Sun Microsystems 2005Q1 manual Overview of Low-Level Portal Design, Logical Portal Architecture

Portal Design Approach

Overview of Low-Level Portal Design

The low-level design focuses on specifying the processes and standards you use to build your portal solution, and specifying the actual hardware and software components of the solution, including:

•The Portal Server complex of servers.

•Network connectivity, describing how the portal complex attaches to the “outside world.” Within this topic, you need to take into account security issues, protocols, speeds, and connections to other applications or remote sites.

•Information architecture, including user interfaces, content presentation and organization, data sources, and feeds.

•Access Manager architecture, including the strategy and design of organizations, suborganizations, roles, groups, and users, which is critical to long-term success.

•Integration strategy, including how the portal acts as an integration point for consolidating and integrating various information, and bringing people together in new ways.

Logical Portal Architecture

Your logical portal architecture defines all the components that make up the portal, including (but not limited to) the following:

•Portal Server itself

•Contents from RDBMs

•Third-party content providers

•Custom developed providers and content

•Integration with back-end systems such as messaging and calendaring systems

•Web container for deployment

•Role of the Content Management System

•Customer Resource Management

•Whether the portal runs in open or secure mode (requires Secure Remote Access)

Chapter 5 Creating Your Portal Design 81