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HCL Digital Experience Product Documentation
Welcome to the product documentation for HCL Digital Experience. Find information about how to install, configure, maintain, and use HCL Web Content Manager and HCL Portal Server, Enable, and Extend solutions.
HCL Digital Experience 8.5
Learn how to install, configure, troubleshoot, maintain, and use Version 8.5 of HCL Web Content Manager and HCL Portal Server, Enable, and Extend.
Backup and restore
Backup and recovery of data files and databases is an essential operation for any business system, particularly for data and applications that run in production environments. Create and follow a plan for backing up and recovering data on all tiers of your HCL Digital Experience deployment. IBM Installation Manager must also be included in backup and recovery planning. If you back up the HCL Portal file structure and then install a fix pack, your HCL Digital Experience and IBM Installation Manager become out of sync after you restore the HCL Portal file system. This condition is not recoverable.
Guidelines for backing up and restoring
If HCL Digital Experience is deployed in an Idle Standby topology, both a primary node and a secondary node are running in a cluster. The primary node is the active node, and the secondary node is the backup node. If HCL Digital Experience is deployed in a clustered topology, both a primary node and additional nodes are running in a cluster. In this topology, there is no difference in database backup and restore because all cluster members use the same HCL Portal databases. However, you need to consider some additional factors when you back up and recover the file system in an Idle Standby clustered deployment.

