[opencms-dev] Question about OCEE Cluster and Replicator

[Michael Emmerich]

Hello Luca,


> I downloaded the trial version of OCEE module
>
> I have an environment with 3 production servers with 3 OpenCms instances
> that are on the same database.
>
> I configured the cluster module on these servers. In documentation I see
> that one of these must be the workplace server. This means that editors
> must login on that to edit contents?

This is correct. In an OCEE-Cluster all content editing must be made on 
one of the cluster nodes.

 > And on the same server the users
> that have the role of “Approvers” for the contents must login and decide
> if publish or not?

This is correct.
The normal workflow in OpenCms is:
1) The content editor edits some content, but has no right to publish 
it. The content editor can see his changes in the Offline project.
2) The Project manager (=Approver) checks the cotnent and publishes it. 
The published content can then be accessed from the web.

So you could use the same OpenCms instance for content editing and 
approval in the offline project and for content delivery in the online 
project.

>So this is not a production server…

No, of course you can still use this machine for delivering the content 
as well. When you publish something on this machine, the content will be 
accessible.


> What I need is an environment where I have 3 production server and
> another server for editing and approving contents.

This would be a scenario which has a total of 4 OpenCms servers. Three 
for content delivery and one for content editig only.

 > Then from this server
> should be a replication of this contents on the 3 production servers. So
> I suppose I must have a editing server inside network (not public) with
> its own database where editors can edit contents and where
> administrators can approve these contents, and from this server Admins
> can decide to publish “online” the resources. At this point the OCEE
> replicator replicates these contents on the database of the 3 production
> instances.

You described it correctly, this is how most OCEE Cluster/Replication 
installations are set up: One internal server to edit the cotnent with 
its own database. Several external servers to deliver the content.
There are two ways how you can transfer content form the internal server 
to the external ones: This can be dome automatically when you publish 
the content on the internal system (most installations work like this) 
or this has to be done manually after you have published it.

> Is this right? Is this possible?

Yes, this is possible.

 > If I’m right why I need a workplace
> server on production environment (in OCEE documentation file
> documentation_ocee_cluster.pdf is the blue circle at page 3)? I suppose
> the blue instance is the one where editors edit contents and where Admin
> decide what to publish online, so not a production machine…

The scenario you describe has one dedicated machine only for content 
editing. So this machine is not deliviering content to the public. But 
as I said above, if your content editing machine is accessible from the 
web, you could use it for content delivery (=production) as well.


> So the right solution should be an OpenCms instance with its own
> database in the private network and 3 public instances of OpenCms
> pointing all to the same database (but different from the workplace
> server in the private network). Is this correct?

This would be a setup as it it mostly done with OCEE cluster/replication.

> So I need to install OCEE cluster module on the 3 production instances
> and the replicator on the other one (the private one) and tell the
> replicator that every content must be published on the production
> database after admin has confirmed that the contents are ok.

The cluster module must be installed on all servers. The replication 
module must be installed on the workplace server (= content editing server).

Of course you must take care that you firewall settings allow that the 
workplace server can communicate with all other servers in your OCEE 
Cluster.

Hope this helps.


-- 
Kind Regards,
Michael.

-------------------
Michael Emmerich

Alkacon Software GmbH  - The OpenCms Experts
http://www.alkacon.com - http://www.opencms.org