FileNet – Content Platform Engine
Version 5.2 is a very significant release in the FileNet P8 evolution. I am a bit confused as to why IBM didn’t number it differently. At least a number of 5.5 would have done justice to the improvements that are brought into the platform. To me, the most important change in this release is the consolation of Content Engine and Process Engine to what is now being called as Content Platform Engine. CE and PE are history and welcome to the world of CPE! And the icing on the cake is that the component manager now runs on the CPE server. Hurray!
CPE is a complete J2EE application and is deployed in the application server. So finally the code responsible for running our workflows is executed by a WebSphere or its equivalents. This simplifies the installation and administration of the core platform significantly. That is one less server and client to install. This is handy especially when applying service packs and patches. Besides, ACCE (Admin Console for Content Platform Engine) is installed along with the platform.
It hurts a little bit to see FEM (FileNet Enterprise Manager) go away. Not that anybody loves FEM that much, but the replacement in its current state doesn’t hold up to it. ACCE in 5.2 is feature complete, but has plenty of teething issues. By the time FEM actually goes away, ACCE might provide a better experience. In the same breath, it is a relief to see the Legacy Content Search Engine go away. The new CSE is slicker and does a good job. So, bye bye K2.
Database sharing is a welcome change. So, multiple object stores, workflow systems, and Case Analyzer can share the same database and data sources. This simplifies the administrator’s job especially when creating object stores. This is of course a side benefit of the CE – PE consolidation.
The inclusion of some of the features that were in the Records Management realm into CPE is a step in the right direction. Features such as retention, holds, and disposal policies are now part of the CPE. I’m sure many would love the new thumbnail feature and the introduction of a trash can (recovery bin).
Along with the component manager, another pain in the back (Sweep) has also moved into CPE. These two have been major headache generators for the poor souls who administer FileNet. Hopefully the new move might reduce the pain there. Time will tell us if this is something to be excited about.
Of course there is IBM Content Navigator which is much talked about already. For over a year, IBM has been promoting ICN as the next best thing to sliced bread. Let’s discuss ICN in another post.
There are many more additions to the CPE and while those changes are important for the platform, I’m not sure if I personally am excited about many of them. In general, I think that IBM has done a good job with 5.2.
#ECM 
Hi Susanth ,
Really a very handy and usefull post , i have doubt . Is CPE is the advance version of FileNet V5 .Now in our organisation we are using FileNet V5 and if we are planning to upgrade it then IBM will recomend us to use CPE .
Regards,
Susanta
Before the 5.2 version of FileNet P8 there used to be two different engines. Content Engine (CE) and Process Engine(PE). These were different modules to be installed and maintained. While CE was deployable on a J2EE application server like WebSphere, PE was a standalone server application. In version 5.2 of the FileNet P8 platform, IBM combined CE and PE into one server application fully deployable as a J2EE application on an application server. This change makes the management of the server much easier.
You will benefit from an upgrade from an earlier version to 5.2 since it will lower your administration cost of the FileNet platform.
Hi! Just came across this blog by sheer coincident, but I’m glad I did 🙂
We’re currently running 5.1.1. As a developer I welcome the 5.2 release, but we can always discuss numbering. I my opinion it should have been 6.0 since the changes are so significant – both for the end-user but also the devs/ops. On the other hand, I’m having a hard time seeing how stable this release is. I mean, what child diseases do we get with this release?
Consolidating PE and CE is the best thing that could happen. Deployment have always been such a pain, but this should be a step in the right direction. Also, whether we like Content Navigator or not, using the same interface across multiple platforms should make my job as developer easier so thumbs up on that one as well.
Best regards,
Peter
I completely agree with you that it could have been numbered 6.0 or at least 5.5. In terms of stability of the platform, it is too early to say. There are many customer I know of are upgrading to this release. In my opinion, even though there could be some issues it is best to go ahead with a migration since the overheads of managing separate CEs and PEs will be a lot more than managing teething issues with a CPE.
Regards,
Susanth
Thanks for consolidating 5.2 features. I have a question, if I am using FileNet 4.5.1 and is using Component Manager for interacting with external components.
As PTM has gone and CPE is a J2EE component, what changes will be required in order to migrate Component Manager and how we will configure in 5.2.
Thanks
Hifzur
The old PTM and component manager are still available (referred to as Legacy component manager) and you can continued to use it with your existing components. Gradually you can port these components to the new architecture. Porting will require additional development efforts.