Preparing Back-End Components for WebCenter Portal Tools and Services

7 Preparing Back-End Components for WebCenter Portal Tools and Services

Portal developers can integrate Oracle WebCenter Portal tools and services into a portal. Certain tools and services rely on back-end components; for example, the mail tool relies on a mail server like Microsoft Exchange Server.

Introduction to Tools and Services

Oracle WebCenter Portal provides a set of tools and services that expose social networking and personal productivity features. To provide for tools and service integration into portals, you must install and configure the required back-end components.

All tools and services rely on a database for their functionality. To integrate any tool or service into a portal built with WebCenter Portal, you must ensure that a supported database is available with the MDS schema.

For information about:

Supported databases, see http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/products/ias/files/fusion_certification.html.
Installing a database and creating schemas, see Creating the Database Schemas.

In addition to a database, certain tools and services rely on back-end components. To enable portal developers or users to integrate such tools and services into portals, you must perform the following tasks:

Install the back-end component.
Configure the back-end component, if required.
Set up a connection to the back-end component.

The following table describes Oracle WebCenter Portal tools and services and lists the back-end component, if any, required for them.

Table 7-1 Back-End Requirements for Tools and Services

Tool/Service	Description	Back-End Component Required in Addition to a Supported Database with MDS Schema	Connection Configuration
Activity Stream	Provides a streaming view of the activities of user’s connections, actions taken in portals, and business activities.	None.	No separate connection required.
Analytics	Displays usage and performance metrics	Oracle WebCenter Portal's Analytics Collector, and a supported database containing the Activities schema.	Connection required. See Working with Oracle WebCenter Portal's Analytics Collector.
Documents	Provides content management and storage capabilities, including content upload, file, folder, wiki and blog creation and management, file check out, file versioning, and so on.	Content Server content repository.	Connection required. Connection automatically configured for WebCenter Portal if conditions are met. See Back-End Requirements for Documents.
Events	Provides portal-specific calendars that users can use to schedule meetings, appointments, or any other type of team get-together.	A supported database containing the WEBCENTER schema.	No separate connection required.
Links	Provides the ability to view, access, and associate related information; for example, you can link to a solution document from a discussion thread.	A supported database containing the WEBCENTER schema.	No separate connection required.
Lists	Enables users to create, publish, and manage lists.	A supported database containing the WEBCENTER schema.	No separate connection required.
Mail	Provides easy integration with IMAP and SMTP mail servers to enable users to perform simple mail functions such as viewing, reading, creating, and deleting messages, creating messages with attachments, and replying to or forwarding existing messages.	A mail server based on IMAP4 and SMTP.	Connection must be created manually. See Back-End Requirements for Mail.
Notes	Provides the ability to "jot down" and retain quick bits of personally relevant information. Note: This feature is available only in WebCenter Portal.	A supported database containing the WEBCENTER schema.	No separate connection required.
People Connections	Provides online social networking tools for creating, interacting with, and tracking the activities of one's enterprise connections.	A supported database containing the WEBCENTER schema.	No separate connection required.
RSS	Provides the ability to publish content from other WebCenter Portal tools and services and external sources as news feeds in the RSS 2.0 and Atom 1.0 formats.	None.	No separate connection required.
Search	Provides the ability to search documents and pages.	No separate back-end component required for searching Oracle WebCenter Portal objects.	Connection required for Elasticsearch server.
Tags	Provides the ability to assign one or more personally relevant keywords to a given page or document, making those items more easily discoverable in search results.	A supported database containing the WEBCENTER schema.	No separate connection required.
Workflows	Provides a personal, at-a-glance view of business processes that require attention. These can include a request for document review and other types of business process that come directly from enterprise applications.	Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) server.	SOA connection required. See Back-End Requirements for WebCenter Portal Workflows.

Back-End Requirements for Documents

Oracle WebCenter Portal supports content management and storage capabilities, including file upload, file and folder creation and management, file check out, and versioning.

To provide content integration in WebCenter Portal, you must configure at least one WebCenter Content Server connection and mark it as the default connection (sometimes referred to as the active or primary connection).

Oracle WebCenter Content Server Requirements

This section discusses installation, configuration, and integration for Oracle WebCenter Content Server.

Content Server - Installation

Oracle WebCenter Portal supports Oracle WebCenter Content Server 14.1.2.0.0 or later as an external content repository.

