Central Management Server ( CMS )

About

The aptly named Central Management Server (CMS) is the main server in the BO XI collection.

The CMS maintains a database of information about your BusinessObjects Enterprise system. This is known as the CMS database. All the platform services are managed and controlled by the CMS.

The CMS handles communication with the RDBMS tables that store the metadata about the BO XI objects. Any commands issued by the SDK to the servers are communicated via the CMS.

There are still a few active properties that are named for the old APS designation. One of these APS references is found in the ServerKind property of the Server class. The CMS ServerKind designation of the Central Management Server is still “aps”.

The CMS also manages :

• the auditing database
• all schedule and custom events.

The CMS can also maintain an optional auditing database of information about user actions, and files with the File Repository Servers.

File events alone are handled by the Event Server.

The CMS manages :

• security and controls authentication of all users
• as well as license management.

Because the Central Management Server is the principal server, it cannot be stopped from within the SAP BOBJ - Central Management Console (CMC). You must use the Central Configuration Manager.

The CMS also manages access to the system file store where the physical documents are managed.

CMS data includes information about :

• users and groups,
• security levels,
• content,
• services.
• license.

Main tasks

This data allows the CMS to perform four main tasks:

• Maintaining security

The CMS enforces the application of rights at both the folder and object level, and supports inheritance at the user and group level. It also supports aggregation through a flexible, group-user membership model. An integrated security system is available for customers who do not currently use an entitlement database, although BusinessObjects Enterprise is designed for integration with multiple concurrent third-party security systems, such as LDAP, Siteminder, or Microsoft Active Directory.

When a change is made to a user in the entitlement database, the change is then propogated to BusinessObjects Enterprise.

• Managing objects

The CMS keeps track of the object location and maintains the folder hierarchy. InfoObjects are system metadata objects that contain contain index information, and the actual documents or objects are stored in a file store. The separation of the object definition (metadata) from the document allows for fast object processing as only the required information is retrieved from the system’s repository. The CMS also runs scheduled report jobs.

• Managing servers

Server process are monitored by the CMS and allocates work to less busy processes. It will also add or remove service instances as work loads change or services become unavailable. The CMS handles load balancing and automated clustering to avoid bottlenecks and maximize hardware efficiency. In some multi-server environments, BusinessObjects Enterprise may not require a separate third-party load balancing system.

• Managing auditing

User actions can be monitored and written to a central audit database. This information allows system administrators to better track and manage their BusinessObjects Enterprise deployment. The auditing functionality allows administrators to better understand which users accessed the enterprise system, which documents they interacted with, and the overall system metrics for system optimization. Usage data is collected from the system interactions recorded in the auditing database. A sample universe and sample auditing reports are also available to provide fast access to information such as the most accessed reports, peak system use times, and average user session times.