Intranet metasearch tool lives on server

Dataware Technologies Inc. shipped a search server last week that lets companies create metasearch sites, which query multiple search engines and return the results in one Web page. The Internet offers many free metasearch sites, but Dataware II Knowledge Query Server lets companies create a Web application that can reside on an intranet or the Internet and query sources inside a company as well as outside.

Administrators can configure the server to search any source that's available via HTTP, including Internet search engines, news feeds, groupware servers, and document-management systems. The server groups related documents, eliminates duplicates, ranks documents by relevance, provides a summary of each, and cites its source.

Knowledge Query Server requires only a Web browser on client machines. Its server-based design distinguishes it from client-based metasearch products, says Fredric Gluck, VP of marketing at Dataware. Other search servers can search multiple sources in parallel. But, says Delphi Group analyst Carl Frappaolo, "The real power kicks in when Knowledge Query Server clusters the documents and shows you where the body of knowledge came from."

The Gale Group, a unit of $6 billion publisher Thomson Corp., is evaluating Knowledge Query Server for its online information services. Says Jay Levine, Gale's former chief technology officer, "Parallel search engines fit into our strategy of exposing more search capability through our online search bank. There are zillions [of parallel search engines] for the client side, but we needed something that could be integrated with our core server."

Dataware II Knowledge Query Server is available now for Windows NT 4.0 and Sun Solaris 2.5 or higher. Pricing starts at $9,500 for 500 users.




http://www.informationweek.com/702/02iuknw.htm

Dataware releases query server for single-point knowledge retrieval

Dataware has released a new tool to help users search for and retrieve information across the organization and on the Web. The Dataware II Knowledge Query Server pools from leading HTTP-compatible search engines (Northern Light, Altavista, HotBot, Excite, Fulcrum, Verity) to pull information from multiple intranet repositories or the Internet. Repositories like Lotus Domino databases, document management systems, Dataware's own Knowledge Management suite, internal repositories, intranet sites, external content services, news services and Web search engines are accessible with the query server. Users configure the format of the returns, displayed in content-based categories ("clusters") based on keywords and phrases, which help users identify similar and relevant content. Users can also route results to a second HTTP service in case the first choice is down or slow. Passwords and security configurations are supported if you're planning to search a subscription-based service. Full text, Boolean and proximity searches are supported. Dataware has already put together a search site using the query server -- check it out.

Delphi Group analyst Carl Frappaolo sees Dataware's Query Server as significant on two fronts. "As a knowledge management tool, it represents a bold new approach that leverages the popularity of HTTP to search across virtually any and all text repositories in a simple manner." The product will also be a strategic complement to Dataware's Knowledge Management Suite with its single-source, relevancy-ranked and conceptually clustered search results, he added.

Jay Levine, VP and CTO for electronic publishing vendor Information Access Company (IAC), plans to use Dataware's Query server to consolidate IAC users' access to external and internal information sources. The Query Server "is scalable and powerful enough to support all IAC users and flexible enough to allow complete customization of the user interface and types of repositories we need it to query."

The Dataware II Knowledge Query Server is available for Windows NT 4.0 or higher and for Sun Solaris 2.5 or higher. Microsoft Internet Information Server, Netscape Enterprise Server, Microsoft Peer Web Services and Apache are supported. Pricing for 500 end-user licenses starts at $9,500



http://www.kmworld.com/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=11879

Creating An In-house Internet

To describe the Internet in simplest terms, you could call it a network of networks. Each network that is part of the Internet is connected to other networks, which is what makes the 'Net so powerful. You can jump from topic to topic with ease, and you can access an unmatched variety of topics.

In fact, with the advent of graphical World Wide Web browsers and other Internet management tools, some people would say navigating the Internet is easier than weaving through a local-area network (LAN).

It isn't too surprising, then, that many companies are replacing LANs with intranets. Rather than using a traditional network configuration, intranet users connect to an internal site, similar to a site on the Web, and can perform all of their work within the site. Think of an intranet as a company's own private Internet. Intranet users also can easily connect to the Internet.

Companies that have switched to an intranet configuration say they save money while giving employees more access to company-wide and worldwide information. Industry experts say intranets are amazingly popular; new use of intranets by businesses is outpacing new use of the Internet by about 10 to 1.

