Components overview

An HCL Connections Docs deployment consists of six components:

Note: For Connections customers who want to install Viewer only, you need to install only the Document Format Conversion Application, Viewer Application, and Viewer Extension. The Editor Application, Editor Extension, and Editor Proxy are not required. Viewer-only installation from the HCL Docs 2.0 installation program is only for Connections 5.5. If you previously installed IBM File Viewer 1.0.7, uninstall it before you start the HCL Docs 2.0 installer. For detailed instructions, see Installing only Viewer using the installer.
Document Format Conversion Application (conversion service)
This component performs document type transformations. When HCL Docs attempts to open a document, if it does not support the type directly, the Conversion service attempts to convert the original document to a supported type.
Note: This server must be installed on Windows, and must be able to access docs_data and viewer_data file shares. To configure these file shares as NFS stores, see Configuring the NFS Shares.
Editor Application (documents service)
This component provides the core logic for processing of the documents. It communicates with HCL Connections through the Editor Extension. When users open or edit a document in Connections, the web page redirects the user to the Editor Application for further processing.
Note: This application can be installed on Linux or Windows, and must be able to access the docs_data file share. To configure these file shares as shared storage stores, see Configuring the NFS Shares or Configuring the CIFS (SMB) shares.
Editor Extension
This component is the integration element that enables HCL Connections users to open and edit a document within the HCL Docs context. The daemon library intercepts upload events from the repository and notifies the Editor Extension to begin conversion during the upload process.
Note: The Editor Extension must be installed on the Connections server.
Editor Proxy
The proxy is used for session affinity in HCL Docs. Session affinity routes requests for the same document from different clients to the same Editor server node. The proxy also provides some performance enhancements by enabling compression of static content.
Note: This server can be on Linux or Windows.
Viewer Application
The viewer service enables viewing of the latest published version of a document, and provides the slide show capabilities in the presentation application.
Note: This application can be on Linux or Windows, and must have access to viewer_data and to the Connections shared data directory. If you have all Connections components installed on one server, the Connections shared data directory can be local, that is to say, not on a network share. If so, File Viewer must be installed on the same server as Connections, or the Connections shared data directory must be moved to a network share. To understand the definition and requirement of the shared storage, refer to HCL Docs shared storage overview and requirements.
Viewer Extension
This component is the integration element that enables Connections users to allow users to view a document within the HCL Docs context. The daemon library intercepts upload events from the repository. It also notifies the Viewer Application to begin conversion during the upload process.
Note: The Viewer Extension must be installed on the Connections server.