5.2 Working with the Import and Export Tools

You can use the Tools page to export or import portal content (pages and portlets) used in the Identity Manager User Application. This content is also known as the portal configuration state and it includes:

  • Container and shared pages (including each page’s assigned portlets, and each portlet’s preferences and settings)

  • Portlet registrations

Table 5-5 Portal Data Export and Import Tools

Tool

How it works

Portal Data Export

Generates XML descriptions of a set of selected container and shared pages, and portlets. The XML files are stored in a portal data export ZIP file that can be used as input to the Portal Data Import tool.

Portal Data Import

Accepts a portal data export ZIP file as input. Uses the portal data export ZIP file to generate container and shared pages, and portlets in a portal (User Application).

The Export and Import tools enable you to move the portal configuration state from one portal (User Application) to another, as needed. Table 5-5 describes how these tools work.

You can use the Portal Data Export and Import tools to:

  • Move your portal configuration state from a test (source) environment to a production (target) environment

  • Update the configuration state of a portal incrementally

  • Clone a portal

  • Optionally, overwrite the configuration state on the target portal

5.2.1 Requirements

To use the Portal Data Export and Import tools, make sure that the Identity Manager User Application (portal) is deployed and running on your source and target application servers.

It is not required that your source and target servers access the same Identity Vault; they can access different ones, if appropriate. The users, groups, and containers in those Identity Vaults are not required to be the same.

5.2.2 Restrictions

You cannot use the Portal Data Export and Import tools to:

  • Export or import portal configuration state when a server is currently servicing user requests

  • Export or import portal classes and resources

  • Export or import portlet classes and resources

  • Export or import the identity and provisioning data used in a portal

  • Export or import administration settings other than for pages and portlets

  • Migrate configuration state from an earlier portal version to a later version (the portals must be the same version)

5.2.3 Exporting Portal Data

This section describes how to export a portal’s configuration state to a portal data export ZIP file.

  1. If you are performing an incremental update, back up the target portal.

  2. On the Application Configuration page, select Portal Data Export from the navigation menu on the left.

    The Portal Data Export panel displays.

  3. Follow the on-screen instructions to select the portal pages and portlets that you want to export.

    Some portlets that you have not selected for export might still be exported. If you export a page that contains a portlet, but do not select that portlet for export, the portlet is still exported (to ensure that a runtime error does not occur for the exported page).

  4. When you are done making selections, click Export Portal Data.

    Your new portal data export ZIP file is generated, with a default name that includes the current date and time. For example:

    PortalData.21-Oct-05.09.12.16.zip

    You are then prompted to save this ZIP file locally (or to open it in an appropriate archive utility). For example:

  5. Save the portal data export ZIP file to an appropriate location.

5.2.4 Importing Portal Data

This section describes how to import a portal data export ZIP file to a portal.

NOTE:Remember that, during the import, your target application server must be running but not currently servicing user requests.

  1. If you are performing an incremental update, back up the target portal.

  2. On the Tools page, select Portal Data Import from the navigation menu on the left.

    The Portal Data Import panel displays

  3. Specify the following general import settings:

    Setting

    What to Do

    Archive

    Click Browse to select the portal data export ZIP file to import. For example:

    PortalData.21-Oct-05.09.12.16.zip

    Import security settings?

    Select one of the following:

    • Yes: If you want to import the permissions that the portal data export ZIP file specifies for access to pages and portlets by users, groups, and containers. Make sure that the users, groups, and containers involved exist in the target portal’s Identity Vault; permissions for missing entities fail to be imported.

    • No: If you want to ignore the permissions that the portal data export ZIP file specifies.

  4. Click View Import Archive.

    The panel displays more specifics about your selected portal data export ZIP file and how you want to import it:

  5. Specify the following detailed import settings:

    Setting

    What to Do

    Replace existing data?

    Select one of the following:

    • Yes: If you want the contents of the portal data export ZIP file to overwrite corresponding pages and portlets that already exist in the target portal. For example, if the portal data export ZIP file contains a shared page named MyPage and the target portal contains a shared page named MyPage, that existing page is overwritten in the target portal.

    • No: If you want to skip the import for all existing pages and portlets.

    Access level for imported objects

    Select one of the following:

    • All Users: For unrestricted access to imported pages and portlets.

    • Administrator only: For restricted access to imported pages and portlets.

    If you chose to import security settings, then this access level is applied only to those imported pages and portlets where a security setting failed to be imported, typically because specified users, groups, or containers do not exist in the target portal’s Identity Vault.

    If you chose not to import security settings, then this access level is applied to all pages and portlets that are imported.

    Import group settings?

    (If you chose to import security settings) Select one of the following:

    • Yes: If you want to import the default container page and default shared page assignments that the portal data export ZIP file specifies for groups. Make sure that the groups involved exist in the target portal’s Identity Vault; assignments for missing groups fail to be imported.

    • No: If you want to ignore the default page assignments that the portal data export ZIP file specifies for groups.

    Import Container Pages

    Import Shared Pages

    Import Portlets

    Follow the on-screen instructions to select the pages and portlets that you want to import from the portal data export ZIP file to the target portal.

    NOTE:Some portlets that you have not selected for import might still be imported. If you import a page that contains a portlet, but do not select that portlet for import, the portlet is still imported to ensure that a runtime error does not occur for the imported page.

    Please map the portlet application names... Archive/Local

    Use the Archive and Local drop-down menus to map the portlet application names in the archive (portal data export ZIP file) to existing portlet applications on the local (target) application server.

  6. When you’re ready to begin the import, click Import Portal Data.

    When the import completes, the Portal Data Import Results panel displays.

    Unsuccessful imports display in red. To troubleshoot import or export problems, look at your application server’s system console or log file (such as jboss/server/IDMProv/log/catalana.out) for messages from the following User Application log:

    com.novell.afw.portal.util
  7. Test the target portal to ensure that you imported the data that you expected.