Umbraco
Encyclopedia
Umbraco is an open source
content management system
(CMS) platform for publishing content on the World Wide Web
and intranet
s. It is written in C# and deployed on Microsoft based infrastructure. The open source backend is released under an MIT License
while the UI is released under the Umbraco license.
Umbraco was developed by Niels Hartvig in 2000 and released as open source software in 2004. In 2009, CMS Wire described it as one of the leading .NET-based open source CMS systems. In 2010, with 1000 downloads a day, Umbraco was in the Top 5 most popular downloads via the Microsoft Web Platform Installer, two places below its main rival DotNetNuke
and was the 12th most downloaded application from Codeplex, six places below DotNetNuke and 13 places higher than mojoPortal
.
) and works on Microsoft IIS
.
Research has also been undertaken on running an Umbraco website on Mono
on Linux.
Umbraco can be deployed on a single physical server running the database and web tier, and this deployment model can be appropriate for small low-cost sites. Umbraco sites which serve content under higher load can also be deployed on a load balanced
cluster. Load balanced Umbraco installations can use software or hardware load balancers, and load balanced network files can be shared using a SAN, NAS
or a cluster file system or using a file replication service between nodes in the cluster.
Version 5 (codenamed "Jupiter") is a rewrite of the framework planned to be released in Q2 2011 built using ASP.NET MVC.
, Microsoft SQL Server
, and XSLT
, a XML-based language used for the transformation of XML documents. It is designed to be a toolkit for building custom software; it integrates existing technologies rather than introduce new ones. For example, Umbraco supports ASP.NET "master pages" and XSLT rather than introducing its own templating language.
, except in 2007 when it was held in London
. In 2009 there were 170 attendees and the conference is planned to take place in Copenhagen
in June 2010.
, TYPO3
, and Umbraco.
Denmark Tania Andersen (2 Feb 2009) Dansk succes-CMS får redigering fra forsiden, Version2 Tania Andersen (25 Jan 2010) Microsoft vælger dansk open source-CMS til millioner af udviklere, Version2 Tania Andersen (10 Jun 2008) Microsoft vælger open source til udviklersite, Version2
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
content management system
Content management system
A content management system is a system providing a collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual or computer-based...
(CMS) platform for publishing content on the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
and intranet
Intranet
An intranet is a computer network that uses Internet Protocol technology to securely share any part of an organization's information or network operating system within that organization. The term is used in contrast to internet, a network between organizations, and instead refers to a network...
s. It is written in C# and deployed on Microsoft based infrastructure. The open source backend is released under an MIT License
MIT License
The MIT License is a free software license originating at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . It is a permissive license, meaning that it permits reuse within proprietary software provided all copies of the licensed software include a copy of the MIT License terms...
while the UI is released under the Umbraco license.
Umbraco was developed by Niels Hartvig in 2000 and released as open source software in 2004. In 2009, CMS Wire described it as one of the leading .NET-based open source CMS systems. In 2010, with 1000 downloads a day, Umbraco was in the Top 5 most popular downloads via the Microsoft Web Platform Installer, two places below its main rival DotNetNuke
DotNetNuke
DotNetNuke is an open source web content management system based on Microsoft .NET technology.DotNetNuke was written in VB.NET, though the developer has shifted to C# since version 6.0. It is distributed under both a Community Edition BSD-style license and commercial proprietary licenses as the...
and was the 12th most downloaded application from Codeplex, six places below DotNetNuke and 13 places higher than mojoPortal
MojoPortal
mojoPortal is an open source, cross-platform, content management system for ASP.NET which is written in the C# programming language. The CMS supports plugins and has built-in support for, among others, forums, blogs, event calendars, photo galleries, and an e-commerce feature...
.
Technology
Umbraco is primarily written in C#, stores data in a number of relational databases (commonly Microsoft SQL ServerMicrosoft SQL Server
Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database server, developed by Microsoft: It is a software product whose primary function is to store and retrieve data as requested by other software applications, be it those on the same computer or those running on another computer across a network...
) and works on Microsoft IIS
Internet Information Services
Internet Information Services – formerly called Internet Information Server – is a web server application and set of feature extension modules created by Microsoft for use with Microsoft Windows. It is the most used web server after Apache HTTP Server. IIS 7.5 supports HTTP, HTTPS,...
