UCF, ACS, BOCS

UCF

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UCF (Unified Client Facilities) is the EMC Documentum framework for performing content transfer between the client and content servers over HTTP. It provides many features that extend beyond simple file transfer protocol, such as:

-          Content compression to optimize transfers of larger files over the network

-          Support for complex documents, such as XML files

-          Support for compound document types, such as OLE objects inside a Microsoft Office document

-          Awareness of locally downloaded files, and the ability to avoid downloading the same content twice

-          Registry support, to allow checkout from one application and check in from another

-          Recoverability in the case of a brief network interruption

-          Location aware, to allow users to transfer content from the closest ACS or BOCS server

UCF is composed of two components (at a very high level) :

UCF Server and UCF Client.

UCF Server plays two different roles. It presents itself as a end client to the DFC layer that communicates with the Repository and it presents itself as a server to the UCF Client (end client).

The broader communication channel is as below:

Content Server <—> DFC <– –> WDK/UCF Server<—> UCF Client.

 

•         Installation

-          Server side is bundled with the web application such as WebTop

-          Client side installation is triggered by the applet and the necessary files are downloaded from the app server. These files are typically installed in “/Documentum/ucf” directory

ACS

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Accelerated Content Servers are installed with each content server installation (CS and RCS) and provide direct access to content on the content server machine. ACS is installed as a webapp in the embedded application server on each CS.

 

In 5.3 SP1 the Accelerated Content Server was introduced. Installed with every content server, it allows content to be directly provided to end-users without being transferred through the application server first.

 

It is a lightweight server that handles read and write content operations for web-based client applications. There is one ACS server for each Content Server host installation. It communicates with one Content Server for each repository in the host installation. The ACS server uses HTTP or HTTPS for all communications.

BOCS

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Configurations that use an ACS or BOCS server at a remote site require the WDK Webtop application

on the web application server to be running in UCF mode. HTTP mode is supported only for local

area network configurations, those having no ACS or BOCS server at remote sites.

 

A Branch Office Caching Services (BOCS) server is a caching server. It is a separate, optional product with its own installer. It is not installed with Content Server.BOCS servers cache content locally. When a BOCS server handles content requests from users, it

caches the requested content locally. You can also cache content on a BOCS server prior to user requests programmatically or through a precaching job. Caching content allows users to obtain frequently accessed content very quickly.

BOCS servers communicate only with ACS servers and DMS servers. They do not communicate directly with Content Servers.