UCM 11.1.1.3.0 patch (9725318) Released
The first major patch set for Oracle UCM 11gR1 has been available on metalink for a few weeks now. The official patch date is 20100901-1504 and the patch version is 9725318. The steps for applying the patch are fairly simple:
- Make sure ORACLE_HOME is set to the [ecmhome] directory.
- Get the patch zip.Unzip said patch into a temporary directory.
- Change into the patch directory.
- It contains a top level directory, make sure you change into that as well.
- Run OPatch apply: [ecmhome]/OPatch/opatch apply
There are a significant number of updates in the patch, especiallys as relates to URM.
So, for everyone waiting for the first patch before they take UCM for a test drive, you can stop putting it off.
Book Review – The Oracle Universal Content Management Handbook
The Oracle Universal Content Management Handbook – Build, administer and manage Oracle Stellent UCM Solutions
By Dmitri Khanine
I have found it very easy in my ten years with Content Server to make enough room on my book shelf for books on the topic – there just have not been that many. When I do get the opportunity to make room it is generally a celebrated day.
In much the same way that Bex Huff’s The Definitive Guide to Stellent Content Server Development exposed many ‘sysadmins’ and developers to a single source of reference, I am happy to need room on the shelf for Dimtri Khanine’s The Oracle Universal Content Management .
Conversationally delivered, this book tackles the 10gR3 Content Server picking up where The Definitive Guide left off. Khanine delivers overview treatment of items that warrant “higher level” coverage, and then drills down through the key concepts and fundamentals of Content Server. Special attention is paid to the importance of metadata, security and documentation and other resources available to the beginning and/or practicing UCM professional.
Security in the Content Server – as pointed out by the author – is generally an assured point of confusion during the planning and implementation phases of initial efforts in an environment. There have been some clarifying moments in the UCM-focused blogs, but the treatment of the topic in this book places the basics in plain view, in a simplified context. The relationships between Security Groups, Roles and Users are highlighted, and Accounts are then added into the mix. However, Mr. Khanine’s treatment of the topic does not require a whiteboard for understanding. This, in itself, is quite an accomplishment.
If you have been in the “business of technology” for more than 24 hours, it is likely that the acronym “RTFM” (read the friendly manual) is deep-seeded in your everyday life. In this book, the importance of knowing how to find and address the documentation is explored and given its due attention; there is – as alluded to by the author – a ton of information on Content Server. These many pages cover all tasks associated with deploying, maintaining, customizing, etc. However, how do you navigate this swath of information, locate what you need, distill, consume and use it all in a timely manner to avoid adding days to your projects? This topic is addressed, as well as enhanced with the author’s – a successful UCM consultant – preferences when in need of documentation to solve issues. Additionally, Appendix B of the book includes a reference guide to many of the most respected independent resources on the topic of UCM.
The Oracle Universal Content Management Handbook does not delve deeply into the mechanics of the many ways to customize the Content Server, but instead delivers a nice, wide overview of the many approaches to be considered. In combination with the overviews of the many “moving parts” and the available development resources, the book’s chapter on customization definitely does what it sets out to do:
“Unlike all the previous chapters though, this one has a different purpose. I’m not trying to teach you how to customize and integrate Oracle UCM in an hour or two. It just won’t be possible but what I can do well here is give you a few pointers and insider tips that will save you hours and days down the road.”
This is very useful for the beginning Content Server developer and the veteran alike; to have a reference of the many ways to get things done in UCM as well as a reference to additional resources, all in one place, all to save time the next time a customization is required.
This book will serve as a great reference guide to anyone already living with content management, day to day, and is well worth the cover price for the invaluable compendium of resources in Appendix B.
Upgrade to Oracle Enterprise Kernel
On Sunday, September 19th, 2010 at the Keynote Larry Ellison announced the launch of the Oracle Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel. Here are a few pages from Oracle’s site describing benefits, why, etc.:
http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/press/173453
http://www.oracle.com/us/technologies/linux/ubreakable-enterprise-kernel-linux-173350.html
The process to upgrade your Oracle Enterprise Linux (now simply known as Oracle Linux) to the Oracle Enterprise Kernel involves a few fairly simple steps. All of these steps assume you have a current Oracle Unbreakable Linux Network (ULN) Subscription. A variety of these items have also been made available on the Public Yum Server as well.
