Product: Content Server

Version: 10.0, 10.5

Task/Topic: Administration
Audience: Administrators
Platform: All
Document ID: 500209
Updated: November 27, 2014

Best Practices
Content Server Administration: Healthy
Habits and Best Practices
Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................4 
The Top 10 Habits ....................................................................................................... 5 
1.  Maintain a test lab that faithfully reflects your production
environment. ......................................................................................................... 5 
2.  Know your opentext.ini. Love your opentext.ini. .............................................. 6 
3.  Familiarize yourself with the Content Server Release Notes........................... 7 
4.  Familiarize yourself with the Content Server Schema
documentation. ..................................................................................................... 8 
5.  Attend Content Server Administrator training. ................................................. 8 
6.  Keep a backup of all your changes. Document everything. ............................ 8 
7.  Run regular reports and diagnostics. ................................................................ 8 
8.  Stay Fresh. ............................................................................................................ 9 
9.  Plan. Test. Implement. Repeat. ............................................................................ 9 
10.  Discover and explore the OpenText Knowledge Center................................. 10 
Interaction with OpenText Customer Support ....................................................... 11 
11.  Tell us where it hurts. ......................................................................................... 11 
12.  Help us find you.................................................................................................. 11 
13.  Give us the big picture. ...................................................................................... 11 
14.  Set the appropriate priority for new calls. ....................................................... 12 
15.  Call us before it hurts......................................................................................... 12 
16.  Prepare logs if appropriate. ............................................................................... 12 
17.  Paint us a picture................................................................................................ 13 
18.  Familiarize yourself with the Software Maintenance Handbook. .................. 13 
19.  Have others “been there, done that”?.............................................................. 14 
20.  Call us. Email us. Tell us how we’re doing. ..................................................... 14 
General Content Server Administration ................................................................. 15 
21.  Learn how to play well with others. .................................................................. 15 
22.  Carefully consider your file store options in your production
system. ................................................................................................................ 15 
23.  Search and index somewhere else!.................................................................. 15 
24.  Use the Content Server Servlet instead of llisapi.dll or cs.exe. .......... 16 
25.  Install upgrades one at a time with logs enabled............................................ 16 
26.  Perform administrative tasks as the Admin user. ........................................... 17 
27.  Schedule and announce maintenance windows............................................. 17 
28.  Know when it’s time to upgrade. ...................................................................... 17 
29.  Apply Content Server Updates.......................................................................... 17 
30.  Confirm that patches are loading correctly. .................................................... 18 
Folders, Privileges, and Permissions ..................................................................... 20 
31.  Folders versus Projects ..................................................................................... 20 
32.  Item Creation Privileges – Be ruthless!............................................................ 20 
33.  Item Creation Privileges – Be helpful! .............................................................. 21 

2
34.  Keep the Access Control Lists as short as possible. ..................................... 21 
35.  Include Groups in the ACL rather than Users. ................................................ 22 
36.  Avoid nested Groups in the ACL where possible. .......................................... 22 
For Microsoft SQL Server: ............................................................................. 23 
For Oracle: ..................................................................................................... 24 
Patches, Service Packs, and Upgrades .................................................................. 25 
37.  Read the Release Notes for quarterly Updates. .............................................. 25 
38.  Subscribe to Technical and Security Alerts..................................................... 26 
39.  Really know when it’s time to upgrade. ........................................................... 26 
40.  Ask for help with your upgrade. ....................................................................... 26 
Summary .................................................................................................................... 28 
About OpenText ........................................................................................................ 29 

3
Introduction
This document details a series of best practices in use by OpenText™ Content
Server administrators around the world. These items are intended for administrators
who are new to Content Server or who feel as though they are struggling with their
implementation.
The best practices described in this booklet are covered in the following chapters:
• The Top 10 Habits
• Interaction with OpenText Customer Support
• General Content Server Administration
• Folders, Privileges, and Permissions
• Patches, Service Packs, Updates, and Upgrades

NOTE: If your deployment is Livelink 9.7.1 or earlier, please refer

to the document:

Livelink Administration: Healthy Habits and Best Practices

4
 The Top 10 Habits

1. Maintain a test lab that faithfully reflects your production

environment.
One of the best things that you can do as a Content Server Administrator is to
establish a test or development environment that faithfully reflects your production
environment.
While your test environment does not need to be an exact replica of your production
setting, the two environments should have the following elements in common:
• The same version of Content Server. You can verify the exact version number of
your Content Server system by logging onto Content Server and clicking Help >
About Content Server. The major version and Update level are displayed. The
full version (build number) of Content Server is listed at the bottom in the footer
of the page.
• The same type and version of operating system. A list of supported operating
systems is available in the Release Notes for all versions of Content Server. All
Content Server Release Notes can be downloaded from
https://knowledge.opentext.com/knowledge/cs.dll/open/docs. It is also important
to ensure that any patches or service packs applied to your production server's
operating system are also applied to your development server. Patches and
service packs for operating systems can significantly alter the behavior of
Content Server.
• The exact same contents in the Content Server patch folder. Individual patches
and Content Server Updates can significantly alter the behavior of Content
Server. Always ensure that both systems have the same patches applied.
• The same modules installed, as shown on the Installed Modules section of the
Content Server administration pages.
• The same type and version of the HTTP (web) server. A list of supported HTTP
servers is available in the Release Notes for all versions of Content Server.
Ensure that any patches or service packs applied to your production server's
HTTP server are also applied to the HTTP server in use on your development
server. Patches and service packs for HTTP servers can significantly alter the
behavior of Content Server.
• The same type and version of the RDBMS. A list of supported database server
types and versions is available in the Release Notes for all versions of Content
Server. Ensure that any patches or service packs applied to your production
server's RDBMS system are also applied to the database in use on your
development server. Patches and service packs for databases can significantly
alter the behavior of Content Server.
• The same type and version of the database client software with compatible type
and version of database server. Incompatible client software can significantly
alter the behavior of Content Server.

