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User Synchronization vs. Reverse Replication

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Level 2

We are planning to use AEM 6.3 Communities as side-by-side with some existing web sites that use Closed User Groups for areas that are for registered users only.

Should we use the new User Sync exclusively to replicate external users and group membership between Publishers?

  • If so, how do we add new CUG groups from the Author and how do authors add/remove members from CUG groups?
  • I presume that these users and groups cannot be managed through the tunnel service?

If not, is Reverse Replication still best practice for CUG management where users can edit their own profile data and authors can edit CUG membership?

  • Is it supported to run User Sync on Community users while running Reverse Replication for other (subfolder) users and groups?
9 Replies

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Level 10

This should be documented in the Communities docs:

Deploying Communities

Managing Users and User Groups

I am also checking with the team!

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Level 2

Thank you for the links - I have had a look at them, but I am afraid they do not describe what to do with the Closed User Group concept where authors want to create a new user group for specific members (not for communities) and use this user group as a restriction on some pages.

How can we combine CUG concepts (that seem to be designed for Published users or Reverse Replication) with Communities (which rely on User Sync)?

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Level 2

Through experimenting, I can see that the tunnel service allows Authors to see and manage users and groups on Publishers regardless of whether these are stored under /communities/ folder.

However, Authors cannot create users or groups in different folders, and cannot really create CUG entities that are not related to Communities.

I find it a bit confusing that Authors can see and manage these user types but not create them - and I still don't understand how to mix CUG sites and Community Sites (and to use User Synchronization vs. Reverse Replication).

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Level 2

Any updates from checking with the Team?

​We will soon be running out of time and simply resort to solving our challenges as best we can, but we would like to base on some sort of best practice guidance.

Some of our current ideas a​re to:

- Use User Synchronization exclusively (no Reverse Replication of users and groups)

- Run scheduled jobs both on Author and a selected Publisher node (to be able to do Member data maintenance)

- Create all groups for CUG directly on Publishers and export them back to Author so they can be assigned to pages

- Give some author users access to user management directly on Publishers (to assign Members to CUGs)

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Level 2

Still no updates from your Team?

Any comments to the ideas I sketched 2 weeks ago?

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Level 2

Any chance your Eng team have had a look at this?

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Level 10

I pinged the team again. WHen we hear - we will post here.

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Level 2

Do you think the Team will provide an answer eventually?