Multi Site Management using AEM

 

MULTI SITE MANAGEMENT

AEM gives us the ability to easily create a new site, or multiple sites, based on an existing site.

MSM enables us to create a copy (called a Live Copy)  of an existing site (called a Blueprint) and to actively manage the relationships between the Blueprint and the Live Copy (using Rollout Config).

The Blueprint defines structure and content centrally. The structure and content can then be used on the Live Copy.

For each Live Copy, a Rollout Config determines how content is automatically updated.

We use MSM in following cases:

ü Sites are in multiple countries.

ü Sites are in multiple languages.

ü Need to reuse/replicate same content in multiple websites.

ü Maintain consistent branding and content across websites.

Advantages of using MSM:

ü Easily manage multiple websites that share common content.

ü MSM allows aem developers to define relations between the sites so that content changes in one site are automatically replicated in all other sites.

ü Reduces the time to manage your websites and increases the re-use of common content.

ü Maintain common look and feel across all websites.

 

The biggest advantage of using MSM over internationalization is ease to add new languages to websites. To leverage MSM functionality a website must follow below structure:

·        The web site should have a single page as the root.

·        Each child page is the root page of each language version.

·        The name of the child page is the language code.

 

We can see the list of default language code that comes with AEM at following location in CRXDE:

/libs/wcm/core/resources/languages

Blueprint Control Center

Managing a number of sites may become a burden some time, even if the sites are all Live Copies. The Blueprint Control Center (MSM Control Center) can help us stay organized with all of these Live Copies. The Blueprint Control Center is located in the tools section of site admin.

http://localhost:4502/etc/blueprints.html (Classic UI)

http://localhost:4502/libs/wcm/msm/gui/content/blueprintconfig.html (Touch UI)

Here we can get a detailed overview of all of the Live Copies that a specific site has, as well as detailed information on each page of each Live Copy.

We can see if the Live Copy capabilities of a specific page have been turned off, if the page has been altered and currently has different content from its Live Copy, or whether a page is a Live Copy at all.

We can also manage our Live Copies from within the Blueprint Control Center, creating, removing or re-rolling them.