Overview

A 3-tier architecture lets you spread the processing of Ektron data among 3-Tiers, as shown in the following figure. Each tier should reside on its own server.

NOTE: You may run all 3 tiers on a single server for development purposes only.

The 3 tiers are Data, Application, and Presentation.

NOTE: 3-tier architecture is different from MVC coding style, which consists of a data layer, business logic layer, and an API layer.

NOTE: To communicate between servers, you can choose any unused port. If you choose a port other than 80, Ektron recommends using one outside of the well-known port range (0 to 1023).

Setting up 3-tier architecture

Setting up 3-Tier Architecture

On your Web Application server, install an Ektron website to the site root folder (if you don’t already have one). During installation, install the Ektron database to a remote SQL Server.
NOTE: The 8.5 and higher installation includes a startersites\3TierMin\Content folder that contains files needed for the Presentation tier.
On the Web application server, copy the C:\Program Files (x86)\Ektron\CMS400vxx\startersites\3TierMin\Content folder.
On the Presentation tier server, paste that folder to the website root folder.
On the Presentation tier server, open IIS and make the new folder a website. See Also: Creating Multiple Websites on a Single Server
On the Presentation tier server, open the site root/web.config file.

Update ek_ServicesPath to point to the workarea/services folder on your Application tier server.

<appSettings>
<!-- This is the path to your CMS App Site.  
It should always end in workarea/services/  -->
<add key="ek_ServicesPath" value="http://[YOUR_CMS_SERVER]  
  /workarea/services/" />
</appSettings>

If you want to turn on caching, set the following values in the web.config file:

<ektron.cacheProvider defaultProvider="webCache">  
  <providers>  
    <add name="webCache" cacheTimeSeconds="300" 
      type="Ektron.Cms.Providers.Caching.WebCacheProvider, 
      Ektron.Cms.Providers" />  
  </providers> 
</ektron.cacheProvider>

Make sure the value of the framework defaultContainer tag is Cache, and the framework childContainer tag is WCF.
```
<framework defaultContainer="Cache" childContainer="WCF">
```
Open a browser and browse to your site.
Deploy templates and supporting files to the Presentation server.

Files copied to the presentation tier

Files Copied to the Presentation Tier

The following lists files are copied from the Application tier server to initialize the Presentation tier after you complete the set up. The files are located in the startersites\3TierMin\Content folder.

App_Code folder—contains URL Aliasing module See Also: Aliasing with 3-Tier Architecture
Bin folder—subset of full bin folder; contains binaries for Presentation tier only
Workarea folder—subset of full Workarea folder; Framework UI is required to run templated controls and PageBuilder controls on Presentation tier
The following configuration files:
- Ektron.cms.framework.ui—contains default templates for templated server controls
- Ektron.cms.framework.unity—has mapping interfaces and implementation
- Ektron.cms.framework.ui.unity—has mapping for templated control to services
Within web.config
- Within <configsections> tags— <sectionGroup> settings define how the Presentation tier communicates with the Application tier
- ek_ServicesPath—defines the path to the Application tier's Web services file
- The following UI elements for templated server controls
```
<ui.unity configSource="ektron.cms.framework.ui.unity.config" />
<ui configSource="ektron.cms.framework.ui.config" />
```

The <ektron.framework.services> tag defines the container.

<ektron.framework.services>
<unity configSource="ektron.cms.framework.unity.config"/> 
<framework defaultContainer="Default" childContainer="WCF"/>
</ektron.framework.services>

If defaultContainer= “Default”, the Presentation tier first looks in cache for the requested data object. If the data object not there, the Presentation tier looks in the ChildContainer property value, which is WCF by default.

content of <pages> tag. Controls used by PageBuilder and templated server controls.

