22.3 Planning Full-Service Libraries

If your document management requirements go beyond basic libraries, you can create one or more full-service libraries. You might or might not need to make use of all document management features in order to meet your DMS users’ needs.

This section covers everything you should consider when you set up full-service libraries. The Full-Service Library Worksheet lists all the information you need as you set up a full-service library. You should print a copy of the worksheet for each library you plan to create. Fill out the worksheet for each library as you complete the tasks listed below.

After you have completed the above tasks and filled out the worksheets, you are ready to continue with Section 22.4, Setting Up a Full-Service Library.

22.3.1 Deciding Which Libraries to Create

When designing a system of libraries for your GroupWise system, you should review the following considerations:

Library Access for DMS Users

Client/server access is the preferred access mode for GroupWise client users. It is the best access mode for DMS users because it enables them to access libraries outside their own post offices.

For information about access modes, see Section 35.4, Post Office Access Mode.

Centralized vs. Decentralized Library Configurations

Reorganizing existing libraries is not a simple process. Therefore, you should determine whether you want a centralized or decentralized library configuration before you start creating libraries.

Centralized Libraries

Centralized libraries are located in a post office that is dedicated to libraries (no users). Centralized libraries are serviced by the POA in the dedicated DMS post office, as shown in the following illustration:

Figure 22-1 Centralized Libraries

In the illustration, notice that all libraries belong to the DMS post office, which has no users. All GroupWise client users are using client/server access mode, which is required because there are no libraries in their local post offices. Each user has access to all four libraries through TCP/IP links to the DMS POA.

The following table lists some advantages and disadvantages of centralized libraries:

Table 22-1 Centralized Libraries

Advantages

Disadvantages

  • Administration can be consolidated, allowing one administrator to specialize in document management.

  • Backup can be easier with hardware dedicated to one DMS post office, such as optical drives, RAID, fast backup units, and so on.

  • If a post office server other than the one dedicated to libraries goes down, DMS access is unaffected for users in the remaining post offices.

  • You must create and maintain a post office that is dedicated to libraries only (no users).

  • This configuration guarantees that all document searching and accessing is back and forth between users’ post offices and the libraries’ post office, possibly degrading network performance.

  • If the post office server dedicated to libraries goes down, DMS is unusable for the whole GroupWise system.
Decentralized Libraries

Decentralized libraries are located along with users in different post offices. Decentralized libraries are serviced by their own local POAs as shown in the following illustration:

Figure 22-2 Decentralized Libraries

In the illustration, notice that each post office has its own library. Users can see each others’ libraries as well as their own because of client/server access mode.

The following table lists some advantages and disadvantages of decentralized libraries

Table 22-2 Decentralized Libraries

Advantages

Disadvantages

  • Network traffic is minimized because most document accessing are in users’ local post offices.

  • You do not need to maintain an extra DMS post office dedicated to libraries only.

  • Users in a post office where a library resides can use direct access mode if necessary.

  • Libraries and their documents are scattered over different servers, adding to your administrative workload (such as doing backups).
Comparative Scenarios

The following scenarios further illustrate the differences between centralized and decentralized libraries:

  • Assume that you assigned your first library to the same post office your users have membership in. By initially assigning a library to the same post office as your users, you establish a decentralized configuration for future libraries. You now want a centralized library configuration. However, because you cannot reassign the library to another post office, you must do one of the following:

    • Create one or more new libraries under a DMS post office, export all of the documents from the first library and import them to the new libraries, delete the first library, and then ensure that users can locate their documents.

    • Create one or more new libraries under a DMS post office and have your librarian use mass document operations to move the documents from the first library to the other libraries, delete the first library, and then ensure that users can locate their documents.

  • Assume that you assigned your first library to a DMS post office that is used only for libraries. Now you can use either the centralized or decentralized library configuration for your additional libraries. The DMS post office can be used for all future libraries to create a centralized configuration, or you could assign future libraries to other post offices and leave that first one where it is, giving you a decentralized configuration. Setting up your first library on a post office server dedicated to only libraries allows you to use either configuration option. However, this method initially requires additional hardware and administration.

Library Specialization

You can create libraries for such user specialties as administration, accounting, development, human resources, legal, marketing, manufacturing, payroll, R&D, sales, shipping, and so on. You can also specialize libraries by such functions as general (for all users), administration (including legal and payroll), engineering and documentation development (R&D), marketing and sales, manufacturing and shipping, and so on.

