Comments on: Understanding the differences between Alfresco’s repository implementations http://ecmarchitect.com/archives/2009/08/31/1038 Jeff Potts on ECM, portals, search, collaboration, and a bunch of personal stuff Mon, 14 May 2012 10:48:07 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Jeff Potts explains the difference between Alfresco's DM and AVM Repositories | Content Here http://ecmarchitect.com/archives/2009/08/31/1038/comment-page-1#comment-65237 Jeff Potts explains the difference between Alfresco's DM and AVM Repositories | Content Here Thu, 10 Mar 2011 02:33:20 +0000 http://ecmarchitect.com/?p=1038#comment-65237 [...] Potts has written an excellent article explaining the functional differences between Alfresco’s two different repositories (the original DM and the WCM). The enclosed chart is a useful cheat sheet that belongs on any [...] [...] Potts has written an excellent article explaining the functional differences between Alfresco’s two different repositories (the original DM and the WCM). The enclosed chart is a useful cheat sheet that belongs on any [...]

]]> By: tmath http://ecmarchitect.com/archives/2009/08/31/1038/comment-page-1#comment-58367 tmath Wed, 08 Dec 2010 00:40:35 +0000 http://ecmarchitect.com/?p=1038#comment-58367 Quick correction. On item 2, I meant the multiple staging sandboxes, please ignore the user sandboxes search since it's not indexed. Quick correction. On item 2, I meant the multiple staging sandboxes, please ignore the user sandboxes search since it’s not indexed.

]]> By: tmath http://ecmarchitect.com/archives/2009/08/31/1038/comment-page-1#comment-58366 tmath Wed, 08 Dec 2010 00:34:34 +0000 http://ecmarchitect.com/?p=1038#comment-58366 First of all, thanks for replying at 12:30 in the morning. Secondly, it's great to have such insight. I'm was planning to use a web project per department at this time so we can apply more focused access control. So we will have 1...n web projects. Do you know if there is any constraints/limits placed on Alfresco for the number of Web Projects created within the system? I hadn't heard of any. I'm thinking of a few other challenges as well: 1) Previewing content (user sandbox versus staging sandbox) Is it better to use Virtualised Content Retrieval versus Virtualisation Server? I'm hesitant to use the Virtualization server since it's set to be deprecated from 3.2+. 2) As you mentioned earlier, searching the user store within web projects and also across multiple Web Projects from the client is a major limitation. I'll probably have to write a custom dashlet with a webscript over Lucene to aggregate content from the multiple stores as well as for the user store. 3) Sharing of content between the web projects...For example, globally available images or content that's applicable in multiple sections of the larger site. I'll need to dig into that as well as see if that's possible. DM seems to be so much more matured in some key areas. Although a WCM implementation with multiple web projects seems to better meet our timelines. Will let you know how it goes. Would love to hear your thoughts on the items above and as always is greatly appreciated. Thanks once again, you've been extremely helpful. First of all, thanks for replying at 12:30 in the morning. Secondly, it’s great to have such insight.

I’m was planning to use a web project per department at this time so we can apply more focused access control. So we will have 1…n web projects. Do you know if there is any constraints/limits placed on Alfresco for the number of Web Projects created within the system? I hadn’t heard of any.

I’m thinking of a few other challenges as well:

1) Previewing content (user sandbox versus staging sandbox) Is it better to use Virtualised Content Retrieval versus Virtualisation Server? I’m hesitant to use the Virtualization server since it’s set to be deprecated from 3.2+.

2) As you mentioned earlier, searching the user store within web projects and also across multiple Web Projects from the client is a major limitation. I’ll probably have to write a custom dashlet with a webscript over Lucene to aggregate content from the multiple stores as well as for the user store.

3) Sharing of content between the web projects…For example, globally available images or content that’s applicable in multiple sections of the larger site. I’ll need to dig into that as well as see if that’s possible.

DM seems to be so much more matured in some key areas. Although a WCM implementation with multiple web projects seems to better meet our timelines. Will let you know how it goes. Would love to hear your thoughts on the items above and as always is greatly appreciated. Thanks once again, you’ve been extremely helpful.

