Content and Asset Management
Beyond required system tables, the Content Server database schema is entirely customizable. For all types of content and other assets (text, audio, video, queries, template elements, design elements, etc.) organizations can rapidly deploy comprehensive content and asset management systems.

In addition, Content Server provides services for:

• Search
  Content Server supports AltaVista search engine as well as database search. When using AltaVista, multiple indexes can be created, modified, destroyed and searched for rapid retrieval of desired content. AltaVista require additional, optional licensing.

• Revision tracking
  Content Server Revision Tracking manages elements, templates, and content. The Revision Tracking feature uses a check-in/check-out paradigm and supports tracking on tables in the primary Content Server database. Content Server allows administrators to specify the assets to track as well as the number of revisions to be tracked.

• BLOB Support
  Content Server can serve and manage binary data. Images, for example, can be served directly through Content Server without requiring the file to exist in the Web server root directory. Content Server also maintains an in-memory cache of the binary data it serves.

Security
Content Server provides a secure environment in which access to resources can be protected. Content Server maintains a list of users and Access Control Lists (ACLs). Each ACL describes privileges for read-only, read/write, read/write/create and read/write/create/delete. Each user can be a member of any number of ACLs. Native Content Server security can be replaced or augmented with external user authorization systems such as NT Domain security or LDAP.

• Access Control
  Content Server Access Control List (ACL) System can be configured to provide security and control over the relationships between production staff and assets. For example, only a specified user may have authority to modify a specified asset type. ACLs can be associated with database tables or "pagenames", thus providing or restricting content and functionality to specified production staff or site visitors.

• LDAP
  The LDAP ValidateLogin module is used by the Content Server to validate users and assign their ACLs through an LDAP directory server. The username/password pairs are validated against users in the LDAP directory. The LDAP groups to which they belong determine their ACLs.

• Secure Socket Layer (SSL)
  The communication layer between the end-user and the Content Server site is secured via standard SSL encryption supported by the web server. Content Server supports the encryption of data during the mirroring process from inside the firewall to the production environment outside the firewall. This capability is accomplished through integration of the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) standard. Implementation of this functionality requires the purchase of the RC4 encryption algorithm from RSA technologies.

Delivery Management

• Dynamic Page Delivery
  Content Server can be used in dynamic page delivery environments to compose pages on-demand. This is useful for pages whose content, design, or functionality is customized or personalized to the reader, browser, or other variables.

• Personalization
  Content Server elements can be constructed to personalize or customize delivery based on user profile information or a variety of other criteria, including HTTP headers, time, or season. For example, Content Server personalization can be used to:
  • alter display, content, or functionality based on browser
  • provide additional content or functionality to specified users or visitors
  • customize navigation based on user/visitor interests

• Multi-dimensional Cache Management
  Content Server caching is to both disk and memory.
  • memory and disk-based caching for pages and page components
  • memory caching for binary data
  • resultset caching - database query results are cached in their raw form.
  • Resultset caching is a powerful way to retrieve content and process it in
  • multiple ways without additional database lookups.

  When page caching is enabled and a page (in this context, a page may be a full page or a page component) is requested, Content Server will serve the page from cache, if the page exists in cache. If not, Content Server will create, serve, and save the page in cache for future use.

  Access control can be applied to disk-based page caching but not to memory-based page caching.

  System page cache properties include:

  • Cache size - the number of pages that can be cached
  • Default cache timeout
  • Default cache folder
  • Default cache folder names

• Static Page Delivery (Page Export)
  In addition to Dynamic Page Delivery, Content Server can export content in multiple formats to flat files, including HTML and XML. For example, HTML pages can be exported to one or multiple HTTP servers.

• Catalog Mirroring
  Mirroring is the ability to identify database rows or tables maintained by Content Server and, using HTTP, to copy or update selected rows or tables to another database. Catalog Mirroring provides an efficient method to move data between similar databases and across firewalls. It is particularly important for the movement of assets from a staging environment to a live, dynamic environment.

• Simultaneous Multi-Target Delivery
  Content Server applications can be configured to simultaneously publish to:
  • multiple formats
  • multiple publications
  • multiple HTTP servers

  For example, a single piece of content may be published to different publications using different templates. This may be especially important for co-branding applications or for simultaneous publishing to the Web and wireless devices.

• Session Management and Variables
  When a client requests a page from Content Server a unique session is established. Content Server associates a default user identity with a new session and maintains that information in session variables that are available for the duration of the session.

  In a clustered configuration, session information may be maintained across all cluster members.
  Session state is lost when:

  • The client exits
  • The session has been timed out. (Content Server can optionally terminate a session if no requests have been made for a specified period of time.)
  • The application server has been restarted.

• Cookies
  In addition to session variables, Content Server supports cookies for maintenance of state within or across sessions.

  Once a cookie has been created it is available as a variable to elements processed for a page request.

• XML Filter
  XMLFilter provides a way to markup content for conversion to different formats. Users create "Filterfiles" which define the translation of input file tags to output file tags. For example, the input tag set < Arial>/< /Arial> may be translated in the output file to < Font face=Arial>< /Font>

Template Design and Management
Elements are the basic building blocks of Content Server applications and templates. Elements are code instructions built using JSP or a combination of HTML, XML-based tags, and JavaScript. XML tags are an easy-to use mechanism to call Content Server functionality. In general, elements:

• Enable interaction with databases - queries, updates, etc.
• Set presentation logic
• Call other elements and/or actions
• Set variables
• Component-based Design
  Content Server promotes a component-based design approach to facilitate re-use of template elements and to enable rapid design modification. Template elements can be re-used, repositioned on a template, or shared across multiple templates.

• Nested Elements
  Elements can be nested within elements.

• Template Design and Editing Tools
  Any HTML editor can be used to create Templates and Template Elements.

• Revision Tracking
  Templates and template elements can be tracked through Content Server Revision Tracking.

• Intelligent Templates and Personalization
  Template elements can contain logic that enables the page to dynamically adapt itself to a variety of criteria including HTTP header information, content, location in the site tree, or visitor profile information.

Content Acquisition and Creation
Content Server provides several mechanisms for the acquisition and/or creation of content and data.

• Remote and Local Content Contribution
  Content Server supports remote and local content contribution and manipulation (modifying, editing, reviewing, and assigning content) through thin-client, browser-based interfaces.

• Populating
  Content Server provides services to automatically load database tables from HTML formatted tables. This is useful for exporting content from one Content Server to another.

• Multiple, Heterogeneous Database Connectivity
  In many cases, content and data resides and is managed in multiple content areas and/or databases. Content Server simultaneously accesses and merges content from multiple, heterogeneous databases within a single page or template element.

Events
Events associate a time trigger with an action. Events can be scheduled to run at absolute or relative times. Actions that can be triggered include processing a page that contains Content Server API commands or invoking other server-side applications.

• Create App Event
  Creates an event that will execute an action at a specified time.

• Email Event
  Content Server supports events that send SMTP mail to one or more recipients.

Web-based Administration
Browser-based administration allows system administrators to remotely manage page setup, caching, and exporting as well as managing users, ACLs, events, and catalog mirroring.

High Performance, Scaleable Application Server Infrastructure
Content Server provides high levels of performance, scalability, reliability, and availability through:

• Dynamic load balancing
• Automatic fail-over
• Application partitioning
• Transaction management
• State and session management

APIs
Content Server provides three interfaces: JSP, "XML tag" and a Java.

It is expected that business logic will be developed using Java and an object-oriented methodology. All Content Server functions are exposed through the Java APIs and enable the application to, for example, make queries to the Repository, perform data transformations or other application-specific logic, and create variables and lists.