Ektron CMS400.NET for the enterprise

Enterprise-level application of a CMS requires capabilities that, while sometimes taking advantage of out-of-the-box functionality, go above and beyond and are fairly unique implementations. Every enterprise has its own specific needs, and Ektron CMS400.NET is a powerful and extensible development platform that more than lives up to fulfilling the company motto for enterprise applications.

“What do you want your Web site to do?” doesn’t just apply to what you can do with the more than 70 built-in server controls; it’s the spirit behind the open architecture and everything a developer can do with it.

From fully integrating with third party systems to pulling information in from thousands of feeds, Ektron CMS400.NET’s open architecture completely supports developers’ efforts to create the right Web site for the job.

Developer APIThe developer API extends Ektron CMS400.NET, making it possible for enterprises to completely integrate it into their organizations processes by offering complete customization of .NET assemblies, Web services, server controls, plug-in architecture and personalized widgets. Further, it completely integrates server controls, Ektron’s Markup Language (eKML) and XSLT into Visual Studio and DreamWeaver.

Server Control APIEktron CMS400.NET provides 70+ server controls that can be dragged and dropped onto any ASPX page and will coexist with other third party components. This includes everything from content controls, to user management, to breadcrumb and social network controls, all in order to provide out of the box markup and functionality.

These server controls are by no means a limitation. They are convenient options, and there is a great deal of flexibility behind them. In addition to having a set of properties that can be used to change the controls’ output and behavior, developers can access the Server Control API.

The Server Control API provides access to the data object that each control represents. Each server control contains an Item property of a particular data type (class), allowing developers to access the server control’s data (including the HTML and its attributes) and programmatically manipulate or process the information as needed. Once completed, the developer can pass the custom markup back into the text field property

of the control for display. In this case, the server control is acting as both the API to the data as well as a place holder in the ASPX page for display. And for ultimate extensibility and flexibility, developers still have the choice of accessing the main .NET Assembly API.

.NET Assemblies APIBy accessing Ektron’s .NET Assembly API, developers are able to create customized user controls for added functionality or presentation and total integration with third party systems. This includes the ability to programmatically import or export data to and from the CMS.

The .NET Assembly API provides an interface for exposing all of the methods and services that the platform provides. Both the WorkArea and its server controls are built on top of the .NET Assembly API. Developers are encouraged to access this layer directly to create their own custom functionality or services that interact with the CMS system. This API ensures that developers are armed with the same interface that Ektron developers use to build out the front end of the CMS.

Web Services APIThe Web Services API exposes the functionality of the .NET Assembly, allowing you to create pages that offer content to any Web-enabled device (and also consume existing Web Services). Ektron CMS400.NET’s Web Services can return data separated from presentation and, in combination

with XML support, let consuming applications retrieve XML data independent of presentation and repurpose it however they see fit. This is often the right choice when integrating the Ektron CMS system into an overall IT infrastructure.

Plug-in extension architectureThe Plug-in Extension exposes event hooks in Ektron CMS400.NET that a developer can utilize. These event hooks can be used in Visual Studio C# or VB.NET to create customized events for your site by either manually creating a plug-in or using the Plug-In Extension wizard. The Plug-In Extension wizard can be used to add your custom code to the event framework, making it convenient to implement new plug-ins.

Scaling for site traffic and dataFor a Web site to be able handle large numbers of visitors, it needs to have enough processing power available to keep the site running smoothly. The most effective method of accomplishing this is via SQL (load balancing) clustering, with a dedicated Database Server alongside the Application Server.

Some CMS’s do not use the Database Server as anything more than a data store, eliminating any performance advantage. But Ektron CMS400.NET offloads the database processing to the Database

Copyright © 2008 Ektron, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Figure 1: Ektron CMS400.NET is an extensible, scalable platform for powerful enterprise implementations.

EKTRON Since its founding in 1998 Ektron has been committed to providing affordable web content management and authoring solutions. Ektron CMS400.NET empowers non-technical business users by providing an intuitive user interface for managing their Web site’s content and messaging. Ektron has a complete set of so-cial networking tools and fully supports all Web 2.0 functionality. For more information on Ektron, visit: http://www.ektron.com.

