Content Virtualization

Web CMS software should provide a means of allowing each user to work within a virtual copy of the entire Web site, document set, and/or code base, enabling changes to multiple interdependent resources to be viewed in-context prior to submission.  Imposing virtualization on a Multisite CMS is an unnecessary complexity.  A well designed Multisite CMS extends its multisite features to allow this virtualization to be part of the multisite paradigm.

Personal or group websites that can feed other staging sites as part of the content  workflows which eventually feed production sites are simple to create, self contained and easy to understand.
 
This is just one of the ways that Jentla takes advantage of being a purpose-built Multisite CMS.
 

Extension Control

Using a centralized manager it should be possible to not only review all extensions on all sites, but to install/overwrite/uninstall/enable/disable/configure any extension on any group of sites.

For example, an organization with three sites can maintain the software levels of those sites individually. It's not that difficult to apply new security patches etc to all three sites as they arrive. But grow the number of sites to just 30 and is it no longer viable to apply new versions to all 30 sites individually.

A tool is needed to apply these patches in bulk. But life is never that simple. Soon a new version, needed by some sites, will cause others problems. And so we must support and manage multiple versions across our sites. If the delivery software you are managing has extensions (modules, components etc), this complexity is exponential. And these extensions are bound to have parameters specific to groups of sites. A simple bulk versioning tool is no longer viable.

The system should centrally manage all versions on all sites in a way that is clear and simple to use.

Jentla does this efficiently and intuitively. It also exports version details and parameters of all extensions for analysis.

Site ingestion

It would be a wonderful world if all projects could start with a Greenfield clean slate. But unfortunately, the reality is that existing web sites will inevitably form part of most multisite CMS implementations. This may mean simply managing their core and extension software versions and configurations, or it may mean importing the articles ready for distribution to other sites.

Existing Joomla sites can be imported into Jentla in a couple minutes. There is a high level of control during the import process. It is possible to optionally import articles, categories, registered users, and administrative users.

During site import process, articles are added to the Jentla Manager document store. The import can be defined to overwrite existing articles. Once imported, the articles can be reused on other sites controlled by the Jentla Manager.

With this advanced functionality, it is possible to convert a very large number of independent Joomla sites to Jentla. It is also possible to convert some or all of the ingested sites into a contiguous network and unleash the benefits of shared content.

Work is underway on our automated Joomla 1.0 to 1.5 upgrader, this will make for a compelling opportunity to upgrade sites and board them onto a Jentla system. It will also ensure these sites remain current and never at risk of becoming redundant again.

Centralized Templating

Templates need to be managed centrally, allowing administrators to change the delivery of groups of sites simply and quickly.  This enables a new template or template change to be trialled, analyzed and rolled out quickly and simply.  Multiple variants across a range of sites should be easy to manage.

Jentla can easily manage any number of templates spread across its web sites in any combination.  Versions can be tracked and snapshots of the template configurations across all sites can be exported for analysis.

Jentla can easily manage any number of templates spread across its web sites in any combination.  Versions can be tracked and snapshots of the template configurations across all sites can be exported for analysis.
 

Flexible User Sharing

Most Web CMSs can restrict content to registered users (viewers who have logged onto the site). It's usually a simple task to register on a site, giving you access to content you wouldn't see otherwise. The central management of groups of overtly related sites gives an organization the opportunity to build a relationship with their loyal members by not forcing them to register on each site to gain the same access. Sites, or rather, their members, may participate in more than one user group, or none at all.

This needs to be done without introducing any single point of failure. If a database or server goes down and suddenly nobody can log into any site, all the advantages of appealing to the loyalty of your members will be reversed.A well designed Multisite CMS will help retain member loyalty without subjecting these relationships to undue technical risks.

Sites, or rather, their members, may participate in more than one user group, or none at all.

This needs to be done without introducing any single point of failure. If a database or server goes down and suddenly nobody can log into any site, all the advantages of appealing to the loyalty of your members will be reversed.

 A well designed Multisite CMS will help retain member loyalty without jeopardizing the relationship.