Application Servers, Data Sources, and User Directories

Enterprise document management means having a system that can scale easily depending on workload and employee infrastructure. The Synergy paperless office solution allows System Administrators to control all aspects of Synergy Document Management Software easily and quickly. This resource covers server management, data sources - both standard and custom - and registration of users with the user directory using existing advanced security with NT/LDAP. Many different combinations of user preferences are possible.

Managing Application Servers

The Manage Application Server function allows you to configure web server settings, and add other servers as Web traffic or load increases. There are five pieces of information required to correctly configure an application server in Synergy Document Management software:

• Machine Name: name of the server
• IP Address: the server's IP Address
• Home Directory:: Synergy Web server path as defined during Synergy deployment
• CFX Directory: ColdFusion custom tag path as defined during Synergy deployment.
• Cluster Domain: cluster domain for the server

1. From the Preferences drop-down menu select System Administration.
2. In the Navigation menu, under Management, select Application Servers. The Content will list the application servers currently in use.
3. To edit or delete an Application Server, click the Machine Name link of the application server to open the Edit Application Server form. Make the required modifications and then click the Update button, or to delete the Application Server, click the Delete button. Deleting an Application Server cannot be reversed.
   Field Definitions:
   Machine Name: name of the server
   IP Address: IP address of the server
   Home Directory: path of the Synergy applications stored on the server.
   CFX Directory: location of Synergy dll's.
   Cluster Domain: name of the server cluster domain
   
4. To add an Application Server, click the Add button, to open the Add Application Server form.
5. Complete the information, and then click the Done button.

Managing Data Sources

Prior to accessing a database with a ColdFusion based application, the database must be configured as a ColdFusion data source within ColdFusion Administrator. For additional information on Managing ColdFusion Data Sources, see the ColdFusion documentation.

Once an application data source is created and registered with ColdFusion, you must next define the data source within Synergy. This allows you to control password security on the data source.

Synergy Document Management software divides registered data sources into two categories: Synergy data sources and Custom data sources.

Synergy Data Sources:
Synergy data sources are required by the nine applications packaged with Synergy and are vital for document management to work properly. These data sources are automatically created in ColdFusion and registered in Synergy. You cannot edit these data sources, other than to change their password.

Synergy Data Source Password

1. From the Preferences drop-down, select System Administration.
2. In the Navigation menu, under Management, select Datasources.
3. Click the Synergy Datasources link to open the Edit Synergy Datasources form.
4. Make the required changes, and then click the Update button.

Custom Data Sources:
Custom applications developed using the Synergy Application Developers Kit (ADK) must also have a data source defined in ColdFusion prior to registering it in Synergy.

Custom DataSource

1. From the Preferences drop-down, select System Administration.
2. In the Navigation menu, under Management, select Datasources.
3. Click the Synergy Datasources link to open the List of Datasources form.
4. To edit or delete a Custom Datasource, click on the Datasource name. The Edit Custom Datasource page appears on the screen. Make the required modifications, and then click the Update button, or to delete the Datasource, click the Delete button.
5. To add a Datasource click the Add button to open the Add Custom Datasource form.
   
   Field Definitions:
   Synergy Datasources: name of the Synergy Data source.
   ColdFusion DataSource: name of the ColdFusion Datasource. Select from the drop-down.
   User Name: name of the DATABASE user name that provides access to the application database.
   Password: password that provides access to the application database.
   Note:If you are using an MS-Access database and you modify the User Name and Password through Synergy's Manage Datasources, you must manually update the .mdb file otherwise you will receive a ColdFusion Invalid Username and Password error message.
6. Enter the required information, and then click the Update button. The ColdFusion Data Source will only be available if the application that the Data Source belongs to has been registered.

User Directory

Synergy's User Directory function streamlines user registration by allowing Synergy Document Management software to accept NT and LDAP user names and passwords.

In order to make use of the User Directory function, the ColdFusion Server must be configured with the following information:

• User Directories
• Security Contexts
• Rules
• Policies
• Users/Groups

For detailed information on configuring ColdFusion for use with the User Directory module, please refer to Appendix B.

The ability to seamlessly integrate Windows NT and LDAP users into Synergy allows the system administrator to leverage off existing ColdFusion advanced security. Once the user directory option has been configured in both the CF Administrator and Synergy, the administrator can automatically allow users from any combination of NT Domain or LDAP user directories to "sign up" to Synergy with NT or LDAP user names and passwords.