5
 • The test or development environment should use a copy of the production data,
as some tests may require a similar data set to the production environment.
• The same modifications and customizations made to key configuration files
(opentext.ini, mime.types, and so on) or changes that may have been
made to core or optional module WebLingo and html files. Modifications or
changes to any of these files can significantly alter the behavior of Content
Server.
• The same language packs. The metadata language configuration should also be
identical.
• The same browser client software and version. In addition, you should ensure
that the same browser settings are enabled. A list of supported web browsers is
available in the Release Notes for all versions of Content Server.
The key advantage of maintaining a test environment that faithfully reflects your
production environment is that you will enjoy a setting in which you can safely, but
meaningfully, test upgrades, patches, Updates, modules, customizations,
permissions changes, content additions, and other modifications that you may need
to make to your Content Server system from time to time, without disrupting or
endangering your production environment. Many organizations maintain two or three
test environments for precisely this reason.

2. Know your opentext.ini. Love your opentext.ini.

The opentext.ini file is the main configuration file for Content Server. This file
contains settings such as database connection options, paths to files, date formats,
debugging options, and logging options. The file is created automatically during the
Content Server installation process. At that time, the default options are set, as are
any settings that are configured dynamically. Some settings, such as the encoded
Content Server Administrator's password and Content Server Notification settings,
are changed by Content Server as necessary.
A detailed description of each of the main sections in the opentext.ini file is
available in the Online Admin Help for your Content Server system. To access this
section of the help, simply sign in to your Content Server and access the
administration pages. Once you are there, select the Help > Contents menu item,
then select Server Configuration on the left pane, and the Understanding the
opentext.ini file sub-item.
Alternatively, you can access this section of the Admin Help file directly in your
browser by pointing to:
http://<SERVER_NAME>/img/adminhelp/<LANG>/webadmin/wba-ini-
intro-bg.htm
Where <SERVER_NAME> is the Content Server host name and <LANG> is the name
of the language in which the Admin Help is available. For example,
http://ACME/img/adminhelp/_en_US/webadmin/wba-ini-intro-bg.htm.

6
3. Familiarize yourself with the Content Server Release Notes.
Many successful Content Server administrators download and keep a hard copy of
the Content Server Release Notes for the version they have installed. The Release
Notes offer a detailed guide to the version of the software you have installed and can
help you diagnose and troubleshoot problems.
Release Notes are updated with each Update release of Content Server. Many
Content Server administrators set notification on Release Notes so they are notified
when new versions become available.
Release Notes offer specific information about the released product including:
• Supported server operating systems
• Supported browsers
• Supported databases
• Supported web servers
• Supported search filter formats
• Installation and upgrade notes
• Updates and service packs
• Critical and deprecated patches
• Dependencies
• Changed and deprecated features
• Security and notable fixes
• Configuration file changes
• New features
• Known issues
For your users, the Security Fixes and Notable Fixes sections may be the most
meaningful as they describe defects in the product that have been discovered and
subsequently fixed in the released version.
For a Content Server Administrator, the Known Issues section may be the most
meaningful as it describes areas of the product which can be problematic in certain
scenarios.
The Release Notes for Content Server are published with every version of the
product, including Service Packs and Updates. Release Notes are also published for
every optional module available for Content Server. To access the most recent
version of any of these Release Notes, please visit:
https://knowledge.opentext.com/knowledge/cs.dll/open/docs
Updates and corrections to the Release Notes may be made periodically online.
Always check the Knowledge Center's documentation area for the most recent copy
of the Release Notes for your version of Content Server.

7
4. Familiarize yourself with the Content Server Schema
documentation.
If you are proficient in the use of SQL database querying languages, it may be useful
for you to familiarize yourself with the Content Server Schema Documentation. The
“schema docs”, as they are often called, offer a detailed view into the tables and
columns that make up the Content Server database schema. An intimate knowledge
of these tables can help you immensely when it comes time to diagnose problems.
Moreover, knowing how the Content Server database schema is arranged will make
the task of writing reports, such as LiveReports or WebReports, much easier.
The Content Server Schema documentation is not available online. It must be
acquired by contacting OpenText Customer Support directly. Please note that you will
be asked to provide a signed copy of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with
OpenText in order to obtain a copy.