The rise of intranets will change the way many people work. We'll explain how intranets work and discuss some of the potential changes they will cause in the workplace. (To learn who is using intranets and how they're using them, see the sidebar "Intranet In Use.")

http://www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles/archive/guideinternet97/3net27/3net27.asp&guid=

10 Requirements For A File Management System

1. Version control facility: maintains multiple versions of documents and provides an audit trail of changes. Version control is one of the essential requirements of an Intranet file management system. A version control system can save organizations hundreds of man-hours typically spent trying to collate and organize different versions of documents and files. Have you ever tried to compare printed copies of documents trying to figure out what changes were made when and by whom? With a good version control system, your intranet should be able to store different versions of files with information about changes made, users who accessed the file, dates and times of access.

2. Ability to store Meta data: A file management system will allow user to create and store Meta data. Meta data is data about the files. Some examples of Meta data are file type, data created, date modified, keywords, description, owner, creator, last modified by etc.

3. Security: Ability to setup security by users/groups and folder/files. The system should allow an administrator to set read, write, delete and update security permissions.

4. Check In-Check out capability: Users should be able to checkout documents if they have permission to do so. The same user should have the permission to check-in the document after it has been updated. While the document has been checked out the system should flag the document as being out and only allow other users to have read access to the file. This will prevent multiple users from the updating the same file at the same time.

5. Search and indexing capability: File management systems tend to grow in size over time. As the number of files managed increases, it becomes harder to find documents. A file management system should support indexing and search capabilities. This allows all new files/documents added to the system to be indexed for faster and easier retrieval. A good indexing engine will scan the files and extract keywords and Meta information from the files and create a search index. This index is then used by the Intranet search engine to respond to user queries and return files that are the relevant to the search request.

6. Maintain file interdependencies and groupings: A typical file management system will have to deal with groups of files that are related to one another or to a collection. For example: A Sales Presentation collection of documents might contain a set of PowerPoint slides, a Word document, a set of Excel sheets and charts, graphics etc.

7. Interface: a web based user interface that can be accessed from a standard web browser (i.e., Netscape or Microsoft Internet Explorer). The interface should be intuitive and provide an efficient user experience.

8. Structure and organizational capabilities: The system should allow users to create file structures similar to operating system file storage structures. The file system should have the ability to create folders and subfolders for storage of files. The users should also be able to move one or more files between folders.

9. Supports multiple file types: The system allows users to upload and download most standard file types like Word, Access, Excel, Text, JPEG and Html.

10. Maintain file expiration dates: This feature will make the file system more manageable. Once an expiration date is set for a file or set of files, the system will track this date and delete the file/s on the specified day. This will keep the system clean and automatically purge old files and unwanted documents.


http://www.intrack.com/intranet/10_requirements.cfm

10 Intranet Myths

1. Intranets are cheap

The initial costs in setting up an intranet might seem low. You find a spare PC lying around, add some memory and disk space, install as web server software, network card and your are on your way. This might be a bit misleading. If you expect your intranet to grow, be prepared for the costs involved with the growth. Before you know it you will need one or more of the following :

a. A faster web server

b. Increased disk space and memory

c. Better applications like database connectivity, interactive forums, multimedia support

d. Increased bandwidth

e. Support staff for managing your intranet

1. Intranets are cheap

The initial costs in setting up an intranet might seem low. You find a spare PC lying around, add some memory and disk space, install as web server software, network card and your are on your way. This might be a bit misleading. If you expect your intranet to grow, be prepared for the costs involved with the growth. Before you know it you will need one or more of the following :

a. A faster web server

b. Increased disk space and memory

c. Better applications like database connectivity, interactive forums, multimedia support

d. Increased bandwidth

e. Support staff for managing your intranet

3. Intranets are for BIG organizations

Not really. Even if your company has a handful of employees, you could use and intranet to your advantage. The success of an intranet depends on the cost savings an increase in productivity. Also smaller companies may find it easier to cut through all the hype and use intranet technology right away.

4. Just another buzzword

Nope. Believe it or not. Intranets are here to stay. We will see different variations of intranet technology over time and we will also see this technology evolve but its definitely here.