HCL Digital Experience Product Documentation
Welcome to the product documentation for HCL Digital Experience. Find information about how to install, configure, maintain, and use HCL Web Content Manager and HCL Portal Server, Enable, and Extend solutions.
- HCL Digital Experience 9.5
- HCL Digital Experience 9.5 [Legacy Content]
- HCL Digital Experience 9.0
  Learn how to install, configure, troubleshoot, maintain, and use Version 9.0 of HCL Web Content Manager and HCL Portal Server, Enable, and Extend.
- HCL Digital Experience 8.5
  Learn how to install, configure, troubleshoot, maintain, and use Version 8.5 of HCL Web Content Manager and HCL Portal Server, Enable, and Extend.
  - Overview
    HCL Digital Experience (formerly IBM WebSphere Portal and IBM Web Content Manager) empowers you to create, manage, and deliver engaging omnichannel digital experiences to virtually all audiences with responsive content, targeted offers, seamlessly integrated applications, and consistent branding across channels (web, mobile. and hybrid mobile/web applications and more).
  - Roadmaps to deploy your system
    Review the roadmaps to understand the common deployment, configuration, migration, and integration patterns.
  - Roadmaps to create your website
    Review the roadmaps to understand how to create your website.
  - Online Help
    This Online Help is made available in the HCL Digital Experience Help Center for quick references on how to install, configure, maintain, and use HCL Digital Experience.
  - Installing
    HCL Digital Experience provides flexible deployment options that range from proof-of-concept where you can examine and test functionality to a highly available and scalable production environment. Review the planning information to learn more about hardware and software requirements, high availability, scalability, supported topologies, and much more. Select your operating system and then select the installation pattern that most reflects your business needs.
  - Configuring
    Run the following tasks after you install and deploy HCL Digital Experience. They address tasks that are typically run one time and have a global effect. Some configuration changes are made more frequently or do not have a global effect. These tasks are addressed in the Administering section.
  - Backup and restore
    Backup and recovery of data files and databases is an essential operation for any business system, particularly for data and applications that run in production environments. Create and follow a plan for backing up and recovering data on all tiers of your HCL Digital Experience deployment. IBM Installation Manager must also be included in backup and recovery planning. If you back up the HCL Portal file structure and then install a fix pack, your HCL Digital Experience and IBM Installation Manager become out of sync after you restore the HCL Portal file system. This condition is not recoverable.
    - Guidelines for backing up and restoring
      If HCL Digital Experience is deployed in an Idle Standby topology, both a primary node and a secondary node are running in a cluster. The primary node is the active node, and the secondary node is the backup node. If HCL Digital Experience is deployed in a clustered topology, both a primary node and additional nodes are running in a cluster. In this topology, there is no difference in database backup and restore because all cluster members use the same HCL Portal databases. However, you need to consider some additional factors when you back up and recover the file system in an Idle Standby clustered deployment.
    - Database considerations for backup and restore
      Before you back up HCL Portal databases, determine whether you need to perform offline or online backup, what your requirements are for storage capacity and backup frequency, and your preferred utility.
    - Backing up files, databases, and the LDAP server(s)
      Periodically run an automated backup procedure for the HCL Portal file system, databases, and LDAP server(s) using a backup and recovery utility of your choice. Remember to run the backup procedure before performing critical system-wide changes, such as upgrading to a new version of HCL Digital Experience or installing interim fixes and fix packs.
    - Restoring files, databases, and the LDAP server(s)
      When necessary, restore the HCL Digital Experience file system, databases, and LDAP server or servers that you backed up.
  - Migrating
    Successful migration requires significant planning and preparation, understanding the tools that are involved, and careful execution of the appropriate steps in the order provided.
  - Integrating
    Integrate HCL Digital Experience with software such as HCL Sametime to enable your users to collaborate more easily. You can also use the unified task list portlet to integrate HCL with your backend business process software, such as IBM Process Server.
  - Administering
    Use the administration tools that are provided with the portal to do various day-to-day administration tasks. There are two methods for editing portal setup: using the administration portlets or the XML configuration interface. The administration portlets are a convenient way to make real-time updates to the portal's configuration. While the XML configuration interface is suited to more advanced administration, including batch processing of updates.
  - Securing
    Security tasks include setting up property extension databases and custom user repositories, configuring and activating SSL, and configuring authentication. In addition, tasks such as activating Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) and NIST SP800-131a security modules and configuring external security managers such as Security Access Manager might be required to secure your portal environment.
  - Monitoring
    HCL Portal includes tools and features to help you monitor the portal site.
  - Setting up a website
    Setting up a website includes, creating pages, adding navigation, setting up search, and adding content to the site. Themes are used to customize the portal's look-and-feel. Out-of-the-box templates and the site wizard can help you set up your portal site faster. You can add wikis and blogs to your site and let users tag and rate content on your site.
  - Staging to production
    During portal solution development, the solution is initially developed, tested, and refined on one server or a limited number of servers. The solution is deployed later on live systems, referred to as the production environment. The process of moving the solution from the development environment to the production environment is called staging.
  - Developing
    This section includes developer documentation on extending applications and development assets for HCL Portal and HCL Web Content Manager.
  - Troubleshooting
    This section helps you resolve problems, use diagnostic tools and tracing to capture HCL Digital Experience system errors.
  - Reference
    View information that can help you use the Digital Experience Help Center including directory conventions, terms of use, trademarks, a glossary, and more.
  - Glossary
    This glossary includes terms and definitions for HCL Digital Experience.
  - Content Template Catalog 4.4
    The Content Template (CTC) is a set of templates that accelerate the process of building a website.

Guidelines for Idle Standby clustered deployments | HCL Digital Experience

If HCL Digital Experience is deployed in an Idle Standby topology, both a primary node and a secondary node are running in a cluster. The primary node is the active node, and the secondary node is the backup node. If HCL Digital Experience is deployed in a clustered topology, both a primary node and additional nodes are running in a cluster. In this topology, there is no difference in database backup and restore because all cluster members use the same HCL Portal databases. However, you need to consider some additional factors when you back up and recover the file system in an Idle Standby clustered deployment.

About this task

In an Idle Standbya clustered deployment, adhere to these guidelines:

Procedure

Follow the file system backup and recovery procedures on both the primary and additional nodes.
Back up the file system of the Deployment Manager configuration, the master configuration repository for the cell, by using one of the following methods:
- Use the simple commands that are provided by IBM® WebSphere® Application Server: backupConfig and restoreConfig.
- Use IBM® Tivoli® Storage Manager or other utility to back up the Deployment Manager profile directory, where this configuration information resides.
When you restore HCL Portal databases and file systems, make sure to restore the Deployment Manager configuration at the same time that the primary node and secondary node file systems are restored. Then, complete a node synchronization of both nodes by using the Deployment Manager WebSphere® Integrated Solutions Console. This step ensures that the configuration is identical on both nodes and is consistent with the restored databases.