Web Content Staging Topologies

For the latest version of Commerce Server 2007 Help, see the Microsoft Web site.

Commerce Server Staging (CSS) can replicate Web content from one folder to another on the same server or to one or more different servers. Each server must have CSS installed. CSS supports the following topologies for staging Web content:

• Same Box Replication

• Point to Point

• Point to Multipoint

• Point to Point through Waypoints

• Point to Multipoints through Multiple Waypoints

The CSS Administrator creates a project on the server(s) where CSS is installed and associates directories as the source folder. The CSS system can stage the content on the same CSS server as the source, or on a different CSS server.

Content authors publish their documents to the staging folder.

Same Box Replication

The following example illustrates the same box replication topology for Web content. In this topology, the content source folder and the destination folder reside on the same server. In this example, C:\Staging and C:\Production are the source and destination directories respectively.

When the CSS Administrator creates the content deployment project, they configure C:\Staging as the source folder. In addition, the CSS Administrator defines the destination for the project as type Local Server and specifies the destination folder as C:\Production.

Content authors add their documents to the source folder, C:\Staging, on the source staging server. The content is published to the C:\Production folder, also on the source staging server.

Point to Point

The following example illustrates the point to point topology. In this topology, content is staged from a source server to an endpoint server.

The CSS Administrator creates the content deployment project on the source staging server and configures C:\Staging as the source folder. In addition, they configure the endpoint server and C:\Production as the destination folder.

Content Authors add their documents to the source folder, C:\Staging on the source staging server. The content is published to the C:\Production folder on the endpoint server.

Point to Multipoint

The following example illustrates the point to multipoint topology. In this topology, content is staged from one CSS source staging server to one or more CSS endpoint servers.

The CSS Administrator creates a project on the source staging server and specifies the folder for the project as the source of content replication. In this example, the source project folder is C:\Staging.

The CSS Administrator adds the destinations for each endpoint server and configures the endpoint content folder. In this example, the endpoint project folder is C:\Production.

Content authors add their documents to the source folder, C:\Staging, on the source staging server. The content is published to the C:\Production folder on the endpoint servers.

Point to Point through Waypoints

In this topology, the content is moved from a source server to a destination server through one or more waypoints. The following example illustrates the point to point deployment through a waypoint topology. In this example, the CSS Administrator creates a project and deploys it over a route. This route is a predetermined path of CSS servers that is configured to transfer content.

Staging of Web content through this topology is defined as follows:

1. The CSS Administrator performs the following tasks:

   1. Creates a route on the source staging server that specifies the first waypoint as the destination.

   2. Creates the same named route on the first waypoint server that specifies the next waypoint as the destination.

   3. Creates the same named route on each successive waypoint in the staging, each one specifying the next waypoint as the destination.

   4. For the last waypoint server in the topology, creates the same named route, this route specifies the endpoint server as the destination.

   5. Creates a project on the source staging server by using the New Project Wizard and adds the route that was created in step 1a as the destination of the project.

2. CSS then automatically creates the project on each waypoint server and the endpoint server specified by the route. Each project on each waypoint server specifies the next server in the staging topology as its destination.

3. The CSS Administrator then modifies the project on the endpoint server to specify the destination content folder. In this example, the destination folder is C:\Production.

Content authors add their documents to the source folder, C:\Staging, on the source staging server. The content is published to the C:\Production folder on the endpoint server.

Point to Multipoint through Multiple Waypoints

In this topology, the content is moved from the source server to multiple endpoint servers through one or more waypoints. The following example illustrates point to multipoint deployment through a waypoint. In this example, the CSS Administrator creates a project and deploys it over a route. This route is a predetermined path of CSS servers that is configured to transfer content.

Staging of Web content through this topology is defined as follows:

1. The CSS Administrator performs the following tasks:

   1. Creates a route on the source staging server that specifies the first waypoint as the destination.

   2. Creates the same named route on the first waypoint server that specifies the next waypoint as the destination. Optionally, one or more endpoint servers can be defined as destinations.

   3. Creates the same named route on each successive waypoint in the staging, each one specifying the next waypoint as the destination. Optionally, one or more endpoint servers can be defined as destinations.

   4. For the last waypoint server in the topology, creates the same named route, this route specifies the endpoint servers as the destination.

   5. Repeats steps 1a through 1d for each unique route path in the staging topology.

   6. Creates a project on the source staging server by using the New Project Wizard and adds the route that was created in step 1a as the destination of the project.

2. CSS then creates a project on each waypoint server and each endpoint server as specified by the route and associates the route. For each waypoint server, the project specifies the next waypoint server or one or more endpoint servers in the staging topology as its destination.

3. The CSS Administrator then modifies the project for each endpoint servers to specify the destination content folder. In this example, the endpoints are the C:\Production folders on Endpoint A and on Endpoint B.

Content authors add their documents to the source folder, C:\Staging, on the source staging server. The content is published to the C:\Production folders on the endpoint servers.

See Also

Other Resources

Web Content Staging Options

How to Stage Web Content

How to Create a Project for Staging Web Content

What Network Topologies does Staging Support?