The <modules> section manages Aliasing. See Also: Aliasing with 3-Tier Architecture

<system.webServer>
<modules runAllManagedModulesForAllRequests="true">
<add name="EkUrlAliasModule" type="UrlAliasingModule"
  preCondition="integratedMode"/>
</modules>
</system.webServer>

Creating a sample content block in 3-tier architecture

Creating a Sample Content Block in 3-Tier Architecture

This example illustrates how the same code can work in the Application and Presentation tiers. Ektron uses the Framework API to get a content item.

In Visual Studio, open the Presentation tier's website.
Add a new Web form.

Add a label control that can render a content block.

<asp:Label ID=”contentblock1” runat=”server”> </asp:Label>

Open the form’s code-behind file.

Insert the following code.

NOTE: This example assumes that ID 30 is a valid content item in Ektron.

long id = 30;
if (!string.isNullorEmpty(Request.QueryString[“id”]))
{ long.TryParse(Request.QueryString[“id”].ToString(), out id);
}

While in the code-behind file, initialize content manager as the logged in user.
```
ContentManager contentManager = new ContentManager();
```

Get the content and return it to the asp Label control.

ContentData data = contentManager.GetItem(id);
contentblock1.Text = data.Html;

Build and run.
Open a Web browser.
Insert the Presentation server/page you just created into your browser address field, where you will see Ektron content through the Presentation tier.

Creating a PageBuilder page with 3-tier architecture

Creating a PageBuilder Page with 3-Tier Architecture

Prerequisites

A PageHost file in the Presentation tier used specifically to support 3-tier architecture. The file lets you view only; you cannot edit.

A widget built using the Framework API (for example, the sample Content Block widget)
NOTE: While a 3-Tier site contains many widgets, only those built using the Framework API work on the Presentation tier.

A wireframethe architecture of a Web page containing columns, dropzones, and layout information. template (content.pb.aspx) that exists on the Application and Presentation tiers.

Go to the Application tier website's Workarea.
Create a sample PageBuilder page. See Also: Developing Wireframe Templates
Navigate to a folder to which the content.pb.aspx wireframe template is applied.
Create new Page Layout.
Drag and drop a content block widget onto the page layout and assign an Ektron content item.
Publish.
Browse to the Presentation website to see the content.

Aliasing with 3-tier architecture

Aliasing with 3-Tier Architecture

URL Aliasing works within 3-tier architecture. See Also: Creating User-Friendly URLs with Aliasing

NOTE: Aliasing code is stored in the App_Code/CSCode/UrlAliasingModule.cs file.

Prerequisite

3-tier architecture requires the Aliasing module files (UrlAliasingModule.cs and UrlAliasingBase.cs in the App_Code/CSCode folder), and the registration of that module in the web.config file. To verify the registration:
In the Presentation website, open siteroot/web.config. See Also: Setting up 3-Tier Architecture

Go to the <Modules> tag.
Verify that the URL alias module is registered, as shown in the following code.
<modules runAllManagedModulesForAllRequests="true">
<add name="EkUrlAliasModule" type="UrlAliasingModule"
  preCondition="integratedMode" />
</modules>

To test the URL aliasing, follow these steps.

Go to the Application tier website.
Create a content block.
On its Alias tab, enter a manual alias.
On the Template tab, choose a template that exists on the Application and Presentation tiers.
Publish the content.
Verify that Aliasing works on the Application tier.
Verify that Aliasing works on the Presentation tier.

Using eSync with 3-tier architecture

Using eSync with 3-Tier Architecture

You may use eSync to move files among tiers and sites, but eSync is not a prerequisite of 3-tier architecture.

You can use eSync to move changes from the development to the staging to the production sites. You also can use eSync to move changes from the Data to Application tier. Then, use Web Services to move files from the Application tier to the Presentation tier. However, see Limitations of 3-Tier Architecture.

Using search with 3-tier architecture

Using Search with 3-Tier Architecture

If you use Microsoft Search Server 2010 with 3-tier architecture, you do not need to make any adjustments.

To use Microsoft FAST Search Server 2010 search with 3-tier architecture, see Distributing Resources with 3-Tier Architecture.

Additional 3-tier architecture Resources

Additional 3-Tier Architecture Resources