5. Attend Content Server Administrator training.

The Content Server System Administrator courses are absolutely excellent and can
help you put the work you will be doing into the broader context of a Content Server
implementation. These courses are offered all over the globe and at different times of
the year, but the best time to take them is during our annual Enterprise World
conference. Besides the savings you'll receive at the conference, the main advantage
of taking these courses at Enterprise World is that you will attend the course with
many Content Server Administrators from other organizations. It is a tremendously
effective way to learn and share ideas about how to run a successful Content Server
implementation.
To learn more about the Content Server Administration courses that are currently
available, please consult:
http://www.opentext.com/what-we-do/services/training-and-learning-services

6. Keep a backup of all your changes. Document everything.

One of the worst feelings in the world is the feeling you get when you've copied over
an essential file with a new installation or test file. The most effective Content Server
administrators retain a record and make backup copies of any files that they add to or
remove from the Content Server installation folder, or any files that they change.
Keep track of what you have changed. While this approach may seem overly
precautious at times, it will be well worth the effort when the backup copy helps you
to recover from a failed test or aborted installation. And the documentation that you
keep regarding the changes that you make will always make the task of
troubleshooting a problem much easier.

7. Run regular reports and diagnostics.

Content Server offers a number of canned reports and diagnostic tools for Content
Server administrators. The LiveReports Volume that you access from the Content

8
 Server administration page provides default reports for some of the most common
usage statistics and can easily be extended with custom LiveReports that suit your
own system. Effective Content Server administrators often develop a series of
custom LiveReports to return results describing patterns of use for their system, and
run those reports routinely in order to track change over time. Don't let problems
sneak up on you! Keep tabs on the health of your Content Server system with regular
reporting.
Many of the default LiveReports specify their reporting period. For example, some
reports show activity from the previous day. Other reports show activity from the past
month. Depending on the nature and usage of your implementation, it may be
necessary or desirable to run these reports on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. For
the most part, effective administrators run regular reports and diagnostics every
month or, at the very least, every quarter.
Reporting can help the administrator anticipate issues before they arise, particularly
with regard to the potential growth of the database size and, by extension, the overall
index size. The default reports in the LiveReports volume offer basic metrics for the
most general uses of the system, but effective administrators often develop their own
custom LiveReports to report on the most popular object types in their system, and
for time frames which help chart the growth and overall usage of the system. For
example, if your environment makes heavy use of Content Server Projects, running a
weekly report on the growth (in data size) or growth (in number) of Content Server
Projects could make sense.
As an added bonus, the practice of running regular reports can help administrators
document the overall adoption of the solution. For example, if you run a monthly
LiveReport that lists the number of new documents in the system, you can show how
the system has grown over time, where the greatest growth has occurred, whether
there are busy times of the year, and so on. All of these metrics can help the
administrator to better monitor their environment, anticipate growth, and document
actual system usage.

8. Stay Fresh.
Simply put, keep on top of Content Server Service Packs, Updates and module-
specific patches. This does not mean that you need to get patched up the day that a
new Service Pack, Update, or patch is released, but effective Content Server
Administrators do take the time to download and read the documentation and release
notes for new versions, service packs, Updates and patches of Content Server. By
doing so, you can weigh the improvements and enhancements software updates
bring against your own needs, and use that information to make the right decisions
for your users.

9. Plan. Test. Implement. Repeat.

There is a very good reason why it often takes effective Content Server
administrators a number of weeks to successfully upgrade Content Server: they're
planning and testing the upgrade multiple times before ever attempting it in
production. This approach works for all Content Server projects, not just upgrades. If

9
 you have a project involving Content Server, plan it. Once you're satisfied that the
best planning possible has been made, test those plans in a development
environment. Then test it again! As tedious as it may sound, every single test you
perform in a development environment will improve your experience when it comes
time to implement your production solution.

10. Discover and explore the OpenText Knowledge Center.

Powered by Content Server, the OpenText Knowledge Center (KC) combines
collaboration and content management to help OpenText’s customers, partners, and
employees transform information into knowledge. The address for the Knowledge
Center is:
https://knowledge.opentext.com/
Effective administrators visit the KC frequently, read and participate in its eLink-
enabled discussion forums, and make it their first stop in the quest for
documentation, technical tips, and patches to help solve issues or problems as they
arise. As soon as your organization has purchased maintenance for any OpenText
product, you are entitled to KC accounts (four by default). Contact Customer Support
if you would like more than four logons.
Once you are logged onto the KC, you are free to explore all of the features of the
site, including information about other OpenText products that you have not
purchased.

10
 Interaction with OpenText Customer Support

11. Tell us where it hurts.

When logging new calls (or "tickets") with OpenText Customer Support, prepare a
clear description of the problem. Provide the following kinds of information when you
log a new call and you will find that the time it takes for a resolution is greatly
improved.

• Which OpenText products and versions are in use?

• Which relational database type and version are in use?
• What are the exact steps to reproduce the problem?
• When did the problem first appear, or has it always occurred?
• Does the problem occur for all users, at all times?
• Are there any screenshots showing the problem?
• Are there any system-generated reports or logs showing the problem?
• Which patches and Update are applied (if applicable)?
• What error messages do the users see (if applicable)?

12. Help us find you.

When you log a new call, provide detailed contact information, including alternate
phone numbers and email addresses. For example, if you will be away from your
desk, such as in a computer lab, consider providing alternative telephone numbers or
mobile phone numbers where you can be reached. Similarly, if you will be away from
your desk or office at specific times, this is also good for our Product Specialists to
know. If you specify days and times that work best for you, we will do our best to
work with your schedule.

