14
Overview
To use Contribute with a staging server, you create a connection to the staging server’s website.
Users can update content on the staging server. Any temporary drafts that are created during the
review process, or drafts of files that are in the process of being updated, but not yet published to
the website, remain on the staging server, protected by your network’s firewall.
When using a staging server, configure the software you use to copy web pages and related files
from the staging to the production server to
not
copy the following folders and the files they
contain:
_mm
contains Contribute administrative files and the messaging folders used to notify users
when they have a draft that requires their attention.
_baks
archives rollback copies of files.
_notes
contains design notes. These files record information about who last published a given
page, and other information
MMWIP
contains drafts of pages that have been sent for review but have not yet been
published to the site.
Keeping these folders, and the files that Contribute stores inside them, off your production
website provides an additional level of security. Although every effort has been made to make
these folders and their files secure, the best security measure is to keep them on a server protected
by your network’s firewall. In addition, you should consider using ACLs to secure these folders
further by restricting access to network addresses within your organization’s network.
Deployment roles and responsibilities
Once you understand how Contribute fits into your organization, it’s important to understand
the various roles involved in deploying Contribute.
As a system or website administrator, you play a large part in deploying Contribute. The
deployment responsibilities include the following tasks (for a complete list, see
“Deployment tasks
checklist” on page 18
):
•
Installing the Contribute software.
•
Creating connections to websites that users of Contribute can access.
•
Defining roles (a collection of privileges that you assign to specific users).
•
Installing Contribute on individual computers throughout your organization.
•
(Optional) Integrating Contribute with Contribute Publishing Server (CPS).
The size of your organization and the job roles associated with your organization’s websites
determine who assumes responsibility for deployment. A single system administrator may be
responsible for all deployment, or other members of the organization’s web team or IT staff may
be involved.
If you are a system administrator, this might be your first time to work with web pages and web
content. Your role as a system administrator may intersect with the role of web designer.