You can also use specialization to provide security for sensitive libraries. You do this by setting up access restrictions for the libraries. The default is for all DMS users to have access to all libraries in the GroupWise system. For more information about restricting library access, see Section 22.6.3, Managing Library Access.

Restricting library access can also improve users’ search time. When users install the GroupWise client on their workstations, they are either automatically assigned a default library (if there is one on their post office), or they are asked to select one from the libraries they have access to. By default, DMS searches are performed only on the user’s default library. To search other libraries (“global” search), users can select other libraries using the Look In list in the Find dialog box. If you limit users’ access to libraries (perhaps by department), their global searches would also be faster.

Another reason for creating specialized libraries could be for different library configuration needs. For example, each library could have specialized document types and document properties that would not be needed in other libraries. For a review of document types and properties, see Section 21.3, Documents. For more detailed information, see Customizing the Default Document Type Property and Section 23.2.1, Customizing Document Properties.

Specialization can also facilitate library management activities, such as controlling library accessibility for individual users or groups of users, or managing different uses of document types, document properties, or field label naming schemes.

22.3.2 Selecting the Post Offices To Own Libraries

As a result of deciding whether you want to use a centralized or decentralized configuration for your libraries and whether or not you need specialized libraries, you should have a good idea of what post offices you want to create libraries in.

If you are using a centralized configuration, create the DMS post office by following the instructions in Section 11.0, Creating a New Post Office, then return to this point.

FULL-SERVICE LIBRARY WORKSHEET

Under Item 3: Post Office, specify the name of the post office that will own the new library.

22.3.3 Determining the Contexts for Library Objects

You can create a Library object in any container in the eDirectory tree. For example, you could create the Library object in the same container as its Post Office object. Or you could create it in a special container just for Library objects:

The containers in which you place the Library objects have no bearing on whether your libraries are centralized or decentralized. Library objects can be located anywhere in the tree, no matter which post offices the libraries belong to.

FULL-SERVICE LIBRARY WORKSHEET

Under Item 1: eDirectory Container, specify the name of the eDirectory container where you want to create the new library.

22.3.4 Choosing Library Names

A library’s name must be unique within the post office; it also must be unique within its container. You should devise a naming scheme that helps to identify all libraries in the GroupWise system. It can be useful to include within the library name an indication of which post office it belongs to.

After you have specified the library’s name and created the Library object, the name cannot be changed.

Do not use any of the following characters in the library’s name:

ASCII characters 0-13

Comma ,

Asterisk *

Double quote "

At sign @

Extended ASCII characters that are graphical or typographical symbols; accented characters in the extended range can be used

Braces { }

Parentheses ( )

Colon :

Period .

By default, the library name that users see in the GroupWise client is the same as the Library object name. However, you can change the display name if you want it to be different from the Library object name.

FULL-SERVICE LIBRARY WORKSHEET

Under Item 2: Library Name, specify the Library object name.

Under Item 7: Library Description, provide a brief description of the planned use for the library.

Under Item 10: Display Name, specify the library name you want users to see in the GroupWise client, if it is different from the Library object name.

22.3.5 Deciding Where to Store Documents

When deciding where to store documents, you should review the following considerations:

Document Storage Location

Documents belonging to full-service libraries should not be stored at the post office. Instead, they should be stored in document storage areas. For a review, see Section 21.2, Document Storage Areas.

A library can have more than one document storage area. The only requirement is that the POA that services the library must have direct network access (mapped drive or mounted file system) to each storage area.

You can set up one document storage area for each library as you create the Library object. Additional document storage areas can be set up using the Storage Areas properties page of the Library object, as described in Adding a Document Storage Area.

Disk Space Requirements

You need to know the disk space requirements for your libraries in order to choose appropriate locations for document storage areas.

If you have chosen a centralized library configuration, your document storage areas are all serviced by the POA of the DMS post office. Therefore, you can calculate the disk space requirements for your GroupWise system as a whole. If you have chosen a decentralized configuration, document storage areas are located throughout your GroupWise system. Therefore, disk space requirements must be calculated separately for each library.