13. Give us the big picture.

Sometimes, knowing the big picture helps our Product Specialists put your problems
into a wider context. When you log a new call, feel free to give us as much
background as you'd like. Are there customizations installed on your system? Has
OpenText Global Services visited recently, or are there plans for a visit? Is there a
larger project at stake? Have there been any recent changes or Updates to your
system or network that may be related to the problem at hand? This is all great
information to provide when logging a new call as it can help the Product Specialist
understand your environment better.

11
14. Set the appropriate priority for new calls.
Our Customer Service Representatives are trained to listen for key terms and
expressions that signal high-priority issues for Customer Support. But if your new call
is of great importance to you, please let us know by setting the appropriate priority for
the call when you first speak with the Customer Support Representative. Escalate or
emphasize an issue by informing your Product Specialist or by notifying your regional
Customer Support office directly.
Similarly, if an issue is of less importance, particularly next to other issues you may
have logged, this is also good information for us to have. If you have logged multiple
tickets, it is often helpful for us to have a prioritized listing from you so that we can
ensure that we address the most urgent issues first. You can also utilize the
Escalate to Management button within the My Support portal. Log onto My
Support, access your ticket, and click Escalate to Management at the top of the
page. A notification will be sent to Support Managers and someone will reach out to
you about your concern shortly.

15. Call us before it hurts.

Customer Support Product Specialists have years and years of experience dealing
with OpenText applications and solutions. Effective Content Server administrators
often call Customer Support well in advance of trying something out on their systems.
If you are contemplating a hardware change, a migration, or the installation of a new
piece of software from OpenText or a third party, feel free to call Customer Support
well before you make any major changes. We will be happy to discuss the potential
advantages and disadvantages of your approach, and help you watch out for any
known pitfalls that are common to the type of change you are considering. A quick
call or email to Customer Support before you commit to a big decision can save you
major headaches down the road.

16. Prepare logs if appropriate.

Effective Content Server administrators know that, if they are able to reliably
reproduce an error message, Content Server logs are a terrific way to capture the
problem so that it can be described to the Product Specialist in Customer Support. In
many cases, your Product Specialist will ask you to provide logs to diagnose a newly-
discovered problem. You can save a step by providing logs right off the bat. The most
commonly requested logs are Content Server thread and connect logs. They can be
enabled by following these steps:
1. Stop the Content Server services.
2. Back up or remove any existing logs in your <InstallPath>\logs\ folder.
3. Open the opentext.ini file located in your <InstallPath>\config\ folder
with a text editor.
4. Make the following changes or additions to the [General] and [Options]
sections of your opentext.ini file:
[General]

12
 Debug=2

[Options]
wantLogs=TRUE
wantTimings=TRUE
wantVerbose=TRUE
5. Start the Content Server server services.
This will create thread.out and connect.log files in your
<Install_Path>\logs\ folder. Depending on the kind of problem you are
encountering, it may also create trace.out logs. All of the new logs are important
for the diagnosis of your problem. Remember that the log folder that you use can be
set by the logpath variable in the opentext.ini file, if you would rather not send the
logs to your [InstallPath]\logs folder.
Once you have enabled these logs in the opentext.ini file, follow the necessary
steps to reproduce your error message or problem in Content Server. Once the
problem has been reproduced, reverse the steps above by stopping your services,
changing the TRUE settings back to FALSE and returning Debug to 0 in the
opentext.ini file. Leaving the logs enabled will take up disk space rapidly. The
problem you have encountered should be captured in the logs that you have just
created. Zip them up in an archive file, and send them to OpenText Customer
Support along with your ticket description.
Please note that Content Server offers many different types of logging. The steps
above describe the most commonly requested type of logs. Your Product Specialist
may ask for a more specialized form of logging to diagnose problems you have
encountered.

17. Paint us a picture.

As suggested above, it is often an excellent idea to send along screenshots
describing the steps that you are taking to encounter a problem. Effective Content
Server administrators often bundle a series of screenshots into a Microsoft Word
document, and then send that document to Customer Support when they log their
ticket. Providing detailed steps combined with a screenshot document is an excellent
way to ensure that Product Specialists completely understand the process that leads
to an error, and it will help them to more rapidly diagnose the problem.

18. Familiarize yourself with the Software Maintenance

Handbook.
The OpenText Software Maintenance Program (SMP) Handbook offers a useful
guide to the policies and procedures of Customer Support. Response times,
escalation processes, and software updates are detailed in the Handbook and can
help Content Server administrators and their management better understand the
terms and conditions of the SMP with OpenText.

13
19. Have others “been there, done that”?
Check to see if others have “been there, done that”. Have a look through any of
OpenText's online resources to see if similar issues have been addressed in
documentation, discussion threads, or elsewhere. Customer Support Online at
http://support.opentext.com/ is a terrific place to start!

20. Call us. Email us. Tell us how we’re doing.

We love to hear from all of our Content Server Administrators. Customer feedback,
both good and bad, helps us to make our Support programs and services better all
the time. How are we doing? Are there areas that we could improve on? Are there
areas that you are happy with? Drop us a line to give us your thoughts.

14
 General Content Server Administration

21. Learn how to play well with others.

If you are not currently in close communication with the various IT groups within your
organization, it is a very good idea to make that initial contact. Effective Content
Server administrators know that it is essential to remain in close or direct
communication with the IT groups that look after your network, the database, and the
hardware upon which Content Server is installed. Seemingly minor changes made by
database administrators, system administrators, and mail server administrators can
have a significant impact on the Content Server system that you administer. Get to
know the people who look after the key elements of your IT network and make sure
that they keep you in the loop of changes they make, however small they may seem.

