Web Content Staging Options

  • Article

When you stage Web content, you have several options from which to select to specify what, where, when, and how content will be replicated.

The following sections summarize the options that are unique to staging Web content:

  • Staging Topology Options

  • IIS Virtual Directory Options

  • Filter Options

  • Advanced (File Management) Options

  • Scheduling Options

  • Rollback Options

For information about options that are common to all staging projects, see the following topics:

Staging Topology Options

You can stage Web content across the following network topologies:

  • Point to point.

  • Point to multipoint.

  • Point to multipoint through multiple waypoints.

For information about these topologies, see Web Content Staging Topologies.

IIS Virtual Directory Options

If you specify a virtual directory for your Web content project, Commerce Server Staging (CSS) creates the virtual directory on both the source and endpoint servers. This virtual directory will map to a logical directory and will be used by client browsers to access the project content. The virtual directories that CSS creates are not Web applications.

You can set permissions on the source virtual directory and have these permissions replicated on the endpoint servers. These permissions include the following:

  • Allow read access. Property that enables Web clients to read or download files that are stored in this virtual directory.

  • Allow script access. Property that enables applications mapped to a script engine to run in this virtual directory without having Execute permissions set. Use Script permission for directories that contain .asp scripts.

  • Allow execute access. Property that enables any application to run in this virtual directory. This includes applications mapped to script engines and binaries (.dll and .exe files).

  • Allow write access. Property that enables Web clients to upload files to the enabled directory on your server or to change content in a write-enabled file.

  • Allow directory browsing. Option that enables Web clients to explore the structure of this virtual directory. Because directory browsing reveals your Web site’s structure to the user, we recommend that you leave this option disabled.

Note

If you specify the Internet Information Services (IIS) virtual directory to be staged with the Web content, and an application pool does not already exist on the destination, the corresponding application pool is not created by CSS on the endpoint. After the Web content has been staged, you can configure additional Virtual Directory properties, such as specifying the application pool, by using IIS Manager.

IIS virtual directory options are set through the Project Properties, IIS Tab. For information about how to set these options, see How to Change the IIS Virtual Directory Settings for a Web Content Project.

Filter Options

A filter is an ordered list of files or directories to include in or exclude from a replication. For example, you can deploy a set of Web pages but not include any.gif files. You would use a filter to exclude the .gif files from the replication.

Filter options include the following:

  • Include file/directory. Specify the file or directory that you want to include. When you include a file, its parent directory is also included.

    Note

    If you include an invalid filter, no content is included. For example, if you use an include filter for a directory that does not exist somewhere in the local directory, no content in the local directory will be deployed.

  • Exclude file/directory. Specify the file or directory that you want to exclude. When you exclude a directory, all files within that directory and lower level subdirectories are also excluded.

    Note

    If you exclude an invalid filter, no content will be excluded. For example, if you use an exclude filter for a directory that is not in the local directory, all content in the local directory will be deployed.

  • Include subdirectories. Specify that all subdirectories be included in the include/exclude filter.

  • Wild-card character. You can use an asterisk (*) as a valid wild-card character when you specify the value for a file or directory.

Filters are evaluated and applied in the order displayed on your screen. Because one filter can undo another, we recommend that you consider all the filters you want to apply, then start with the most general filter and work toward the most specific. You can change the order the filters are applied by adding or removing filters until the order you want is achieved.

Filter options are set through the Project Properties, Filter Tab. Filter options are only applicable for projects defined for a source staging server. For information about how to set these options, see How to Add a Filter to a Web Content Project.

Note

When using a filter to exclude specific directories or files in the source directory tree, relative paths under the source directory root must be used. Absolute directory and file paths are not supported in filters. For example, if your project source directory is c:\inetpub\wwwroot and want to exclude the directory c:\inetpub\wwwroot\directory, you would enter the file exclusion path as /directory in the filter.

Advanced (File Management) Options

The following options determine how specific Web content files are managed during a staging event:

  • Force deployment of all content. Files will be deployed even if their content has not changed from the last deployment.

  • Check time stamp only. Files will be deployed only if they have content that has changed since the last deployment.

  • Skip locked files on source or destination. Content deployment will not deploy a file from the source or overwrite a file on the target if it is locked or currently being used. If this option is cleared and files are being used, the replication will fail.

  • Preserve content on destination when you delete from source. Content deployment will not delete a file on the destination server even though files may have been deleted on the source server. When you select this option, it prevents the deletion of files on the destination server.