If your current document storage statistics are an accurate indicator for a given library or for your system, use them for calculating your disk space requirements. Otherwise, use the following formula for determining DMS storage needs:

Formula:
   Number of Users
x  Average Number of Documents per User
x  Average Document Size
x  Average Number of Versions per Document
-------------------------------------------
   Disk Space Required for Library
Example:
   250 Users 
x  200 Documents per User 
x   50 KB per Document 
x   10 Versions per Document 
-----------------------
    25 GB of Disk Space

Users might create a new version of a document any time they revise it. Because all versions of a document are saved in BLOB storage with the original document, disk space can be used up quickly! If you know how many versions per document your users average, use that value in the formula; otherwise, allow for an average of at least ten versions per document.

If your Average Document Size value for the formula is based on non-GroupWise documents, they will be compressed by about 50% after they have been imported into GroupWise and stored in BLOBs.

You should research your current or expected document usage before deciding where to store documents.

FULL-SERVICE LIBRARY WORKSHEET

Under Item 7: Document Usage Estimate, enter the requested values and calculate the resulting disk space requirements.

If your values are calculated for the system (rather than per library), enter this information on only one of the worksheets.

Direct Access Paths to Document Storage Areas

To define a document storage area, you need to know its direct access path. For example, a UNC path specifies the absolute location of the document storage directory.

Syntax:
\\NetWare_server\volume\storage_directory
\\Windows_server\sharename\storage_directory
Example:
\\nw65\gwdocs\docs
\\winxp\c$\docs

NOTE:On Linux, ConsoleOne interprets a UNC path so that the first item in the UNC path is the Linux server hostname, followed by a Linux path to the document storage area.

You might want to set up a document storage area on the same server where the POA runs so as not to increase network traffic. The POA can index and serve documents to users most efficiently if the document storage area is located locally.

FULL-SERVICE LIBRARY WORKSHEET

Under Item 6: Document Storage Area Path, specify the direct access path.

Under Item 5: Document Storage Area Description, provide a useful description of the document storage area. (This description is displayed only in ConsoleOne.)

22.3.6 Setting Document Version Options

When you create a new library, you can establish how document versions are handled. For an overview of document versioning, see Maximum Versions.

Restricting the maximum number of versions should be done after the library has been created, as described in Section 22.6.1, Editing Library Properties.

Official Version

By default, any user can establish the official version of a document. However, you can remove that right from one or more users if needed.

FULL-SERVICE LIBRARY WORKSHEET

Under Item 11: Restrict Public Access Rights, cross out Designate Official Version if you want to eliminate that right for all users.

You can later grant the Designate Official Version to specific users or distribution lists, as described in Section 22.6.3, Managing Library Access.

Start Version Number

You must set the start number for each library to either 0 (zero) or 1. The default is 1. This number identifies the original document.

Version numbers are automatically increased from the number you select. If you select 0, the first version of a document will be 000. If you select 1, the first version will be 001.

FULL-SERVICE LIBRARY WORKSHEET

Under Item 8: Start Version Number, select 0 or 1.

22.3.7 Figuring Maximum Archive Directory Size

Documents created with GroupWise DMS can be archived, depending on their Document Type properties. A document’s type determines its disposition, such as archiving or deleting. For more information, see Customizing the Default Document Type Property.

When you archive documents, their BLOB files are moved into archive directories. Each library in a document storage area has its own set of archive directories that are automatically created as needed. They are named arxxxxxx (where xxxxxx is an incremental integer with leading zeros). A document storage area has the same archive directory structure as the gwdms subdirectory in the post office, as illustrated in Post Office Directory in GroupWise 7 Troubleshooting 3: Message Flow and Directory Structure.

When a document is archived, GroupWise determines if the document’s BLOB file can fit in the current archive directory. If it cannot fit, another archive directory is created and the BLOB is archived there.

An archive set consists of all documents in one archive directory. The Maximum Archive Size property on the Library object establishes in bytes each archive directory’s size limit. You should set this to mirror the capacity of your archival medium (such as a CD). It should not be more than your archival medium’s capacity.

It is usually better to keep archive sets small in comparison to the size of the backup medium. This lets you back up archive directories often enough to keep your hard disk space from being used up too quickly between backups. For example, if your backup medium has 1 GB capacity, you could limit your archive sets to a maximum archive size of 200 MB.

If your archival system only lets you back up in one pass (in other words, you cannot perform consecutive backups to the medium), the Maximum Archive Size should match the archival medium’s capacity.

Some archival mediums require extra space for recording file storage data, such as an index of the files stored to tape. Ten percent is usually sufficient. For example, a tape system with 100 MB capacity means you should set your Maximum Archive Size to 90 MB.