22. Carefully consider your file store options in your production

system.
When you first install Content Server, you can choose either External File Storage
(EFS) or Internal File Storage (IFS) storage. EFS stores files, such as documents
uploaded into Content Server, on a drive or device that you specify during the
installation. IFS, or “Blob storage” as it is often called, stores your Content Server
files entirely within the Content Server database's blob storage provided by either
Oracle or Microsoft SQL Server. OpenText recommends a mixed approach for
storing your files. Documents, emails, and other user-authored content should be
stored in an EFS or, if available, in OpenText Archive Server. Smaller items with
limited content, such as category definitions, workflow maps, and form templates,
should be stored in the database’s IFS.
Database storage provides a number of benefits. Making copies of your production
system for use in test instances (see item 1 – Maintain a test lab that faithfully reflects
your production environment above) is simpler if you need only to copy the
database. Items that the system requires to correctly function are imported along
with the database if they are stored in it. Critical system objects that are stored in the
database are shielded from loss during system restores. Hot backups are more
reliable and less likely to contain a delta of critical content in a disaster recovery
situation. Finally, small objects can be pulled from cached DB tables faster than they
can from storage disks, and this improves performance for any requests related to
these subtypes.

23. Search and index somewhere else!

By default, Content Server installs all of its processes onto the same server machine.
But effective Content Server administrators know that one of the best things that you
can do to improve performance and user satisfaction is to offload the indexing and
search processes to a different server machine. This is because the task of creating
and maintaining your Content Server index can be CPU- and RAM-intensive. By
running the indexing and search processes on a separate machine, you free up the

15
 front-end Content Server computing resources significantly. This allows the front-end
Content Server process to concentrate solely on handling client requests, such as
browsing, downloading, and uploading. Consult the Content Server Installation and
Administration Guide or contact OpenText Customer Support for more information.

24. Use the Content Server Servlet instead of llisapi.dll or

cs.exe.
Increasingly, Content Server Administrators are choosing the Content Server Servlet
over either llisapi.dll or cs.exe. In Content Server 9.5 SP1 and later, there are
no functional differences between the three technologies. They all scale vertically and
honor the ReceiveBeforeSend setting in the opentext.ini file. Although the use
of llisapi.dll and cs.exe continues to be supported, there are several
compelling reasons for switching to the Content Server Servlet. Performance tests
show that the Content Server Servlet provides ideal performance for Content Server
transactions as it is "in-process" of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), so process
instantiation is minimized.
In addition, the JVM is continually evolving and improving. This is generally not true
for either the CGI-based or ISAPI technologies. Perhaps most significantly, the
Content Server Servlet is the "lowest common denominator" for all of OpenText's
web-enabled ECM applications going forward. Combined with its ability to be
independent of hardware and operating systems, it becomes the most sensible
choice for effective Content Server administrators.
The Content Server Servlet is the key component in a Secure Enterprise Architecture
(SEA) deployment of Content Server. An SEA deployment introduces security
through the effective use of network isolation. The main concept is simply to separate
user access into different logical network zones or “tiers”. This is achieved by
configuring an application server in a tier that is separate from the Content Server
host that resides in a trusted environment. This prevents any direct access to the
database, External File Store, Admin server, enterprise index, and so on. Configuring
the SEA Servlet minimizes the exposure of the Content Server services and
databases, yet allows for extranet access.

25. Install upgrades one at a time with logs enabled.

By default, Content Server allows you to install and upgrade several optional
modules at the same time from the Install Modules and Upgrade Modules sections
of the Content Server Administration page. While this can be a real time-saver,
effective Content Server administrators often perform these tasks one at a time, with
the Content Server thread and connect logs enabled. This way, if any problems occur
during the installation or upgrade of a module, the Content Server administrator can
isolate the source of the problem quickly. If you install or upgrade all of the modules
at the same time without logs running, it can be very difficult (if not impossible) to
isolate the source of the failure, and you will likely have to repeat the entire
installation, instead of only repeating the installation that failed.

16
26. Perform administrative tasks as the Admin user.
Content Server allows you to assign administrative rights to users other than the
Content Server user named Admin. This can be a handy way to perform certain
administrative duties, such as user and group creation. But it is important to note that,
because some modules require the use of the Admin account, there are times when it
is better to perform an action as the Admin user. As a rule of thumb, effective Content
Server Administrators ensure that they are always logged in as Admin when
performing tasks associated with the Content Server Administration pages, such as
the installation, removal, or upgrade of optional modules.

27. Schedule and announce maintenance windows.

Whenever possible, it is best to schedule and announce maintenance windows,
however short they may be, to your user community. There is nothing more
frustrating than having an urgent need to upload or download a document from
Content Server only to discover that the Content Server services have been
suspended for maintenance. Effective Content Server administrators always
schedule and announce maintenance windows, either through corporate email or
through messages on Content Server. Similarly, it is often a good idea to schedule
your Content Server maintenance to occur away from peak hours. Monitor your
network traffic to Content Server to determine which days and times are likely to
cause the least interruption.

