Ambra Frequently Asked Questions

This contains information beneficial to users and developers of Ambra.

FAQ

What is DummySSO and how do I enable/disable it?

DummySSO (dummy single sign on) is a servlet filter that can be enabled to avoid having to install ambra-cas and its dependant services. Ambra makes use of external single sign on servers to provide flexibilty in terms of support for different domains. This however makes it somewhat painful to run within a development environment.

DummySSO filter catches key accesses made by Ambra to CAS and returns 'okay'. It also provides the necessary login page to allow developer to enter authId/email to create Ambra end-users. If the authId & email does not exist, it enables Ambra to redirect to create the appropriate profile. Please note: the first user created here will automatically be given administrative privileges, so note the authId/email of the first user you create.

DummySSO is enabled by default via defaults-dev.xml (used when running Ambra from source tree). It can however also be enabled via system property "ambra.platform.dummySsoEnabled=true".

Which triple-stores does Ambra support?

Strictly speaking Ambra should support all triple stores supported by Topaz. However, currently certain security aspects in Ambra require directly knowledge of Mulgara TQL and makes it the only supported triple store.

What blob-stores does Ambra support?

Ambra uses blob stores to support large 'literals' (files/images/...etc.) and is fairly agnostic to the blob store configured within Topaz. Currently it supports the SimpleBlob and Fedora Commons blob stores. We are also working in conjunction with Fedora Commons to abstract out a transaactional blob store that various projects could use. Please see details on Akubra.

What data files should I be back up in Ambra for disaster recovery?

The default configuration of the RPMs store all persistent data in /var/lib/topaz/data. Taking snapshots or backups of files here is recommended.

Text search does not work after doing a back-up and restore using TQL commands on Mulgara. How do I get that data?

Text search in Ambra is implemented using the Mulgara Lucene resolver and stores its information in the lucene sub-directory of the Mulgara database directory. In the dafault configuration for Ambra this is at /var/lib/topaz/data/mulgara/topazproject/lucene. Copying files from the old location to the new will restore text search functionality in Ambra.

This process should get simplified after Mulgara implements back-up/restore functionality in the resolver interface.