IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Authoring services in Integration Designer > Services and service-related functions > Access external services with adapters > Configure and using adapters > IBM WebSphere Adapters > Enterprise Content Management > Overview of WebSphere Adapter for Enterprise Content Management

Technical overview of WebSphere Adapter for Enterprise Content Management

The adapter supports bidirectional exchange of business data between business applications and Content Management Repository systems, which implement the Content Management Interoperability Services (CMIS) v1.0 specification. The adapter provides outbound and inbound processing under the Java™ Platform, Enterprise Edition (JEE) Connector Architecture (JCA) and integrates with Service Component Architecture components.

The adapter provides the means for services running on IBM Integration Designer to exchange documents with one or more Content Management Repositories. The services are contained in a module, which consists of both a project in IBM Integration Designer and a unit of deployment to IBM BPM. The module is packaged and deployed to IBM BPM as an enterprise archive (EAR) file.

What is a Content Management Repository?

A Content Management Repository is the strategies, methods and tools used to capture, manage, store, preserve, and deliver content and documents related to organizational processes. Content Management Repository tools and strategies allow the management of unstructured information an organization, wherever that information exists.

The Content Management Repository server metadata

WebSphere Adapter for Enterprise Content Management interacts with a Content Management Repository server using the following metadata constituents:

• A CMIS service endpoint identifies a CMIS server.

• A CMIS service endpoint may provide access to more than one Content Management Repositories.

• A Content Management Repository can contain Document Objects and Folder Objects, among other objects.

• A Document object represents a stand-alone information asset. Document objects are the elementary entities managed by a Content Management Repository.

• A Folder object represents a logical container for a collection of file-able objects, which include folder objects and document objects. Folder objects are used to organize file-able objects.
• Every CMIS object has an opaque and immutable Object Identity (ID), which is assigned by the repository when the object is created. An ID uniquely identifies an object within a repository regardless of the type of the object.
• Every CMIS object has a set of named, but not explicitly ordered, Properties.

• The Adapter for Enterprise Content Management is now capable of creating and deleting documents.

FileNet Content Engine caches the metadata to the length of time specified in the CMC_TIME_TO_LIVE property. To increase the frequency of cache updates and to receive the latest information from the FileNet server, specify a lower value for the CMC_TIME_TO_LIVE property by editing the WEB-INF/classes/cmis.properties file. For more information about this property, see Configure advanced IBM CMIS for FileNet Content Manager properties.

• Outbound processing
  The WebSphere Adapter for Enterprise Content Management supports outbound request processing. When the adapter receives a request, which is sent in the form of a business object from the module, it processes the request and returns the result as a business object. The adapter provides a standard set of outbound operations.
• Inbound processing
  Adapter for Enterprise Content Management supports inbound processing of events. The adapter polls the event database in the CMIS server for events at specified intervals. Each time a subscription is created or updated, the adapter tracks the process as an event. When the adapter detects an event, it requests a copy of the subscription, converts the data into a business object, and sends it to the consuming service.
• Log and Trace Analyzer
  The adapter creates log and trace files that can be viewed with the Log and Trace Analyzer.

Overview of WebSphere Adapter for Enterprise Content Management