Portal Integration Options

There are two basic approaches to integrating an application with CMS’s Enterprise Portal: URL pass-through and native portlets. This topic presents a discussion of the pros and cons of each approach.

URL Pass-Through

URL pass-through is the practice of using an HTML object to simply proxy some external content. The HTML object is used to place the content, referenced by a URL, on an external server, thereby rendering the content within the portal context. This means that the content will be accessed within the portal’s security and the user interface framework, but all functionality can be provided from an external application. Once the portal opens the HTML object between the user and the external application, the user’s browser will directly interact with the application. Although requests for the application may go through the same Web server that services portal requests, portal server components will not intercept the application requests. This tends to work well with third-party products, legacy applications as well as applications interested in maintaining their own UI. This integration pattern is responsive and allows applications to have their own screen size for their content. Additionally, the CMS Enterprise Portal takes care of the authentication and applications can rely on headers being passed by Enterprise Portal for authorizations.

Native Portlet

Native portlets are those with a main application that is entirely contained within the portal (within a portlet). This normally includes accessing CMS services available to the portal in the Application Zone. In contrast to the URL pass-through approach, the native portlet approach ensures that:

  • The application is customized for a portal environment.

  • Content is displayed optimally for portlet screen size.

  • Inter-portlet communication is possible.

  • The portlet can use built-in portal services such as authentication for SSO.

The remainder of this chapter focuses on guidance for developing a native portlet for use within the CMS Enterprise Portal because, in the case of URL pass-through, the application is managed outside the portal environment and does not require specific life-cycle management within the portal.

Note: This integration pattern is recommended only for those applications that have an existing UI already built using the portlet technology and are unable to move to non-portal technologies. For other applications, the use of URL pass-through integration pattern is recommended.