Content storage

You can store content in an S3 device, in a file system, in the object store database, or in a fixed content storage system. From the user or programmer perspective, the storage location is transparent and is defined based on document class configuration, storage policies, or storage areas.

A cloud or file storage device or an S3 device can be attached to an advanced storage area. An advanced storage area provides high availability content storage and disaster recovery through use of replication and replica repair. This capability is accomplished without relying on any special features of the underlying storage devices, so advanced storage areas can be applied to commodity storage. An advanced storage area supports heterogeneous storage devices and uses the Content Platform Engine sweep service and server communication service for replication, content deletion, and abandoned content backout.

A file storage area is an area that contains document content in a directory tree on a local or shared network drive. The disk drive can be a Windows NTFS volume, a UNIX file system, or an IBM® General Parallel File System (GPFS).

A database storage area converts document content into binary large objects (BLObs) for storage in the database that is specified as the object store database.

A fixed content storage system is an external repository that acts like a virtual storage area for the Content Platform Engine system. Content Federation Services provides connectivity and configuration for the repository. Fixed content Storage Systems potentially provide large storage capacity and typically provide WORM (write once, read many) and retention capabilities. You can use FileNet Image Services as a fixed content storage system, and other Storage Systems such as Spectrum Protect.

Virus scanning for content storage
The Content Platform Engine treats document content as a binary blob, and does not open or run the document before it is passed to the requester. However, as a best practice, scan the content for viruses or malware before you add the content to an object store.

IBM does not recommend virus scanning storage areas that are used by an object store because the virus scanning software can alter the size of the documents and prevent the content from being retrieved by Content Platform Engine. Scanning the storage areas can have a negative impact on performance.