5. Platform independent

Granted, Intranets will work across a number of platforms. Your pages can be viewed by browsers on UNIX boxes, Macs, Windows and a number of other platforms. But once you get into advanced applications and start using the latest technologies (Java, ActiveX etc.) you will realize that you have to fine tune your applications to support a "certain" type of browsers. Vendors are working to resolve conflicts and establish standards but then we all know how that works.

6. Intranets require an Internet connection

Nope. Your intranet can be up and running by itself without and connection to the outside world. You will still be using technologies prevailing on the Internet like web servers, browsers, chat scripts, news and mail servers etc. but you do not have to be connected to the Internet unless you want your intranet users to access content from the Internet.

7. Intranets require little maintenance

If you still believe this, you are in for a lot of surprises. Intranet can grow real fast. If you do not have a good plan and growth strategy in place, be prepared to spend a lot of time on small, routine maintenance tasks. Adding new publishers, adding users, maintaining the user database, keeping the content and technology current, coping with growing demand for bandwidth, applications and information. These are just a few issues you will have to deal with. You will also need a good set of policies in place. Be prepared

8. Intranets are not secure

If your intranet is not connected to the Internet (see myth #6) and you do not provide dial in access, you have a lot less to worry about. Even with an incoming connection, you have a number of options to secure your intranet. Firewalls, SSL, password authentication, IP blocking and other techniques are available to secure your intranet from intruders.

9. Intranets are an IS "thing"

Leave the control of your intranet in the hands of the chosen few from the IS support group and you might be restricting its growth. Do not make it a free-for-all publishing method either. Let IS setup and manage the content publishers but also allow the publishers to use their own judgment and creativity to come up with content.

10. Intranets are internal webs

An intranet is not limited to a web site. The technology is adapted from the Internet and the Internet is a lot more than web sites. You can use simple technology like enterprise-wide email, push technology, newsgroups, chat etc. which are all based on TCP/IP protocols, within your intranet. Why limit yourself to web sites only ?

http://www.intrack.com/intranet/intmyth10.cfm

Perlfect for Intranet

We tend to forget things that we knew once and time has to be spent either in digging the old archives/notes or learning the same thing afresh. Yes, many people have to deal with such a range of subjects that they can not recall everything when they need it. For example, a LAMP freelancer will find it hard to remember all Apache (web-server) directives and the new directives that came with the latest version. Besides, this programmer needs to have quick access to Linux, MySQL, PHP, Perl related documents. Efficient knowledge management will certainly boost his/her performance. This becomes more beneficial if knowledge can be shared in a group or organization.

This is typically done by running an intranet website on the Local Area Network and running a search engine to index the documents on it.

How can I set up an intranet website ?

You need to run a web-server. Apache which is a free software is the web-server of our choice. If you have a LAN, you should be able to access your intranet from any computer on the Local Area Network.

Knowledge management with Perlfect

Perfect is a search engine developed in Perl and distributed under GNU GPL (General Public License). You can download and use this for free. Once installed, you need to run the indexer to index the files on your intranet. You are all set to use the results !

Create a directory on your intranet to save your knowledge-documents and get the files indexed. A LAMP programmer may want to download php documentation, to be indexed so that he does not have to search the internet often. Text and pdf documents are also indexed so you can save your own tips/tricks in text files for future reference.

Contributing to the growth of your Knowledge base

If you are working in a group, encourage everybody to save their tips, findings in text files or any other format that Perlfect understands. While writing your knowledge-document, make sure you include all the possible search phrases that a user is likely to use. Assign the responsibility to run the indexer once in a week or more frequently depending upon the size of your group. Perlfect search form can be set to search within a particular directory so you can have different forms for different subdirectories of your intranet if the search starts yielding too many results.


http://www.osix.net/modules/article/?id=829

Scent and Portals

As with other types of web pages, intranet portals succeed best when the scent to the employee's desired content is strong. However, because the portal engulfs all of the content from every site on the intranet, designers must take special care in their design. Time and resources for research and evaluation are necessary to guarantee a successful design.

We've seen, far too often, redesigned portals create only more frustration and lower satisfaction, because the team just guessed at what they thought the design should be without the necessary research or evaluation steps to ensure the design really meets the needs of the employees. These redesigns become an unnecessary and completely avoidable waste of valuable design resources. It's not hard to do design "right" -- it just takes planning, forethought, and an understanding of the basic theories, such as the role of information scent.

http://www.uie.com/articles/intranet_portals_scent/