusion Middleware component, is an integrated suite of applications designed for managing content. Oracle WebCenter Content contains the Oracle WebCenter Content Server, which is used to manage the content repository. Oracle WebCenter Content can be accessed using several methods. This section provides an overview of the following topics:
The content repository is used to store content and deliver it to users as needed in the correct format. By using specific repository tools, the Oracle WebCenter Content administrator can manage the unstructured content and make certain the correct content is delivered to the correct user according to security permissions and rights.
Oracle WebCenter Content Server is a web-based interface to the content repository and is used to manage the content life cycle from creation to disposition. Folders and folios can be used to manage groups of content, and content also can be categorized as it is checked in to the repository.
For more details about the content repository, see Chapter 2, "Overview of Oracle WebCenter Content."
Oracle WebCenter Content: Inbound Refinery is a conversion server that manages file conversions for electronic assets such as documents, digital images, and motion video. In addition to conversion, Inbound Refinery provides thumbnail functionality for documents and images, storyboarding for video, and the ability to extract and use EXIF data from digital images and XMP data from electronic files generated from programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. You can use Inbound Refinery to convert content items stored in the Content Server repository.
For more information, see Section 2.2.2, "Converting Native Content to Different Formats."
Oracle WebCenter Content offers optional records management features integrated with the main application, and an Oracle WebCenter Content: Records application which provides additional functionality to allow organizations to track and preserve content. When the content has fulfilled its purpose in the organization, it can be disposed of or archived.
Organizations may need to retain content because of regulatory requirements or have a litigation-related need for effective and efficient retention management. The Records application can manage internal content stored within Content Server and external content, such as files stored in a warehouse or on an external repository. The software can manage the disposition schedule, search metadata associated with the external file, and manage an electronic rendition of an external file.
Options can be chosen during configuration to ensure that the system supported retention of records for a number of regulations (such as Sarbanes Oxley, DoD 5105.2, SEC Rule 17a, and HIPAA and FDA) and litigation-related and business-related needs the DoD 5015.2 standard (including Chapter 4). The software has been certified by the Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC) to comply with that standard.
For more details about records and retention management, see Section 2.4, "Managing Records Retention" and Section 2.5, "Managing Records Retention with Adapters."
The Oracle WebCenter Content: Imaging application uses additional technologies such as Oracle WebCenter Enterprise Capture to capture and categorize transactional content to include physical and electronic documents. The content repository is used to store the images, which allows retention management features to manage the life cycle and disposition of imaging content.
In addition, tools such as Oracle BPM or BPEL can insert imaging content directly into business processes.
For more details about imaging, see Chapter 3, "Managing Oracle WebCenter Content: Imaging" and Chapter 4, "Managing Oracle WebCenter Enterprise Capture."
Oracle WebCenter Content supports several methods for accessing and using the application and its features. For more information about these methods, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Using Oracle WebCenter Content.
Web browser interface: Oracle WebCenter Content provides a web browser user interface for a simple and convenient way of accessing all of Oracle WebCenter Content features.
Desktop client: Oracle WebCenter Content: Desktop can be installed on your computer to provide convenient access to Content Server from within popular desktop applications (for example, Microsoft Windows Explorer, Microsoft Office application, email clients, and various web browsers).
Mobile client: Oracle WebCenter Content offers mobile apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android phones, so you can access content stored in an Oracle WebCenter Content Server.
Oracle WebCenter Content 11g is deployed in Oracle WebLogic Server, resulting in many significant changes from previous releases of Oracle Universal Content Management. This section summarizes those changes.
Oracle WebCenter Content uses the Oracle Universal Installer and the Repository Creation Utility (RCU). The following steps, detailed in Oracle Fusion Middleware Installing and Configuring Oracle WebCenter Content, are required to install the product:
Install WebLogic Suite
Install patch updates if needed
Set up a database schema
Unpack and run RCU
Unpack and run the installer
Create a domain using the Configuration Wizard
Start the servers in the domain
Other optional tasks, such as modifying memory arguments for managed servers and setting up a node manager, can also be done.
For details about installation and options, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Installing and Configuring Oracle WebCenter Content.
Oracle WebCenter Content uses an Oracle WebLogic Server datasource to communicate with the database where metadata and other information is stored. This database connectivity and the communication parameters are managed using the WebLogic Management Console, not the Content Server System Properties utility as was previously done.
Other administrative changes are summarized in this list:
Running in standalone mode: To run applications or utilities in a standalone mode the database connection information must be entered into the config.cfg file using the System Properties utility.
Connection pooling and management: The Oracle WebLogic Server datasource connection pooling mechanism handles database connections.
Support has been added for the IBM WebSphere Application Server (WAS).
User administration: Oracle WebCenter Content uses the Oracle WebLogic Server user store to manage user names and passwords. Therefore user management must be performed using the Oracle WebLogic Server user management tools rather than the User Admin applet in Content Server. All user authentications are done against the Oracle WebLogic Server user store. You can use the Admin applet to create users and assign passwords, but the user must also be created and assigned a password in the Oracle WebLogic Server user store.
System administration: Starting in 11g Release 1 (11.1.1.8) the Content Server's Admin Server no longer has a separate interface page. Admin Server functions are now accessed through the Administration tray or menu in the Content Server interface.
The following list provides a cursory overview of other important changes when using Oracle WebCenter Content in an Oracle WebLogic Server environment. Consult the product documentation for detailed information:
Admin Server use: Each Content Server instance has one admin server instance. An Admin Server can only perform management tasks on the Content Server that is installed on the same Oracle WebLogic Server domain.
Proxy Server: You can install only one Content Server per Oracle WebLogic Server domain. You can no longer run a proxied Content Server instance.
Port: By default, Content Server no longer listens on any port. Configuration settings can be changed to use a specific port.
Login: Oracle WebCenter Content provides a form-based login mechanism rather than a basic authentication login method. As a result, users can now log out of the Content Server without closing their browser.
Access mode: Oracle WebCenter Content is accessible via HTTP and HTTPS by default.
Internationalization: Users can specify a time zone using their profile page. If the locale is not specified in a profile, the system determines that from a HTTP header variable.
Services and WLST: Content Server cannot easily be run as a Windows service using Oracle WebLogic Server. Mbeans are provided that are accessible through WebLogic Scripting Tool (WLST) commands which can be used to view and set some configuration parameters.
Directory structure: the directory structure and location of files has changed significantly. Consult the product documentation for details.