2. Using Local Solutions of the OpenEngagement DMS with IIS, Squid or Apache

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The Hosted solutions use Squid and Apache, though this is transparent to the users other than in terms of performance improvements. It is also possible to use these applications with Local Solutions.

Apache and Squid are open source web servers. Apache is the most popular web server on the internet, being used virtually since the beginning of the web, and now used on approximately 60-70% of the web servers in the world. Squid is a less general-purpose but also very popular alternative. It is most often used purely for caching. Many feel it provides better page caching performance than Apache. Though simple on Linux, Squid is somewhat involved to install on Windows, so we assume most users will use either Apache or IIS if anything. IIS is the Microsoft alternative to Apache.

The OpenEngagement CMS includes an HTTP server, so does not require using IIS or Apache. In general, it is simpler to use the OpenEngagement DMS without these. There are some advantages to using IIS or Apache with the OpenEngagement DMS though, so some users may wish to consider this option. To use IIS requires an add-on, which may be purchased from a company called Enfold. Using Apache with the OpenEngagement CMS may be done without financial cost, and using Apache with Plone is well-documented.

We list here some benefits of using IIS, Apache or Squid.

Benefits:

• File caching (described below) can improve the performance of the OpenEngagement CMS.
• Firms can put IIS or Apache on one computer and the OpenEngagement CMS on another, which can improve speed by allowing parallel processing
• Firms can put IIS or Apache outside a firewall and the OpenEngagement CMS inside, which may be a desirable security configuration for some users.
• You can set up several OpenEngagement CMS instances on the same server, and configure IIS or Apache to direct all HTTP requests. This requires also using a Virtual Host Monster, which is not difficult to set up.
• Apache and IIS allow for SSL, which provides security by allowing only HTTPS connections to the OpenEngagement CMS server.
• Apache has numerous add-on modules, such as mod_security, which firms may find useful.

Apache is not a feature-rich or complicated application. Its main feature is its simplicity, portability and ease of installation. It does, though, allow users to cache frequently accessed files, java script files, .css file and images, as well as pages that change very infrequently. It should not be used to cache content that can change regularly, as this will result in serving out of date content. The idea of caching is: Apache stores whichever pages it is able, and when these are requested, Apache locates the file in its cache and returns it immediately, without even accessing the OpenEngagement DMS.

For greater caching flexibility, users will need to use Squid. Squid is used by users requiring many hundreds of hits per second, which is almost always unnecessary for OpenEngagement DMS users.

Firms should properly test their sites once caching is enabled. If done improperly, it may allow users to access content they do not have permission to view. For example, if a site does not use Apache or Squid, and a user requests a page, the CMS will first check if that user has permission to view the page before displaying it. But, if Apache or Squid cache this page and a user requests it, they may simply return the page without checking the CMS to ensure user has permission to view it.

Next: Caching Files