28. Know when it’s time to upgrade.

OpenText Customer Support recommends that you stay current with new Content
Server versions and Updates. But in some situations, it may make sense to hold off
on an upgrade until you are sure that it will offer you all the benefits and advantages
that our upgrades are intended to offer. Experienced Content Server administrators
know that one of the best things you can do to prepare for a Content Server upgrade
is to read the new version's Release Notes. The Release Notes describe the new
features, enhancements, and bug fixes included in the new version.
Take a look at the document and make an assessment as to whether the new
features and defects are meaningful or important to you and your implementation.
Similarly, consult the Module Matrix (module compatibility guide) on the Knowledge
Center to find out whether the modules you need for your upgrade are available.
The Content Server Module Matrix can be found at this link:
https://knowledge.opentext.com/knowledge/cs.dll/open/matrix

29. Apply Content Server Updates.

Every quarter, OpenText Customer Support publishes a series of Updates for the
current versions of Content Server. Content Server Updates are cumulative. When
you download and install an Update, all of the fixes from previous Updates for that
version of Content Server are included, provided that the fixes have not also been

17
 corrected by a more recent module version. Accordingly, to take advantage of some
fixes, it may be necessary to upgrade to the most current version of a module.
After downloading the appropriate Content Server Update for your operating system
from the OpenText Knowledge Center, expand the archive file to a location on your
local Content Server server. The archive should expand into a series of subfolders.
Each subfolder corresponds to a folder within the Content Server install path. For
example, your expanded patch archive may contain a bin folder. Files that are
located in this folder in the archive will eventually need to be copied to the bin folder
in your Content Server install folder. As another example, your expanded patch
archive may contain a reference to a more specific location, such as
module\discussion_3_0_0\html\. Files that are located in this folder of the
expanded archive will ultimately need to be copied to the matching folder in your
Content Server install directory.
Effective Content Server administrators know that the Updates are a terrific way to
stay on top of the latest and greatest bug fixes to the core Content Server product. To
find out whether a specific Update is for you, simply open the Update’s Release
Notes to determine whether your organization will benefit from its application to your
system.
For an in-depth look at applying Update Patches to Content Server, please review
the case study here:
https://knowledge.opentext.com/knowledge/cs.dll/Open/47555322
In addition there is also the Content Server Upgrade Guide found at:
https://knowledge.opentext.com/knowledge/piroot/llescor/v100007/llescor-
iup/en/html/_manual.htm

30. Confirm that patches are loading correctly.

Sometimes, it's a good idea to confirm that all of your patches are being loaded
properly. To test if any given patch has been properly accepted, stop your Content
Server services and change the following lines in your opentext.ini file:
[general]
Debug=2

[options]
wantLogs=TRUE
wantTimings=TRUE
wantVerbose=TRUE
Start the Content Server services. In your <Content_Server_home>/logs folder,
there should be a file called thread(#).out (where # is an integer). Open the first
thread file in a text editor. Search for a patch name in the thread file. If your patch
was successfully loaded, the text should read: Patch File Application
Starting ...Patch Completed without problems.

18
After you confirm that the patch has loaded correctly, stop your Content Server
services and change the lines in the opentext.ini back to the way they were, or
just set wantLogs=FALSE and Debug=0.

19
 Folders, Privileges, and Permissions

31. Folders versus Projects

Content Server Folders and Projects are both container items that behave in
somewhat similar ways. Many administrators choose Projects as default container
items because they perceive Projects as being easier to maintain. Effective
administrators do not fall into this trap. Folders and Projects were designed for very
different reasons. While they are both container objects in Content Server capable of
storing multiple sub-items of nearly any type, each should be used in the correct
scenario.
OpenText recommends using Folders for “permanent” content or content that will be
referenced by numerous users and groups across your organization for a lengthy
period of time. By contrast, OpenText recommends using Projects for “team-based”
content which may or may not remain in the repository for a lengthy period of time
and which may indeed have a closing date associated with the major milestones of
the project itself. In short, when a smaller team of people need to collaborate on a
project with established goals, tasks and fixed timelines, Projects are an excellent
choice. When your content needs to be referenced by a large number of users or
needs to be maintained for a lengthy period of time, Folders remain the better choice.
Other components of the Content Server ECM architecture, including Content Server
Records Management (RM) and Enterprise Archiving are geared towards the
management of documents and folders in your system. Projects that result in vital
documentation should include subfolders which can, in turn, have RM Classifications
applied to them for retention and disposition. Projects cannot be dispositioned in this
way.

32. Item Creation Privileges – Be ruthless!

Many effective administrators purposefully restrict who can do what and where in
their system. There is an unfortunate tendency among new Content Server
administrators and content managers to open up the whole application for everyone
in order to encourage adoption of the software. This is a trap. Be very mindful of this
tendency when you set up your initial folder structure, access controls and item
creation privileges.
Administrators and power users of the system should ensure that item creation
privileges and permissions are defined and written down before Content Server is
installed. If you do not have these policies written down, write them down today and
stick to them. Start to think about which groups in your organization should be able to
see specific folders. Start to think about whether those same groups should be able
to add content to those areas. If there is no conceivable reason to give a user (or
group of users) the Add Item permission in a specific area, do not give them this
level of permission. By extension, if there is no reason for the content of a specific
area to contain anything but folders and documents, then make sure that the item
creation privileges for other Content Server objects (discussions, projects, workflows
etc.) are restricted for the users or groups who will access that container.