First, prepare your ULN Subscription by following these steps:
- Log into linux.oracle.com with your ULN or SSO ID
- Click the name of the system you want to upgrade
- Click Manage Subscriptions button
- Subscribe to the Enterprise Linux 5 Latest (x86_64) channel
- Subscribe to the Oracle Linux 5 Latest (x86_64) channel
- Click Save Subscriptions buttons
Second, upgrade your system by following these steps:
- Log into the system as root
- Run up2date -f kernel, wait for checks and installation
- Run up2date -f kernel-headers, wait for checks and installation
- Reboot system
- Log into the system as root
- Execute uname -r
- Confirm 2.6.32.x is now running
At this point you will likely want to run up2date oracle-validated or up2date oracle-linux to ensure you have all the latest packages from those configurations as well.
Oracle OpenWorld – Focus on E2.0
If you are attending Oracle OpenWorld 2010 and you are interested in E2.0 technologies you may find the PDF listed below handy. It is a short list of keynotes, sessions and parties so you can be “in the know”!
http://www.oracle.com/us/openworld/oow10-focuson-enterprise-166860.pdf
Add Metadata for Secondary Page Name in Site Studio
This post demonstrates creating user-friendly URLs in Site Studio for secondary pages (think dynamic lists). When you execute the SS_GET_SEARCH_RESULTS service a resultset named SearchResults is returned. While looping that resultset writing out URLs you should find a variable/column named SSUrl. The default value for SSUrl will use the Content ID like this:
http://domain.com/NewsRoom/cpw000843
We can change this behavior by adding a configuration variable to the General Configuration section of Content Server named SSUrlFieldName. We set this variable to the name of a metadata field we can use to control the end of the URL. This enables us to construct URLs like this instead:
http://domain.com/NewsRoom/TimNewHire.htm
To enable this functionality we first need to create a metadata field that we can use to control the end of the URL.
- Open the Configuration Manager Admin Applet (Administration > Admin Applets)
- Make sure you have the Information Fields tab selected
- Click Add
- Supply a name for the field (note this name, we will use it later)
- Click OK
On the edit Metadata Field screen set the Field Caption to Page Name, set Field Type to Long Text and Click OK. Afterwards don’t forget to click “Update Database Design” and “Rebuild Search Index” if necessary.
Log into your Content Server and open Administration > Admin Server > General Configuration. Add the following setting to the General Configuration and set it to the name of the new metadata field you created a moment ago. Example:
SSUrlFieldName=SSPageName
Click save to persist your changes and then restart the Content Server.
Now, when you check in a piece of content you will be able to specify the page name for the content. Traditionally the URL will look like this:
http://domain.com/NewsRoom/cpw000843
But if I supply a value for our new Page Name metadata field like TimSmithNewHire the URL will now look like this:
http://domain.com/NewsRoom/TimSmithNewHire
I can also add a “.htm” or “.html” to the value in my field to give the URL a more traditional look and feel like this:
http://domain.com/NewsRoom/TimeSmithNewHire.html
Finally, if you want, you can add a little IdocScript to the derived value for the field in a profile and do things like drop out spaces or ensure that the contributor added htm or html to the end fo the supplied page name. Here is a sample:
<$pagename = #active.xSSPageName$>
<$pagename = strRemoveWs(pagename)$>
<$dprDerivedValue = pagename$>
<$if not (pagename like "*htm|*html")$>
<$dprDerivedValue = pagename & ".htm"$>
<$endif$>
Restart Batch File – UCM 11gR1
I often make batch files to sart, stop and restart managed WebLogic servers for UCM 11gR1. I could use Node Manager, etc., but I like having the server output through the command window when performing development tasks. It’s fairly straight forward to create a StartUCM.bat and StopUCM.bat, but a restart may be more tricky. So, if you want to create a batch file to restart a started instance put the following in your batch file (adjust for your install locations, etc.):
start /wait cmd /C "C:\Oracle\Middleware\user_projects\domains\base_domain\bin\stopManagedWebLogic.cmd UCM_server1"
C:\Oracle\Middleware\user_projects\domains\base_domain\bin\startManagedWebLogic.cmd UCM_server1 http://localhost:7001
Start WebLogic Managed Server Without Username and Password
After you install UCM 11gR1 you may occassionally (or often) start your UCM managed server from the command line. When you do this, you will get prompted for your weblogic username and password. If you get tired of this you can create a text file named boot.properties. In this file, put the following:
username=<your user name here, example: weblogic>
password=<your password here, example weblogic1>
Save the file and place it here:
C:\Oracle\Middleware\user_projects\domains\ecm_domain\servers\UCM_server1\security
You may need to create the security directory.
The next time you start your manage server you will not need to supply the user name or password. The values for these will be pulled from the boot.properties file. Additionally the values in your file will be encrypted and written back to the file. After you have booted the manage server open the properties file to view the encrypted values.
Jason Stortz
Jonathan Hult
Anton Bondar
