eDocs/HummingBird and CMS Integration

Many people asked me about the integration between OpenText eDocs (former Hummingbird) and OpenText MS (former RedDot). This is going to be an ongoing post, since the area is too large to include every detail in a post. I will just try my best here, but please bear in mind that every environment is different and do not expect the integration to work the first time after your install!

First of all, you have to ensure that you obtain the correct version of the integration piece for your environment. Here is the compatibility matrix, the version I have been working with is eDocs v6 and CMS 7.5, CMS 9, CMS 10.1.

Got the right version? Now we can start.

On the eDocs Document Management Server, make sure that the followings are installed and required components are created with sufficient permissions.

1. IIS (eDocs WebTop)
2. SOAP Toolkit
3. .NET Framework 2
4. COM+ components are created (detailed in the eDocs DM installation manual)
5. ensure that RedDotUser is created, this is used for connecting to CMS server (detailed in the CMS Integration installation manual)
6. ensure that RedDotRole is created, and whoever is used for anonymous access is added to this group
7. configure DCOM (detailed configuration is specified in your CMS Integration installation notes)
8. Double check that DCOM security settings are set correctly (this is often the cause of miserable issues)

On your CMS Server, do the following:

1. Install SOAP
2. Install XML Parser
3. Install DM Integration piece (follow the integration installation manual)
4. Here is an important part – Not every CMS install is always successful. I have come across a couple of times that the web services required for integration were not generated during the initial install. So, make sure that services exist under the directory [%Root%]\RedDot\CMS\ASP\WebService. If not, there are files under the support directory which allows you to regenerate the web services.
5. Confirm that the web services are up and running by checking the WSDL file in IE.

By now, if you are not feeling frustrated and dizzy already, you should be able to fire up the webtop on the CMS box. Make sure that you test the webtop access “ON” the CMS box. It is sometimes necessary to test the access under the CMSUSER account.

How do I know whether it works?

It is simple. Just look for these icons after logging onto your webtop via CMS.

Now, you can start editing your CMS templates. Oh before you do that, a HummingBird Folder needs to be created first in your Asset manager. (The steps are well documented in the Integration User Manual.)

Troubleshooting

• You can turn on the Logging functionality on the eDocs server by modifying the flag on your DM server.

Once the integration is configured correctly, everything should just work hunky-dory. One more thing – if your system is going to be used in a large organization, you might need to work out how many concurrent users is required and change your connection pool settings. or you will encounter random error messages and connection issues.

Hope you find the tips above useful 🙂

Advertisement