Content Server is installed as a part of Oracle WebCenter Content, which is an Oracle Fusion Middleware component.

While installing Content Server, it is recommended that you also install Oracle WebCenter Content: Inbound Refinery. Inbound Refinery is a conversion server that manages file conversions. It also provides thumbnail functionality for documents and images and storyboarding for video. You can use Inbound Refinery to convert content items stored in Content Server. If Inbound Refinery is not installed, thumbnails or renditions do not display in portals and applications.

For information about how to install Content Server and Inbound Refinery, see Installing and Configuring Oracle WebCenter Content.

(Optional) Use sections to add and organize related content if another section heading is needed.

Note:

Content Server and Inbound Refinery must be installed in the same domain. Oracle recommends that you install Content Server and Inbound Refinery in the same domain as Oracle WebCenter Portal. When they are installed in the same domain, no additional configuration is required to use an external LDAP authentication provider.

Note:

If WebCenter Portal and WebCenter Content are installed in separate Fusion Middleware Home, you must perform the following steps to complete Content Manager Task Flow:

Install the WebCenter Content Binaries to the Fusion Middleware for WebCenter Portal.
Apply the latest recommended patches for WebCenter Content to the Fusion Middleware Home for WebCenter Portal.

Content Server - Configuration

To use Content Server as an external content repository, you must configure it to work with Oracle WebCenter Portal. For information about the mandatory and optional tasks involved in configuring Content Server, see Managing Connections to Oracle WebCenter Content Server in Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal. To get an overview of the tasks required to get Content Server working for WebCenter Portal, refer to the flowchart given in Configuration Roadmap for Oracle WebCenter Content Server of Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.

Content Server - Integration

To use Content Server as a content repository, you must create a repository connection.

For information about how to register content repositories and manage repository connections, see Registering the Default Oracle WebCenter Content Server Repository in Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.

Back-End Requirements for Mail

To enable users to access mail within Oracle WebCenter Portal, you must install a mail server, such as Microsoft Exchange Server, that supports IMAP4 and SMTP protocols.

To install a mail server, refer to the documentation of the mail server you wish to use. The users created on the mail server must correspond with the users created in the identity store used by Oracle WebCenter Portal.

To integrate mail in WebCenter Portal, you must configure a connection to your mail server. See Managing Mail in Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal

Back-End Requirements for WebCenter Portal Workflows

WebCenter Portal provides several prebuilt workflows that handle portal membership notifications, portal subscription requests, and so on. WebCenter Portal workflows rely on the BPEL server, which is a component of Oracle SOA Suite.

Table 7-2 describes the tasks that you must perform to enable the WebCenter Portal workflow functionality in WebCenter Portal.

Table 7-2 Tasks for Enabling WebCenter Portal Workflows

Task	Mandatory/Optional	Documentation
1. Install Oracle SOA Suite	Mandatory	See Oracle SOA Suite - Installation.
2. Install WebCenter Portal SOA Composites	Mandatory	See Oracle WebCenter Portal SOA Composites - Installation.
3. Extend the SOA server domain	Mandatory	See Oracle SOA Server - Extending the Domain.
3. Configure WS-Security to secure Web service calls between Oracle SOA Suite and WebCenter Portal	Mandatory	See Oracle SOA and WebCenter Portal - WS-Security Configuration.
4. Register a connection with the BPEL server	Mandatory	See Oracle WebCenter Portal - Configuring the BPEL Server Connection.

Note:

For WebCenter Portal users to be able store and retrieve tasks from a BPEL server, it is essential that their user names exist in the identity stores used by WebCenter Portal and Oracle SOA Suite. You can achieve this by creating identical user names in both the identity stores or by using a shared LDAP-based identity store for Single Sign-On (SSO) authentication. For information about setting up an external shared LDAP-based server, see Setting Up an External LDAP-Based Identity Store.

Oracle SOA Suite - Installation

To support workflows, WebCenter Portal relies on the BPEL server, which is included with Oracle SOA Suite.

For information about installing Oracle SOA Suite, see About Oracle SOA Suite and Oracle Business Process Management Installation in Installing and Configuring Oracle SOA Suite and Business Process Management.

Oracle WebCenter Portal SOA Composites - Installation

To use workflows in WebCenter Portal, you must install WebCenter Portal SOA Composites in the SOA Oracle home.

