Planning for an external Content Platform Engine

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To use case management, you must configure IBM® Business Automation Workflow with an external Content Platform Engine, also called an external Enterprise Content Management (ECM) system.

Business Automation Workflow contains the BPM document store as a content repository that is used for Business Automation Workflow documents. This internal BPM document store is automatically configured. Its usage is restricted so that it cannot be integrated with all existing IBM Content Foundation products.

Plan to use an external Content Platform Engine under the following conditions:

You intend to use case management.
You have an existing Content Platform Engine that you want to use with Business Automation Workflow.
You want to retain artifacts that persist longer than six months, such as documents and cases.
You intend to use Content Platform Engine for documents (in addition to cases and processes).
You have an upgrade to an existing IBM Case Manager installation.
You want to build integrated solutions that use IBM Content Foundation products.

When you use an external Content Platform Engine as the content repository for the BPM document store, you can build integrated solutions that use other IBM Content Foundation products. For example, you can use Content Navigator as a content-centric user interface or IBM Datacap to capture documents that come from your customers. Capturing these documents can automatically start a case. For more information, see IBM Content Foundation External link opens a new window or tab .

The graphic shows the External Enterprise Content Management server communicating with Business Automation Workflow. Inside the Content Management server, the IBM Content Foundation database is linked to IBM Content Navigator, IBM Content Integrator, IBM Content Foundation Services, and IBM Content Engine Bulk Import Tool.

You can author applications in the same way with an external content repository. All integration functions used with the BPM document store also work in the same way.

Business Automation Workflow documents can be accessed with JavaScript, web services, and REST APIs.
Content integration steps can be used as in the predefined BPM document store server definition. Content integration steps can also be used as in the BPM content store server definition, if you have the Basic Case Management feature from a previous release installed.
Coach views from the Content Management toolkit can be used with one of the predefined server definitions without any difference for either the embedded or external content repository.

To use an external Content Cortex installation as a content repository for the BPM document store, you must have a common user repository. The repository must contain the users that work with your applications. This repository is an enterprise-wide Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) repository that contains all the users and groups. The Content Cortex must be set up on a WebSphere® Application Server.

Each Business Automation Workflow deployment environment that you want to integrate with an Content Cortex installation must have its own dedicated object store. To get your Business Automation Workflow deployment environment to use an object store in the external Content Cortex installation, you can configure your Business Automation Workflow deployment environment to use empty object stores in an external Content Cortex installation. This configuration is useful if you set up a new Business Automation Workflow deployment environment. If the embedded content repository in your Business Automation Workflow deployment environment has data, it is lost when you configure an external Content Cortex. For information on how to configure this option, see Configuring an existing external Content Platform Engine.

Frequently asked questions

This FAQ section is tailored to provide clear and concise answers to the most common scenarios that are related to integrating Business Automation Workflow with an external Content Cortex. Key scenarios include new installations, adding Business Automation Workflow to an existing case environment, and upgrading Business Automation Workflow with case integration.

New Installation of Business Automation Workflow with Content Cortex

What happens to the existing data when you configure Business Automation Workflow with a new external Content Cortex server? - In a new installation, there is no existing data in the external Content Cortex server to manage. The integration is set up fresh, and all data and configurations begin from scratch within the new environment.
How is the database for the Content Cortex server configured in this case? - The Content Cortex server database is configured by using the FileNet® Configuration Manager utility. It is not managed directly in Business Automation Workflow.

Adding Business Automation Workflow to an Existing Case Environment

What happens to the data already present in the embedded content repository when you switch to an external Content Cortex server? - The existing data in the embedded content repository is lost. Ensure to back up any required data before switching.
Will the existing data in the external Content Cortex server be affected? - No, the existing data in the external Content Cortex server remains intact and unaffected by the integration.
Are there user registry constraints to be aware of? - Yes, all users and groups that are referenced by the object store must be defined in a shared user registry. Ensure that:
- The EmbeddedECMTechnicalUser alias refers to a user in the shared registry.
- Both Business Automation Workflow and Content Cortex share the same user registry to enable single sign-on (SSO). For example, both systems can use federated repositories such as Virtual Member Manager (VMM).
  Note: Mixing federated repositories with standalone LDAP for Business Automation Workflow and Content Platform Engine is not supported

Upgrading Business Automation Workflow with Case Integration

Can separate Business Automation Workflow environments share IBM Content Cortex domain after an upgrade? - Yes, multiple Business Automation Workflow environments can share the same IBM Content Cortex domain if:

All Business Automation Workflow environments are on the same product version (for example, V21.0.2 or V20.x).
Each environment uses its own unique object stores.
Note: Sharing object stores across different Business Automation Workflow environments is not allowed.

Considerations for object store configuration

The case configuration tool allows you to select any object store to configure as the design object store (DOS) and target object store (TOS). The default set of object stores that are created includes:

Design Object Store (DOS): The object store used by case management to store design data.
Target Object Store (TOS): The object store that is used by case management for storing runtime data.
Workflow Document Store (DOCS): The object store used by workflow processes to store documents.

Different users can be familiar with some object stores but not with others. For example, process users are familiar with DOCS but not with DOS and TOS, whereas case users are familar with DOS and TOS but not with DOCS. It is important to make sure that you configure the object stores correctly for different users. For information on how to assign user and group permissions for administering and working with case solutions, see Planning for security in the development environment .

If you configure the object stores incorrectly initially, the add-ons for the object stores are installed incorrectly, which might leave your system in an unsupported state. Object store add-ons cannot be undone. To recover from this situation and correct any other potential missteps, you must rebuild the environment and re-create the profile.