]]> By: jpotts http://ecmarchitect.com/archives/2009/08/31/1038/comment-page-1#comment-58332 jpotts Tue, 07 Dec 2010 05:26:25 +0000 http://ecmarchitect.com/?p=1038#comment-58332 Alfresco strongly recommends against using the API to set permissions on AVM folders. The rumor is that the code that is in there that theoretically allows you to do that was supposed to be removed because it is broken, but never was removed due to time constraints. So I definitely would not rely on it. Maybe you can have a web folder for each department? Next, the fact that you have hundreds of content managers is another warning sign against AVM-based WCM. Maybe this is less of an issue if you avoid the virtualization server, but still, I haven't heard too many success stories from people using AVM-based WCM with that many sandboxes. If there are, maybe someone will chime in. Workflow is going to be a wash--both DM and AVM use JBoss jBPM which is certainly capable of multi-step workflows, and you could have unique workflow process definitions per department or you could have smarter workflows to reduce the number of unique definitions that are needed. One thing to be aware of is that everyone sees (and potentially selects from a list of) all deployed workflows. My general approach is to start with a DM-based WCM implementation and then only go down the AVM route when there is absolutely no other way to do what you're trying to do. Thanks for reading the book! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Good luck with your project and be sure to let us all know how it turns out. Jeff Alfresco strongly recommends against using the API to set permissions on AVM folders. The rumor is that the code that is in there that theoretically allows you to do that was supposed to be removed because it is broken, but never was removed due to time constraints. So I definitely would not rely on it. Maybe you can have a web folder for each department?

Next, the fact that you have hundreds of content managers is another warning sign against AVM-based WCM. Maybe this is less of an issue if you avoid the virtualization server, but still, I haven’t heard too many success stories from people using AVM-based WCM with that many sandboxes. If there are, maybe someone will chime in.

Workflow is going to be a wash–both DM and AVM use JBoss jBPM which is certainly capable of multi-step workflows, and you could have unique workflow process definitions per department or you could have smarter workflows to reduce the number of unique definitions that are needed. One thing to be aware of is that everyone sees (and potentially selects from a list of) all deployed workflows.

My general approach is to start with a DM-based WCM implementation and then only go down the AVM route when there is absolutely no other way to do what you’re trying to do.

Thanks for reading the book! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Good luck with your project and be sure to let us all know how it turns out.

Jeff

]]> By: tmath http://ecmarchitect.com/archives/2009/08/31/1038/comment-page-1#comment-58324 tmath Tue, 07 Dec 2010 00:26:02 +0000 http://ecmarchitect.com/?p=1038#comment-58324 Thanks you for the quick response, Jeff. This helps a lot. We're trying to build out a Intranet solution with WCM 3.3 in a decentralized content management model. (We're not using quick start, but did build a surf framework.) So in our case, each department manages it's own content. I wonder if it's possible to assign custom roles/permissions via the api on folders within the web project so that only the respective department content contributor(s)/reviewer(s) can create/update their content in that folder. Ex: HR contributors only update content in the HR related folders, Marketing only has access to their folders within the same web project etc. Furthermore, we want to provide unique multi-step workflows (author->reviewer->publisher) for each department to approve/publish a piece of content in their respective folders. (The content types, "Article" etc, would be shared across all users with in the web project.) In our scenario, we may end up with 100s of contributors, editors, publishers. In short, I was wondering which is a better solutions for what we're trying to accomplish, the Alfresco 3.3 DM or WCM. Would love to hear your expert input. Fantastic job with your blog and I really enjoyed your book. Will gladly buy it if there is a new edition in the works. :) Thanks you for the quick response, Jeff. This helps a lot. We’re trying to build out a Intranet solution with WCM 3.3 in a decentralized content management model. (We’re not using quick start, but did build a surf framework.) So in our case, each department manages it’s own content. I wonder if it’s possible to assign custom roles/permissions via the api on folders within the web project so that only the respective department content contributor(s)/reviewer(s) can create/update their content in that folder. Ex: HR contributors only update content in the HR related folders, Marketing only has access to their folders within the same web project etc. Furthermore, we want to provide unique multi-step workflows (author->reviewer->publisher) for each department to approve/publish a piece of content in their respective folders. (The content types, “Article” etc, would be shared across all users with in the web project.) In our scenario, we may end up with 100s of contributors, editors, publishers. In short, I was wondering which is a better solutions for what we’re trying to accomplish, the Alfresco 3.3 DM or WCM. Would love to hear your expert input. Fantastic job with your blog and I really enjoyed your book. Will gladly buy it if there is a new edition in the works. :)