20
 If you follow this general advice, your Content Server containers will retain an
organized and sensible logic for years to come and they will be free from the kind of
clutter that results when anyone is able to add any type of object to any container.

33. Item Creation Privileges – Be helpful!

Every user in Content Server belongs to a group. In fact, you are not able to add a
user to Content Server without assigning them to at least one group. Normally,
administrators set up their systems with users and groups that mimic their
organizational structure. So it is very common to see group names such as Human
Resources, Accounts Payable, Sales, Marketing, and so on.
The following trick used by effective administrators will allow you to keep all of your
existing groups as they are while also opening up your Content Server system to
functional roles. Consider the following example. While Tom may be in the Marketing
group and Sally may be in Accounts Payable, both of them need the ability to create
Discussions in the system. When this scenario occurs, effective administrators keep
it simple. For every object type that you envision people creating in your system,
create a matching group for that object type in Users and Groups.
Example:
Creators - Documents
Creators - Folders
Creators - Projects
Creators - Discussions
Creators - Task Lists
Creators - Workflows
Once you have created these groups (or any other groups that are appropriate for
your system), you can associate them with the Item Creation privilege in the Content
Server Administration pages. From that point on, anybody that you add to the special
group you have created will be able to add items of that type. Going back to the
example of Tom in Marketing and Sally in Accounts Payable, if both of them need to
be able to create discussions in Content Server, you would add them to the group
you have already created called Creators - Discussions, which has the item creation
privilege for Discussions set on the Administer Object and Usage Privileges
administration page.
Where possible, it is a better idea to add groups to the special Creator groups, rather
than individual users. In other words, if everyone in Marketing (not just Tom) should
be able to add documents to Content Server, add the entire Marketing department to
the group called Creators - Documents.

34. Keep the Access Control Lists as short as possible.

There is one main reason why effective Content Server Administrators keep their
Access Control Lists (ACLs) on Content Server objects as short as possible:
performance. The greater the number of ACL permission checks that Content Server

21
 needs to perform on each object in a container, the more your system performance
will suffer. While it will be different for every organization and folder taxonomy,
endeavor to keep the list of users and groups as short as you possibly can.

35. Include Groups in the ACL rather than Users.

While there may be times when it is necessary to list one or two users on an ACL
listing for an object in Content Server, it should be avoided where possible. Individual
users within an organization tend to move around, switch departments, retire, take
parental leave, and depart from the organization. The more individual users you have
listed on the ACL listings for objects in Content Server, the more headaches you will
have when maintaining those items on a day-to-day basis. Save yourself the trouble
and use groups instead.

36. Avoid nested Groups in the ACL where possible.

Over time, Content Server administrators can become confused by all of the groups
that have been set up in the system. Because of this, it is not uncommon to see
redundant entries on the ACL list caused by group nesting. For example, if you
include two groups on an ACL List, one called Human Resources and one called
Human Resources – Benefits, and the second group is already a subgroup of the
first, there is no reason to list them separately on the ACL unless it is necessary for
them to have different levels of access to the same item in Content Server.
The same issue can also occur at the user level if a user belongs to multiple groups
in Content Server. If your goal is to grant access to an item for an individual user (and
also to offer their entire group the same level of access) it is a good practice to only
do this for one group to which a user belongs, not multiple groups. This will reduce
redundancy on your ACL and make the permissions for your objects much easier to
maintain over time. To keep tabs on which groups a user belongs to, many
administrators use a variation of the LiveReport listed below. This report allows the
administrator to enter a user name (logon) and return a listing of groups to which the
user belongs. Here are the inputs and SQL for the LiveReport.

22
For Microsoft SQL Server:

Inputs:
Type: String
Prompt: User Login

SQL:
with KUAFChildrenCTE(ID, ChildID) as
(
select ID, ChildID
from KUAFChildren
where ChildID in (select id from kuaf where lower(name) = lower(%1))

union all

select E.ID, E.ChildID

from KUAFChildren as E join KUAFChildrenCTE as M on E.ChildID = M.ID
)

select ID as "GroupID", Name as "GroupName"

from KUAF
where ID in (select distinct ID from KUAFChildrenCTE) AND type=1
order by Name

Param %1:
User Input 1

Report Format:
Auto LiveReport

23
For Oracle:

Inputs:
Type: String
Prompt: User Login

SQL:
select name
from kuaf
where id in (select id from kuafchildren start with childid
in (select id from kuaf where lower(name) = lower(%1))
connect by prior id=childid)
and type=1
and name not in ('Members','Guests','Coordinators')
order by name

