Documentum

First Client Ship for D6

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I have been told that FCS for D6 was yesterday. At last check it was not on the download site. Expect that in the next week or so as it always lags a bit. Three items of note…

  1. TaskSpace is coming in October. I’ve heard a couple of concerns around stability on the new interface and they seem to be waiting to get it right. Smart move.
  2. File Share Services is delayed until Q4. Haven’t heard anything about the why, but I’m not overly concerned. As this is used for desktop interactions, this shouldn’t slow people down much. By the time most upgrade plans are in place and getting ready for Test, this should hopefully be out. I’ve only needed it once over my career, so I don’t think the impact is massive.
  3. No sizing spreadsheet for D6 yet. However, expect about 25% more load on the Content Server. What exactly is meant by that, I’m not sure. I would assume both RAM and processor. Indexing should be the same as 5.3. No hints on the Application Server as of yet.

So if you need it, find your local EMC rep and tell them you can’t wait for the download site. I’m going to give them a week before I start bothering them. Realistically, not that much spare time to make it worth the effort until then. All of my precious spare time this weekend is devoted to this week’s game.

Enjoy your Labor Day.

Tips: Fixing LDAP Group Membership

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Many of you probably saw my last post on LDAP. It was about forcing a synchronization of LDAP back to a specific date. My basic problem was that a small subset of users were being dropped from one of the LDAP groups within Documentum. We had removed and then added them again, and the re-synch seemed to work. A few days later, they were gone. The question was why?

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Fitting SharePoint into the ECM Picture

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Previously I compared eRoom and SharePoint. I noted several basic features, but didn’t really say that either was dramatically better than the other. They are both solid collaboration options. That is the key here. SharePoint measures up well to eRoom because they are both the same thing. They are Content Rich Applications that focus on Collaboration. They are not ECM solutions. eRoom admits it. SharePoint doesn’t.

SharePoint doesn’t appear to deliver on its promises with its out-of-the-box functionality. As was predicted and then observed, SharePoint requires multiple third party components and other customizations to achieve its true potential. The core problem that comes from this approach is managing components from multiple sources.

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Tips: Contentless Objects as Lookups, Even Less than Content

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So the other day I was looking at why one of the lookups in my system was always providing me a blank value. The keyword DISTINCT seemed to keep it down to one, but it didn’t do more than limit the amount of blanks to one. It is a required field, so the user can’t save it with that value, but even with a valid default value, it is something that annoys me. So I began trying to banish it from my sight.

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What X-Hive Means to EMC’s Documentum

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Back on July 12, X-Hive was acquired by EMC. At the time, I did a quick glance and was a little confused. I started wondering why they made the acquisition. This was worrisome as I hadn’t had that thought in years about any acquisition in the ECM industry. Maybe the new leadership of the Documentum unit didn’t have the same touch as those recently departed. After all, Documentum has traditionally worked with XML better than any of their major competitors. Even after a few weeks, I wasn’t the only one trying to figure this out. This acquisition seemed to be either an admission of weakness or a purely anti-competitive play. Then I learned some more.

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Taxonomies, Good, Bad, or Ugly?

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Sumanth Molakala posted a great look at determining the amount of effort that should go into creating a taxonomy for a new Enterprise Content Management solution. This brings up a debate that I have had/observed among ECM professionals for years. Do we make Search the primary access method, or the second? I find that every professional has a leaning, and I have yet to find a solid predictor for any practitioners’ preference.

I prefer a good hierarchy, while Sumanth appears to favor searching. I find that the creation of a hierarchy helps me organize my thoughts and determine what is important about any given piece of content. Also, while Google may be trying to take the world over via the Internet, most users are more intimate with their old-fashioned network file structures. The ability to browse to a piece of content adds to user acceptance of their first Document Management application. Over time, many users transition into Search-first users. Until that happens and ECM becomes transparent, I believe that a good taxonomy is important.

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Single Sign-On, SAML, and Authentication in Documentum

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I’ve been meaning to get back to this topic for quite some time. Before moving onto other Standards topics, I want to try and conclude this thread on SAML. James and I traded responses about authentication and SAML, and I applaud James for taking time to look into the capabilities of the DFC to respond to my previous post. James did get several details of the DFC incorrect, but not regarding any points important to this discussion.

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Tips: Forcing an LDAP Update in Documentum

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I ran into a problem the other day and I thought I would share the solution. I have encountered it before elsewhere, and that means others have encountered it before as well. Before I dive into the problem, I just want to say something to James. When Bex wrote about ECM systems storing Content, not Users, he presents a powerful and logical argument. Outside of the lab, I’ve had several clients where the network wasn’t ideal, and we were more than happy to store a copy of the user information inside of Documentum, only talking LDAP for authentication. I know the solution should be to fix the network, but sometimes that isn’t entirely possible. That is another story.

[REVISED 2007-8-03 (I hate this network)]

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One More Month for D6?

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I have now heard from multiple sources that D6 is about a month out. I have even heard rumors, stress rumors, that it may trip over into September. While I am saddened by this, I would rather wait another month for a solid product than have something that I can’t use show up on my doorstop, wasting my time.

If I hear anything to the contrary, or anything else related, I’ll share. This is, of course, unofficial and it could be out tomorrow.

I’m just not holding my breath.

D6 is Coming!

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Been slowing down a bit as I focus on several work and family activities that have precluded me from writing many entries. However, today I saw something in the Documentum Developer Site News feed on the side of my blog. EMC is gearing up for the release of D6 and I am starting to get excited. I’m not the only one if the hits on my blog are any indication.

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