]]> By: jpotts http://ecmarchitect.com/archives/2009/08/31/1038/comment-page-1#comment-58310 jpotts Mon, 06 Dec 2010 15:00:40 +0000 http://ecmarchitect.com/?p=1038#comment-58310 @tmath, @Apickard, Honestly, if updated, the chart would be nearly identical for the latest release when comparing Alfresco DM with Alfresco's AVM-based WCM. The most significant change is that the DM repo now has a deployment solution, albeit a partial one, that can move nodes between Alfresco DM repositories. It is called the Transfer Service. Bringing Web Quick Start into the mix, I would add a third column to the chart that is basically a duplicate of the Alfresco DM column. But for forms, Quick Start uses Alfresco's form service. And, for UI customizations, it is all Surf because the UI for Web Quick Start is Alfresco Share. I'm planning to write a longer post on Web Quick Start but essentially, you leverage Alfresco Share as your administrative UI to manage files and content, and then a Spring Surf app to dynamically render that content into user-facing pages. Quick Start provides a starter Spring Surf app so that you don't have to code it from scratch. Hope that helps, Jeff @tmath, @Apickard,

Honestly, if updated, the chart would be nearly identical for the latest release when comparing Alfresco DM with Alfresco’s AVM-based WCM. The most significant change is that the DM repo now has a deployment solution, albeit a partial one, that can move nodes between Alfresco DM repositories. It is called the Transfer Service.

Bringing Web Quick Start into the mix, I would add a third column to the chart that is basically a duplicate of the Alfresco DM column. But for forms, Quick Start uses Alfresco’s form service. And, for UI customizations, it is all Surf because the UI for Web Quick Start is Alfresco Share. I’m planning to write a longer post on Web Quick Start but essentially, you leverage Alfresco Share as your administrative UI to manage files and content, and then a Spring Surf app to dynamically render that content into user-facing pages. Quick Start provides a starter Spring Surf app so that you don’t have to code it from scratch.

Hope that helps,

Jeff

]]> By: tmath http://ecmarchitect.com/archives/2009/08/31/1038/comment-page-1#comment-58296 tmath Mon, 06 Dec 2010 04:16:56 +0000 http://ecmarchitect.com/?p=1038#comment-58296 Jeff, Great information. Please provide a updated comparison with respect to WCM 3.3+ on all presented features and any new ones. Jeff,

Great information. Please provide a updated comparison with respect to WCM 3.3+ on all presented features and any new ones.

]]> By: Apickard http://ecmarchitect.com/archives/2009/08/31/1038/comment-page-1#comment-58134 Apickard Tue, 30 Nov 2010 22:31:42 +0000 http://ecmarchitect.com/?p=1038#comment-58134 Thanks for this article, it is very helpful. I wonder, could it be possible to get an updated version of this since there have been many changes to the repositories in the last year (like virtualization server deprecation). And just to clarify some of the bigger picture if you could. For example, through versions of documentation and various sales pitches, somewhere along the line I got the idea that Share is the WCM. I wasn't even aware the AVM was the same thing as the "Web Project" WCM. The new Share Web Quick Start is often labeled as a WCM example as if it weren't confusing enough. I would greatly appreciate your explanation of it all. Thanks And yes, keep up the good work! Thanks for this article, it is very helpful. I wonder, could it be possible to get an updated version of this since there have been many changes to the repositories in the last year (like virtualization server deprecation). And just to clarify some of the bigger picture if you could. For example, through versions of documentation and various sales pitches, somewhere along the line I got the idea that Share is the WCM. I wasn’t even aware the AVM was the same thing as the “Web Project” WCM. The new Share Web Quick Start is often labeled as a WCM example as if it weren’t confusing enough. I would greatly appreciate your explanation of it all.
Thanks
And yes, keep up the good work!

]]> By: Alfresco Forge: Blogs http://ecmarchitect.com/archives/2009/08/31/1038/comment-page-1#comment-44553 Alfresco Forge: Blogs Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:33:02 +0000 http://ecmarchitect.com/?p=1038#comment-44553 [...] Alfresco will add functionality to the DM repository until it is on par with the AVM (See “What are the differences…“). What then? The AVM will continue to be supported, but if I were placing bets, I would not [...] [...] Alfresco will add functionality to the DM repository until it is on par with the AVM (See “What are the differences…“). What then? The AVM will continue to be supported, but if I were placing bets, I would not [...]

]]> By: Top Five Alfresco Roadmap Takeaways | ecmarchitect.com http://ecmarchitect.com/archives/2009/08/31/1038/comment-page-1#comment-44373 Top Five Alfresco Roadmap Takeaways | ecmarchitect.com Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:58:43 +0000 http://ecmarchitect.com/?p=1038#comment-44373 [...] Alfresco will add functionality to the DM repository until it is on par with the AVM (See “What are the differences…“). What then? The AVM will continue to be supported, but if I were placing bets, I would not [...] [...] Alfresco will add functionality to the DM repository until it is on par with the AVM (See “What are the differences…“). What then? The AVM will continue to be supported, but if I were placing bets, I would not [...]

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