To install WebCenter Portal SOA Composites:

During WebCenter Portal installation (see Starting the Installation Program), select an Installation Type of WebCenter Portal SOA Composites.
Verify that the wcportal folder was created in the SOA Oracle home.

Oracle SOA Server - Extending the Domain

WebCenter Portal workflows are deployed to an Oracle SOA server.

To prepare a SOA server for workflows, you must extend the domain in which Oracle SOA is installed by using the template oracle.wc_composite_template.jar.

Prerequisite: WebCenter Portal must be installed in the SOA Oracle home with the installation type WebCenter Portal SOA Composites.

To extend the SOA server domain:

Run ORACLE_HOME/oracle_common/common/bin/config.sh.
Select Update an existing domain, then select SOA Domain.
On the Templates screen, select the template in either of the following ways:
- Select Update Domain Using Product Templates, then select Oracle Webcenter Portal Composites - 14.1.2.0.0 [wcportal].
- Or, select Update Domain Using Custom Template, and specify the following path in the Template location field: ORACLE_HOME/wcportal/common/templates/wls/oracle.wc_composite_template.jar
The oracle.wc_composite_template.jar template automatically deploys:
- WebCenterWorklistDetailApp.ear, the ADF application that displays invitations and messages.
- sca_CommunityWorkflows.jar, the BPEL composite that manages the WebCenter Portal membership mechanism.
Restart the Oracle SOA server.
Verify that WebCenterWorklistDetailApp.ear and sca_CommunityWorkflows.jar deployed successfully. If one or both did not deploy, you can manually deploy them using Enterprise Manager:
- WebCenterWorklistDetailApp.ear is located at ORACLE_HOME/wcportal/webcenter/applications when WebCenter Portal is installed in the SOA Oracle home with the installation type WebCenter Portal SOA Composites.
- sca_CommunityWorkflows.jar is located at ORACLE_HOME/wcportal/common/soa-composite/wcp/sca_CommunityWorkflows.jar.

Oracle SOA and WebCenter Portal - WS-Security Configuration

WebCenter Portal Web services, deployed to Oracle WebCenter Portal, facilitate communication between WebCenter Portal and the SOA server.

To secure these Web service calls, you must set up WS-Security on the SOA server and WebCenter Portal.

To ensure a secure Web service connection between the Oracle SOA server and WebCenter Portal:

Check the alias in the keystore file on the Oracle SOA server.

For example, use the following command to list the content of the keystore file on the Oracle SOA server:

keytool -list -v -keystore bpel.jks -storepass password

There should be an entry with:

Alias name: webcenter_spaces_ws
Verify that the credential stores for both WebCenter Portal and Oracle SOA server are configured correctly.
See Updating the Credential Store in Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.
Check that keystores exist at both ends of the connection, for example:

- webcenter.jks (copied to WebCenter Portal server end)

- bpel.jks (copied to Oracle SOA server end)

See Creating the SOA Domain Keystore in Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.
Configure role members for the BPMWorkflowAdmin application role on Oracle SOA server (soa-infra).
When associating the domain with an identity store that does not contain the user weblogic, you must assign some other valid user to the application role BPMWorkflowAdmin. Use WLST commands to do this from the SOA Oracle home. For example, to assign a user named monty that exists in LDAP:
```
cd $SOA_ORACLE_HOME/common/bin/
wlst.sh
 
connect('<admin username>','<admin password>', 'mysoahost.xmlns.oracle.com:7001')
revokeAppRole(appStripe="soa-infra", appRoleName="BPMWorkflowAdmin", principalClass="oracle.security.jps.service.policystore.ApplicationRole", principalName="SOAAdmin")
grantAppRole(appStripe="soa-infra", appRoleName="BPMWorkflowAdmin", principalClass="weblogic.security.principal.WLSUserImpl", principalName="monty")
```
See Security Commands in WLST Command Reference for Oracle WebLogic Server.

See Configuring Web Services Security in Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.

Oracle WebCenter Portal - Configuring the BPEL Server Connection

The WebCenterPortal-Worklist BPEL connection is configured to be shared by worklists and WebCenter Portal workflows. This enables users to see the assigned membership-related workflow items and notification subscriptions in their worklist component.

Configure a BPEL server connection manually. As a best practice, for WebCenter Portal workflows, you must use the same BPEL connection that has been set as the active connection for worklists.

To configure a BPEL server connection for WebCenter Portal workflows, see Configuration Roadmap for WebCenter Portal Workflows in Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.