  • Enable timed release. Content is deployed from the staging source server but is unavailable on the destination servers until a time that you specify. This time is known as the apply time. Enable timed release is set on endpoint servers only and is used together with the Apply option on the staging server.

    You use the timed release option when you want content to be available to all users at a specific time, regardless of time zone. For this option to work, it must be used together with a scheduled deployment, and the project on the endpoint servers must have the Enable timed release option selected.

    The Apply command can be issued manually from the project's Action menu, or automatically by the staging server at a scheduled time. For information about how to use this option, see How to Initiate Timed Release of a Web Content Project.

File management options are set through the Project Properties, Advanced Tab. File management options are only applicable for projects defined for a source staging server or endpoint servers. For information about how to set these options, see How to Change the Advanced Options for a Web Content Project.

Scheduling Options

You can select to replicate Web content manually, automatically as content changes, or according to a set schedule. A fourth option, the Enable timed release option that is described in the previous section, supports replication and release at a specified time.

  • Manual content replication. To replicate content manually, select the project from the Commerce Server Staging console and issue the Start command. You can then repeat this procedure for every replication of that content.

  • Automatic content replication. To replicate content automatically, select the project from the Commerce Server Staging console and issue the Start command. Successive replications will occur automatically whenever content changes.

  • Set schedule replication. To replicate content according to a set schedule, you define a schedule for the project. The content is replicated when the schedule specifies. Available schedules include daily, weekly, or one time only. You can add multiple schedules to a project. The Windows Task Scheduler runs the scheduled task at the specified times.

  • Set schedule apply. To apply content according to a timed release schedule, you define the schedule apply time(s) for the project. The content is replicated from the source staging server according to the schedule replication time. However, the content becomes available on the destination server when the schedule apply time occurs. Available apply-time schedules include daily, weekly, or one time only. You can add multiple schedules to a project. The Windows Task Scheduler runs the scheduled task at the specified times.

Scheduling options are set through the Project Properties, Schedule Tab. You can define these properties when you create the project and edit them later. For information about how to set the schedule, see How to Add a Schedule to a Web Content Project.

For information about how to start, stop, and initiate timed releases of Web content, see Managing Staging Projects.

Rollback Options

A rollback resembles an undo function. It restores the Web content on an endpoint server to a previous replication state. Rollback is performed for all the Web content replicated. No partial rollbacks are performed. Rollback functionality is useful when, following a successful replication, the staging operator discovers that the wrong content was replicated, or that there were some errors in the content deployed. All changes for the Web content staging project can be undone through rollback.

The rollback function only applies to Web content and is an option of the endpoint server, not of the project. The rollback option requires that you have sufficient space on the endpoint server to store the one or more versions of Web content that you may decide to rollback.

Note

Rollback options are set for each server where you may want to rollback Web content. These options are not project-level properties.

You cannot enable rollbacks without specifying how many rollbacks to keep. When you enable rollbacks, you specify how many rollbacks will be allowed on the server you are administering. The two options that control the rollback function are as follows:

  • Enable rollback and transactions. When you select this option, it causes the endpoint server to maintain a copy of the Web content for each project that is staged onto that server. You enable this option in case you want to revert to the original Web content. When you enable this option, you must make sure that you have sufficient disk space to support the storage of Web content projects. If, for example, you decide to keep three rollbacks, you must have enough hard disk space for at least three versions of the content.

  • Rollbacks to keep. You specify the number of versions of Web content that will be kept in reserve on the endpoint server. For example, if the number of rollbacks to keep is set to three and you have rolled back three different projects, you have reached your rollback limit.

These options apply to all Web content projects that are staged from the endpoint server where they are set. As soon as rollbacks are enabled, you can roll back content by using the Rollback command in the Commerce Server Staging project action menu.

Note

Rollbacks must be performed directly on the endpoint servers or in the directories that have received content during a replication. You cannot roll back content on the server that is the source of the replication.

Rollback options are set through the Staging Server Properties, Advanced Tab. For information about how to set these options, see How to Enable and Disable Rollbacks.

See Also

Other Resources

How to Change the IIS Virtual Directory Settings for a Web Content Project

How to Add a Filter to a Web Content Project

How to Change the Advanced Options for a Web Content Project

How to Enable and Disable Rollbacks

How to Add a Schedule to a Web Content Project

Changing the Properties of a Web Content Project

Staging Security Options

E-mail Notification Options

Pre and Post-Processing Script Options

What Network Topologies does Staging Support?

What are the Staging Project Options?