Param %1:
User Input 1

Report Format:
Auto LiveReport

24
 Patches, Service Packs, and Upgrades

37. Read the Release Notes for quarterly Updates.

Every quarter, OpenText publishes a series of Updates for Content Server. Customer
Support recommends staying on top of these Updates as much as possible. It is
worth noting that some Updates may be more important to you than others. Effective
Content Server administrators make a point of reading the Release Notes for each
quarterly Update to determine whether the new fixes will significantly benefit their
implementation. For example, if your organization makes heavy use of Content
Server Workflows, and the latest Update includes a number of critical fixes to
Workflow issues, the Update will be of great interest to you and your users. However,
if your organization does not use Content Server Workflows, there may be no
additional value to you in the latest Update.
The Release Notes come in the form of five documents.
1. Release Notes for Content Server: An Update may add or modify functionality in
the product. For example, an Update may add new browser and server
operating system support. The Release Notes are updated to include such
information.
2. Release Notes for the Search Engine Update included in the Update: This
document details the enhancements made to the Search Engine. New
configuration settings are described here as well.
3. ReadMe for the quarterly Update: This is a list of bug fixes included in the
Update.
4. ReadMe for the Search Engine Update included in the Update: This is a list of
Search Engine bug fixes included in the Update.
5. OScript changes in the Update: This is a list of OScript changes included in the
Update. An experienced Content Server administrator would share this
information with their in-house OScript developers since these changes might
affect the operation of customizations and custom modules. If your system has
customization or custom modules, this information helps you to determine
1
whether it is safe to apply the Update to your system. Set Notifications on the
Knowledge Center’s Patch Channel.
Not all Content Server patches are rolled into the Updates. Quite a number of
individual Content Server patches are published on the Knowledge Center for
specific modules which you may or may not have installed on your system. Generally
speaking, Content Server Updates correct defects in the core product, such as
Search and Workflow. Individual patches are published on the Knowledge Center in

1
For Content Server 10.5, there are no separate Updates and Release Notes for the Search Engine
Updates.

25
 the patch repository for each module. Effective administrators set up their
notifications to monitor the patch download folder. Whenever a new patch is added to
the KC, they are notified by email that the folder has been updated.

38. Subscribe to Technical and Security Alerts.

OpenText Customer Support and the OpenText Security Team offer two similar
services that will alert you to serious issues or defects with OpenText software.
Defects which result in data loss, data or system corruption, system inoperability,
server inoperability, or a loss of data privacy and security result in the release of
Technical and Security Alerts. Learn about problems before they happen to you. To
find out more about these Alert services, visit the following locations:
https://knowledge.opentext.com/alerts
https://knowledge.opentext.com/security

39. Really know when it’s time to upgrade.

OpenText’s Software Maintenance Program defines the support periods for versions
of Content Server. While Customer Support recommends that you stay on top of
upgrades, it is also very common for organizations to be a version or two behind.
This is usually due to the complexity of the upgrade process, the level of
customizations present, and the availability of other OpenText products and third-
party software necessary for the implementation.
When a new version of Content Server is released, it is considered to be under
Current Maintenance for a period of thirty-six (36) months from the version release
date. After this point, defects and enhancement requests can no longer be logged
against the version and Updates will no longer be developed. In addition, no new
module development occurs for versions that are past Current Maintenance, either
from OpenText or from third-party vendors.
Effective Content Server administrators follow the Content Server Release Schedule
closely and plan their upgrades accordingly. It is worth monitoring this schedule to
determine how your organization’s deployment fits into the product release cycle at
OpenText and how you can move forward with an upgrade plan that is both
manageable and effective given your own resources and timelines.

40. Ask for help with your upgrade.

OpenText Customer Support offers a number of different channels for assistance with
your upgrade project. At the most basic level, it is important to know that Customer
Support is happy to speak with you about your upgrade plans prior to your testing.
This consultation can help you avoid some of the most common pitfalls in the process
and highlight specific areas which may be of concern to your particular environment.
In addition, OpenText Customer Support offers packages that allow for additional

26
technical assistance during your upgrade through either on-call or on-site technical
support.
Customer Support also offers fee-based enhanced support programs that allow
organizations to extend their support coverage through expert resources and
services, depending on your business needs. You can refer to
www.opentext.com/welcome to find more information, or contact
supportprograms@opentext.com for documentation on these additional programs
and services.

27
Summary
This article has attempted to cover a wide range of best practices for Content Server
administration. While OpenText cannot guarantee that following these steps will help
you avoid any and all problems with your Content Server implementation, following
these steps can significantly mitigate the kinds of problems you will encounter and
equip you with a strong toolkit of best practices for dealing with issues as they arise.
Moreover, special attention has been given to ensure that the best practices and
healthy habits described in this document are just that – good habits to follow. The
suggestions made in this article are quite simple to learn and implement, they involve
no customizations to Content Server, and incur no significant additional costs for your
deployment.
Please feel free to send updates, suggestions or comments on this document for
consideration in future iterations of this document.

28
 About OpenText
OpenText is the world’s largest independent provider of Enterprise Content
Management (ECM) software. The Company's solutions manage information for all
types of business, compliance and industry requirements in the world's largest
companies, government agencies and professional service firms. OpenText supports
approximately 46,000 customers and millions of users in 114 countries and 12
languages. For more information about OpenText, visit www.opentext.com.

29
www.opentext.com
NORTH AMERICA +800 499 6544 • UNITED STATES +1 847 267 9330 • GERMANY +49 89 4629 0
UNITED KINGDOM +44 118 984 8000 • AUSTRALIA +61 2 9026 3400

Copyright © 2014 OpenText SA and/or OpenText ULC. All Rights Reserved. OpenText is a trademark or registered trademark of OpenText SA and/or OpenText ULC. The list of trademarks
is not exhaustive of other trademarks, registered trademarks, product names, company names, brands and service names mentioned herein are property of OpenText SA or other respective
owners.