IBM FileNet P8 Frequently Asked Questions
General
Questions
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Question: Can Brava for IBM FileNet P8 be deployed in a Virtual Machine Environment?
Yes it can.
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Question: What are the basic hardware requirements for Brava for IBM FileNet P8?
Brava! Enterprise hardware requirements are highly dependent on the user load, number of unique file views, types of files, and other configuration / use details. In general if all Brava! Components are to be installed on a single physical or virtual machine the recommended requirements would be as follows:
- Quad core Intel or AMD processor
- 4 GB RAM
- 15GB (min) + HDD space for cached pages (anything from 15GB to 1TB)
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Question: What environment is required?
The FileNet environment can be running on any platform supported by FileNet.
Brava is scalable, and made up of five components (as indicated in the image here).
Client, Brava Server, Job Processor, Integration Component and License Server.
- The Brava! Server – This is a java servlet that needs to be deployed on a servlet engine. It is certified to be deployed on tomcat 5.5 and 6.0 and Websphere 6.1 in a windows environment.
- Job Processor – This component runs as a windows service and requires windows 2003 or 2008 (32 or 64 bit).
- License server - This component runs as a windows service and requires windows 2003 or 2008(32 or 64 bit), usually installed on the same machine as the Job Processor.
- Client control – This can be hosted on any web server that users have access to, it is a combination of files (ActiveX control or Flash) that users download automatically upon first viewing a file.
- Integration component – This piece must be installed on the workplace or WorkplaceXT servers, it consists of additional files that are placed onto the deployed workplace or WorkplaceXT machines. It has been certified to run in Websphere 6.1 on windows, Weblogic 10.3 on windows, Weblogic MP2 on Linux Redhat 5.4, and supported in Websphere 7.0 in AIX 6.1.
All components can be installed on the same machine or separated out, the Brava! Server install comes prepackaged with Tomcat, a different app server can be used if necessary. The Client is an Active/X control that can be used in Internet Explorer (preferred) or Mozilla Firefox (with Active/X plug-in). An Adobe FLASH client is also available, but the Flash client can only VIEW annotations, not CREATE annotations.
The Job Processor MUST run on a windows platform. This platform requirement is dependent on the volume of users, number of transactions, and file types being viewed. An instance of MS Office is typically also installed on the Job Processor so that print publishing can be deployed for crystal-clear viewing of MS office file types. The guideline for this base system is dual or quad core processor, 4GB RAM, 20 GB disk space (disk space is dependent on displaylistcache size, the higher the setting more disk space would be needed).
Brava Server is the “traffic cop” for transactions.
The Web Application Servers supported include Websphere, WebLogic, and Tomcat. Informative Graphics has certified Linux and Windows, and it is working on AIX, but AIX has not been added to our support list yet.
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Question: Are there any pre-requisites?
- The FileNet environment (version 4.0 or 4.5) should be fully installed and working before Brava is installed. Version 4.5 is required for our Workplace/XT integration.
- Workplace or Workplace/XT must be deployed if you plan to use our out-of-the-box integration.
- Customer must have either Websphere (6.1), Tomcat (5.5, 6.0), WebLogic (10.3) Application Servers deployed and working.
- Installation of the Brava Job Processor requires local console-level login (no Windows Remote Desktop) to the windows server where the software will be installed. Of course Admin-level permissions are required during installation. If remote access to the windows system is required, RealVNC is supported for remote login at installation time.
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Question: How can we integrate Brava with P8? Is there just a wizard to install? Are there any required connectors?
Our software is distributed in an install package that does nearly all of the integration with a simple installation. There are some minor steps documented in the instructions. The install manual is attached. Install package and trial software can be retrieved from:
ftp://ftp2.infograph.com/DL/BravaEnterpriseForFileNet.exe
Brava is designed as a toolkit that can be expanded beyond our existing integration to FileNet. Our integration can be viewed as a “template” onto which integrators and developers can more deeply embed Brava viewer functionality into FileNet applications. Our SDK is located at this FTP site: ftp://ftp.infograph.com/brava/BEX6_2_SDK.zip
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Question: How is Brava for IBM FileNet P8 Licensed?
Licensing is per user. Brava is priced per-seat, and features an 8-hour refresh. Any time a user at the client opens their first Brava Session, that license is dedicated to that IP address (user workstation) for 8 hours. After 8 hours, the license becomes available for other users. We have a declining cost per-seat as volume increases. Our pricing is established based on two categories:
- File formats
- CAD (includes Document)
- Document (excludes CAD), but includes image and office formats
- Per-User Capability Sets (3 levels)
- view/print
- view/print/annotate
- view/print/annotate/redact
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Question: How do I get configuration assistance or a quote for Brava for IBM FileNet P8?
Brava for IBM FileNet P8 is sold by IBM Global Business Services (GBS) and a select group of Informative Graphics / IBM Business Partners. For direct pricing, please contact Informative Graphics jrod@infograph.com.
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Question: After the installation right clicking on a file to view in Workplace/XT does not show a Brava! option.
After the installation right clicking on a file to view in Workplace/XT does not show a Brava! option
- Check to make sure the actions.xml was updated during the install. For WorkplaceXT check both the actions.xml and menuactions.xml. If not rerun the install or update manually following the instructions in the install guide.
- Make sure the that the appropriate integration installation was selected during the installation, either Workplace or WorkplacXT.
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Question: After clicking Brava > Annotate, you receive an error "unable to communicate to Brava server servername:port number."
This may be due to a number of reasons:
- The license is not valid. Navigate to the license server folder in the Brava installed folder, and see if a file called errors.txt exists, if so, open the file and check the error. If license is not valid, contact Informative Graphics for support.
- Brava Server is not running. The Brava server has to be turned on and running. Depending on your deployment the Brava Server may be running in Tomcat or Websphere. Make sure the application server is turned on and that the Brava Server application is deployed and running.
- Brava server is unreachable. Check to make sure that proper network communication exists between the Brava server and the Workplace or Workplace XT server. The port used must be open and communication must exist between both servers.
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Question: Which components are required on the Workplace or WorkplaceXT servers?
Although all the Brava components could be installed on the server, provided minimum requirements are met, only the integration component is required to be installed on the Workplace or WorkplaceXT servers.
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Question: Which property files need to be updated if the server name changes?
- All default Brava Enterprise property files need to be updated.
- Job processor.config
- Server.properties
- Client_precedence.properties
- Filenet integration specific
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