Virtual Member Manager integration
HCL Portal uses Virtual Member Manager (VMM), an interface that enables communication between HCL Digital Experience and any repository.
The Virtual Member Manager (VMM) is an abstract component in the WebSphere® Application Server infrastructure. As the following diagram illustrates, HCL Portal uses the Portal User Management Architecture (PUMA) System Programming Interface (SPI) to retrieve and set attributes on user objects. PUMA passes these requests to VMM, which then passes the requests to a corresponding registry adapter that connects VMM to the repository.
The preceding diagram includes the following components:
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Federated repositories
An implementation of the UserRegistry interface that supports multiple repositories. This implementation comes with the software product. To communicate with the federated repositories, both WebSphere Application Server and HCL Portal send all operations to VMM.
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VMM SPI
VMM offers a Service Provider Interface (SPI), wim.Repository, that enables communication with repositories. WebSphere® Application Server uses this SPI to connect to federated repositories. HCL Portal uses this SPI to connect to all repositories.
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User registry adapter
This adapter is an implementation of the VMM SPI that enables VMM to connect to a specific repository, whether an LDAP directory, database, files, or other repository. Registry adapters enable communication between HCL Portal and any repository.
Important: You must create a user registry adapter if you plan to use a custom user registry or repository that HCL Portal does not support as the product is delivered. To create a user registry adapter, implement the wim.Repository interface. Refer to the following topics in the WebSphere® Application Server documentation for information and instructions: - Repository SPI (System programming interfaces for virtual member manager adapters) - Sample custom adapters for federated repositories examples