If you are using Multi-Master Management for a CoreMedia CMS installation, more than one Master Live Server may be connected to one Content Management Server. To each of the Master Live Servers a number of base folders is assigned, that is, folders located immediately below the root folder of the Content Management Server. When performing a publication, the target Master Live Server is determined by the base folder that contains the resources to be published.

In this scenario, each base folder can be thought of as an isolated single-site Content Management Server. Resources cannot be moved across boundaries of base folders, just as they cannot be moved outside a Content Management Server. Publications can only span single base folders and published links must always connect resources within one base folder. This ensures that a base folder on the Live Server can be guaranteed to be self-contained, avoiding dangling link problems during delivery.

In the following you will get some hints on how to deploy Multi-Master Management in different contexts.

Multiple Web Sites

Situation: You want to produce content for multiple websites. Due to load balancing or stability constraints, the sites must be hosted on separate servers.

Solution: You create one top-level folder for every website and install one Master Live Server for every website. You map folders and targets one-to-one. You assign rights to editors as needed, possibly allowing access to more than one site for certain users.

Result: By sharing the Content Management Environment you reduce the hardware requirements. You can more easily administrate the multiple sites in a common framework. Editors can log in once and gain access to all sites for which they are authorized.

Intranet/Internet

Situation: You want to produce content for a company's intranet and for the Internet on one CoreMedia CMS installation. As intranet and Internet servers have different security requirements, they must be located on physically separated machines each on the correct sides of a firewall.

Solution: You create base folders internet and intranet and map each of them to one publication target using the two different servers. Users are mapped into the Content Management Server from the company's LDAP server.

Result: Similar to the multi-website scenario, but you get the additional benefit of a secure deployment by introducing a firewall.

Lots of Little Sites

Situation: You host a number of websites, none of which is particularly large or under heavy load.

Solution: You create one base folder per site, but only a single publication target. All base folders are mapped to that target. A URL rewriter in front of the CAE maps each site to one top-level folder.

Result: Link and move barriers ensure that for each site there are no internal links that accidentally leave the site. As the number of little sites grows, you may later map additional sites to new publication targets without having to rework the old sites.