Server, freeing up 40% of the Application Server’s processing power and allowing the addition of more Application Servers to balance the traffic load. Furthermore, Ektron CMS400.NET uses “in-memory” caching, saving the most commonly retrieved information in memory and reducing the number of trips to the database, thereby increasing performance.

Kodak.com and Doubleclick.com are powered by Ektron CMS400.NET; they have an average of 18 million visitors per day and 148 million visitors per day, respectively. Both the Seattle Seahawks and Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty use Ektron CMS400.NET to handle their high traffic loads as well. Seahawks.com sees between 10 and 12 million visitors every game day, with 19 million visitors during playoff games. And after a Super Bowl ad in 2007, Campaignforrealbeauty.com saw 14 million visitors. More than 400,000 of those filled out processing intensive online forms in two hours.

It is widely accepted that a single relational database (like Ektron’s) utilizing SQL clustering across multiple pieces of hardware is much more efficient than multiple databases that are spread out across multiple disconnected pieces of hardware. The Entrepreuner.com site responds very quickly and efficiently even with 1.5 million pieces of content.

Organization and SearchSuch a large amount of content could be an organizational nightmare. By using a content-level taxonomy (a type of organization that defines content in multiple categories using “one-to-many” relationships), Ektron’s relational database limits duplication of data, as all of the content is easily repurposed across the site (and minisites), reusing it in a variety of ways, such as Flash presentations, slideshows, etc.

But how do visitors find content on a site as large as Entrepreuner.com? As a site grows in content and popularity, search becomes the most common way for visitors to find things. With only 3-6 clicks before a user gives up, search must work the way that visitors expect it to.

Using the “one-to-many” relationships of Ektron’s taxonomy to drive search allows users to find things in the way that they think of them. In addition to using content-level taxonomy to define content, Ektron’s search also suggests results, ranks results by relevancy, and auto generates summaries of the results.

Language and LocalizationWeb sites grow across borders, focusing on specific markets or to reach a much more diverse demographic. It becomes necessary to be able to grow a site’s language capabilities as well as its content to reflect this.

In order to bring their message to as wide an audience as possible, Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty uses Ektron CMS400.NET’s XLIFF support to present its content in 48 different languages. HTC, a leading mobile device manufacturer, supports sites localized for 28 countries in 14 languages. Dolby Laboratories supports 8 languages.

Multi-sitesGlobal audiences, local audiences, or different aspects of your organization lead to tailoring messages and content. This could be in the form of simply offering separate pages, but being able to give viewers a consolidated experience is sometimes more desirable. Different divisions of a company may require somewhat different messaging while using similar content and maintaining look and feel.

Multi-site functionality represents the ultimate expression of a scalable Web site. The capabiliities that give a CMS so much of its flexibility and scalability synchronize to present a powerful multisite platform. The structured XML data, stored in a single relational database, lends itself perfectly to being repurposed across multiple sites in multiple ways. By their very nature, multi-sites need to support higher traffic. More sites mean more content and increased content updating. More content makes search an even more important navigational tool. Managing multiple sites will bring up more opportunities to create custom functionality that reflects that sites goal. The data store methods, editing and authoring support, integrated, efficient search, and open API of a scalable CMS are all critical elements of multi-site success.

Saint Gobain, a producer, processor and distributor of materials in 54 countries worldwide, displays content in 15 different languages across

71 Web sites by using Ektron CMS400.NET.

Mobile DevicesThe same capabilites that make Ektron CMS400.NET such a powerful platform for multi-sites also apply to implementation for mobile devices. Mobile devices are rapidly becoming one of the front lines for viewing information and enterprises will want to take full advantage of this growing market.

The ability to support mobile devices is not much different than supporting mulit-sites. In many cases, that is exactly what it is: another site, that requires similar functionality and similar content to that of the parent site. Content repurposing is again a critical component of this, as is the open API, allowing the CMS to tie into other technologies that support the mobile display of information.

LG Mobile and HTC, two of the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturers, both use Ektron CMS400.NET to tie in to Akamai technology in order to display video on their mobile Web sites.

Ektron CMS400.NET provides true scalability and extensibility, and its capabilities encompass the needs of your Web site. Whatever you need to do, you can be confident that your CMS will enable you to do exactly what you need for your Web site to flourish now and in the future.

Ektron CMS400.NET for the enterprise

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Figure 1: Ektron CMS400.NET provides flexibility, scalability, and extensibility to your IT infrastructure.