Consult your archival medium documentation for information on setting up an effective backup strategy. Include in your strategy such concepts as multiple archive sets per backup medium, or allowing extra space for the medium’s file storage data.

ADDITIONAL LIBRARIES WORKSHEET

Under Item 9: Maximum Archive Size, enter a number (in bytes, with no abbreviations or commas).

22.3.8 Designating Initial Librarians

A librarian has full rights to the properties of every document in the library, and can therefore perform management tasks on all library documents. You can assign yourself as a librarian. You can also delegate these tasks by assigning responsible users in each library as librarians. Any GroupWise user who normally has access to the library can be a librarian. You can also have multiple librarians for each library.

When you first create a new library, you might want to simply designate yourself as the librarian and assign other users later. For more detailed information, see Section 22.6.4, Adding and Training Librarians.

ADDITIONAL LIBRARIES WORKSHEET

Under Item 12: Librarians, list any users that you want to function as librarians for the new library.

22.3.9 Restricting Initial Public Library Rights

The rights to documents in a library apply to the library as a whole; therefore, they are referred to as public rights. By default, all public rights are granted to all users in a new library.

You can restrict which GroupWise library features individual users or distribution lists should have by removing the public rights and then restoring them for selected users or distribution lists.

The following table summarizes the public library rights:

Table 22-3 Public Library Rights

Public Right

Description

Add

Allows users to add new documents to the library.

Change

Allows users to make changes to existing documents in the library.

Delete

Allows users to delete documents, regardless of who else created them or has rights to the documents. However, to be able to delete a document, users must also have rights to locate and modify the document (View and Change rights), in addition to the Delete right.

View

By itself, this right allows searching, viewing, or copying documents, but does not permit editing them. Copies can be edited, because a copy is saved as a separate document. Therefore, editing a copy does not affect the original document or any of its versions.

Designate Official Version

Allows any version of a document to be designated as the official version. The official version, which is not necessarily the most recently-edited version, is the one located in searches.

The official version is usually determined by the creator or author of the document. However, the official version can be designated by the last user to edit the document (if the user has this right). A user also needs the Change right to the document to be able to designate an official version. However, you might still want to deselect this as an initial public right.

Reset In-Use Flag

The In-Use flag protects against data loss by preventing multiple users from concurrently opening the same document. The purpose of the Reset In-Use Flag right is to allow a user or librarian to reset a document’s status when the document is in use by someone else or when it is erroneously flagged as in use.

Because you can manually reset the In-Use flag to change a document’s status, even if the document is currently open, you should use prudence in allowing users the public right to change the In-Use flag. You might want to deselect this as a public right.

FULL-SERVICE LIBRARY WORKSHEET

Under Item 11: Restrict Public Access Rights, cross out any public rights you want to eliminate for all users.

You can later grant the rights to specified users or groups, as described in Section 22.6.3, Managing Library Access.

Rights to individual documents in a library can be modified at any time by the user listed as the creator or author of the document. Just because users might have public rights in a library does not mean that they have the equivalent rights to every document in the library. For additional information on rights, see Sharing Documents in Creating and Working with Documents in the GroupWise 7 Windows Client User Guide.

22.3.10 Determining Your Indexing Needs

The POA performs many tasks in the post offices, as described in Section 35.5, Role of the Post Office Agent. Indexing documents is just one of its many functions.

If necessary, you can configure an extra POA on another server to handle indexing. Separating POA functions can optimize the processing load for the respective POAs, particularly if your GroupWise system will regularly search and index a large number of documents.

If you feel you might need dedicated indexing for DMS documents, see Section 23.3, Indexing Documents for in-depth information on different configurations. Then determine whether you need dedicated indexing.

FULL-SERVICE LIBRARY WORKSHEET

Under Item 11: Dedicated POA for Indexing, mark whether or not you plan to set up a separate indexing POA.

22.3.11 Determining If You Need to Set Up Integrations for DMS Users

For an overview of integrations, see Section 21.4, Integrations. To determine if you should set up integrations for a given application, see Section 24.0, Integrations.

NOTE:This item does not apply if all of your users use the Cross-Platform client, where integrations are not available.

ADDITIONAL LIBRARIES WORKSHEET

Under Item 14: Set Up Integrations, mark whether or not you need to manually set up integrated applications for your DMS users.