Synergy does not access the NT Domain/LDAP Directory to perform authentication. Instead, authentication is performed against the CF Administrator Security Context as designated in the Synergy User Directory settings.

While both NT and LDAP directories can be used, there is a difference in the way they interact with Synergy.

NT
Users logging in under an NT User Directory can access their user name and password fields. After logging on, Synergy will present a Contact Information Registration form, which must be completed in order for the user to be registered as a Synergy user.

LDAP
LDAP User Directories may contain a great deal of information that can be accessed by Synergy and copied directly into the new user's Contact Information Registration form. The Address 2 field will be left blank and can be filled in by the user. In addition, data can be entered in any other blank fields. Any fields that are completed automatically will not be editable on the Contact Information Registration form.

Every time a user that "registered" with Synergy using an LDAP user name logs back on to Synergy, the Contact Directory will access their LDAP data and automatically update the contact information fields. Any manual editing done within these fields in the Contact Directory will be lost. This streamlines the Administrator's maintenance tasks as LDAP user information will only have to be maintained in one place - the LDAP User Directory.

Blanking out an LDAP field will not result in blanking out the data in the same field in the Contact Directory. If data is removed rather than replaced, it must be edited manually in Synergy.

Note: Synergy supports the use of both upper and lower printable ASCII characters in user names and passwords.

Prior to adding a User Directory, ensure that the ColdFusion Server has been configured to handle the User Directory.

1. From the Preferences drop-down field, select System Administration. In the Navigation menu under Management, select User Directory.
2. In the Content frame, click the Add button to open the Add User Directory form.
3. Enter the required information, and then click the Enter button.
4. To Edit a User Directory, click the name of the User Directory to open the Edit User Directory form. Make the required modifications, and then click the Done button.
5. If a user within the User Directory is to be reconfigured as a "regular" Synergy user, select the View Users link. Moving a user from the Members list to the Non Members list will ensure that the user will be able to continue logging on to Synergy even if he is removed from the associated NT/LDAP User Directory.
6. To Delete a User Directory, click the name of the User Directory to open the Edit User Directory form. Click the Delete button.

Field Definitions
User Directory Name: name of the User Directory.
Context Name: name of the associated Context as defined in the CF Administrator. ColdFusion allows the same Context Name to be assigned to more than one User Directory. If the Type Other is selected, it is not necessary to fill in this field.
Type: the Type CF Admin Advanced Security requires a Context Name defined, while the Type Other requires a Custom Tag defined.
Custom Tag: name of the Custom Tag used to provide user authentication. This field is only available if Other is selected as the Type.
Default Company: company that the user will be associated with in Contact Directory.
Default System Role: System Role that the user will be a member of.
Default Workgroup: Workgroup that the user will be a member of.
View Users: Once a user has logged onto to Synergy, he will be added to the members list accessible through this link. If a user is removed from the NT/LDAP User Directory, they will not be able to log on to Synergy. However, they will continue to be a member of this list. If the Administrator moves them to the Non Members list, they will once again have access to Synergy, not via an NT/LDAP User Directory but as a standard Synergy user.

Order User Directories
Once two or more User Directories have been added, the Order field on the List of User Directories can be used to determine the order Synergy will search the User Directories when a new user logs on for the first time. Click on the Order drop-down corresponding to the desired User Directory Name, and then elect the number that represents where in the list the User Directory Name is to be placed.

User Directory Settings
User Directory Settings represent General document management configuration options that apply to all User Directories.

1. From the Preferences drop-down field, select System Administration. In the Navigation menu under Management, select User Directory.
2. In the Content frame, click the Settings button to open the User Directory form.
3. Set the required options, and then click the Update button.

Field Definitions:
Allow All Users Access: allows all users in all User Directories to sign on to Synergy using their NT/LDAP User Names and Passwords.
Email Notification to Users: sends an automatic email message to the user stating that the administrator will inform them when their account is ready. Once the administrator "activates" the account, another automatic email message is sent to the user informing them that their user account is ready and they can logon.
If Allow All Users Access (above) is selected, this field cannot be accessed.
Email Notification to Administrator: an automatic email message is sent to the administrator when the User logs on.
If Allow All Users Access was also selected, the message will simply inform the administrator that the new user has been registered through the User Directory option.
If Email Notification to Users was selected (instead of Allow All Users Access), the message informs the administrator that the new user account needs to be activated.
Administrator Email Address: address for the administrator account.