Documentation Center

SDL Tridion Connector for EMC Documentum

The following diagram shows the SDL Tridion Connector for EMC Documentum system architecture:

EMC Documentum

Authors can push assets in Documentum to the Content Manager of SDL Tridion so that they can be used in Web pages in a SDL Tridion-driven Web site. The following Web services handle calls between Documentum and SDL Tridion:

  • On the Content Manager Server, the Documentum Connector Web service exposes a custom API for Documentum to call.
  • On the EMC Documentum Server, a Web service exposes a custom API for SDL Tridion to call.

Documentum business process call into the SDL Tridion custom API to create and update the stub Multimedia Components, and the Documentum Connector event handlers call into the Documentum custom API to notify Documentum of things that have happened to their assets.

Documentum Connector (Content Manager)

The Documentum Connector consists of a number of extensions installed (or created) on the Content Manager of SDL Tridion:

Documentum Connector Web service
The Documentum Connector Web service is installed in IIS as a Web application running under the SDL Tridion Web site. The Web service performs actions such as creating asset references within the Content Manager from Documentum Business Processes (using the Dynamic Web Service activity).
From Documentum Folder
You need to create a Folder in Content Manager called From Documentum where you want available assets from Documentum to be displayed, and link the Folder to a Multimedia Schema called Documentum asset.
Documentum asset Schema
You need to create a Multimedia Schema called Documentum asset. The Schema defines items in Content Manager that point to objects in Documentum. The Schema contains fields mapped to Documentum attributes. A Multimedia Component based on the Documentum asset Schema hold a reference to a thumbnail of the asset (the asset itself is contained in Documentum), the Object ID of the asset, and metadata describing the asset in sufficient detail for a user to identify an asset they want to use (metadata fields from Documentum are read-only).
Components and Pages using Documentum assets
Users can use Multimedia Components based on the Documentum asset Schema in Content Manager items such as Components. Using these items implies a reference to the Documentum asset.
Documentum Connector Template Building Blocks
The Documentum Connector provides the following Template Building Blocks (TBBs) which you need to add to your Compound Templates in Template Builder:
  • Update Documentum Assets in Package—this TBB retrieves the correct rendition of an asset from Documentum when content is published from the Content Manager.
  • Publish Binary Variants of Documentum Assets—this TBB handles binary variants in situations where multiple renditions of the same asset are published from Content Manager.
Dreamweaver Function for Documentum Connector.
The Dreamweaver GetFromDctm function for Documentum Connector allows you to publish an item with a given rendition name. You need to add the Dreamweaver GetFromDctm function to your Dreamweaver Templates.
Documentum Connector Event Handlers
The Documentum Connector Event Handlers notify Documentum of asset usage. The event handlers call the Documentum Connector Web service to notify Documentum of events that have happened to their assets.
Tridion Binary Event Synchronizer Service
The Tridion Binary Event Synchronizer Service is a Windows service that is responsible for getting updates from the binaryeventsync Web page (installed on the Presentation Server) and synchronizing data back to the Content Manager so that Documentum is notified of events occurring to assets.

Documentum Connector (Presentation Server)

The tracking of publishing and unpublishing of binaries is handled by extensions to the Storage Layer that register and save binary events to a location on the file system. The binaryeventsync Web page picks up the binary events and sends the data back to the Content Manager.