.
Database tier
In 2008, developer Ruben Verborgh introduced a data abstraction layer, making it possible for Umbraco to support databases other than SQL Server. In version 4 of Umbraco, support for MySQL, SQL Server and VistaDB come as standard.Deployment
The standard release of Umbraco is typically deployed on IIS in an environment which supports Full Trust. While a Full Trust environment is mandatory to install and operate the standard release, the codebase has been branched and modified to produce a version of the framework and backend UI which supports Medium Trust.Research has also been undertaken on running an Umbraco website on Mono
Mono (software)
Mono, pronounced , is a free and open source project led by Xamarin to create an Ecma standard compliant .NET-compatible set of tools including, among others, a C# compiler and a Common Language Runtime....
on Linux.
Umbraco can be deployed on a single physical server running the database and web tier, and this deployment model can be appropriate for small low-cost sites. Umbraco sites which serve content under higher load can also be deployed on a load balanced
Load balancing (computing)
Load balancing is a computer networking methodology to distribute workload across multiple computers or a computer cluster, network links, central processing units, disk drives, or other resources, to achieve optimal resource utilization, maximize throughput, minimize response time, and avoid...
cluster. Load balanced Umbraco installations can use software or hardware load balancers, and load balanced network files can be shared using a SAN, NAS
Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
or a cluster file system or using a file replication service between nodes in the cluster.
Releases
Version 4.1 Beta II was released on 16 February 2010 which refactors a number of key components of the framework, including the UI tree control to improve performance and the user experience and parts of the data access layer to reduce the number of database calls.Version 5 (codenamed "Jupiter") is a rewrite of the framework planned to be released in Q2 2011 built using ASP.NET MVC.
Design philosophy
Umbraco is built upon Microsoft's .NET Framework.NET Framework
The .NET Framework is a software framework that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It includes a large library and supports several programming languages which allows language interoperability...
, Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database server, developed by Microsoft: It is a software product whose primary function is to store and retrieve data as requested by other software applications, be it those on the same computer or those running on another computer across a network...
, and XSLT
XSLT
XSLT is a declarative, XML-based language used for the transformation of XML documents. The original document is not changed; rather, a new document is created based on the content of an existing one. The new document may be serialized by the processor in standard XML syntax or in another format,...
, a XML-based language used for the transformation of XML documents. It is designed to be a toolkit for building custom software; it integrates existing technologies rather than introduce new ones. For example, Umbraco supports ASP.NET "master pages" and XSLT rather than introducing its own templating language.
Community
The Umbraco corporation employs a staff of eleven and is supported by a core development team of 15 volunteers who work on the open source core platform. Umbraco's community site, "Our Umbraco", has more than 55.000 registered users and developers. Since 2005 there has been an annual developer conference which have taken place in CopenhagenCopenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, except in 2007 when it was held in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. In 2009 there were 170 attendees and the conference is planned to take place in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
in June 2010.
Reception
In August 2009, Umbraco was included in a list of 10 CMS systems recommended by the Danish Version2 magazine. Among these were three systems initially developed in Denmark: SitecoreSitecore
Sitecore is a web content management system software company that provides enterprise website, intranet, portal and marketing automation software. The company was founded in 2001 and has offices in Australia, Denmark, Sweden, Canada, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United...
, TYPO3
TYPO3
TYPO3 is a free and open source web content management framework. It is released under the GNU General Public License. It can run on several web servers, such as Apache or IIS, on top of many operating systems, among them Linux, Microsoft Windows, FreeBSD, Mac OS X and OS/2.-History:TYPO3 was...
, and Umbraco.
Further reading
Nicolai Devantier (21 Sep 2009) ABBA og gratis kode er nøglen til succes (interview with Niels Hartvig), ComputerworldComputerworld
Computerworld is an IT magazine that provides information for senior IT leaders. It is published in many countries around the world under the same or similar names. Its publisher is International Data Group. Computerworld serves the needs of IT management via print and online...
Denmark Tania Andersen (2 Feb 2009) Dansk succes-CMS får redigering fra forsiden, Version2 Tania Andersen (25 Jan 2010) Microsoft vælger dansk open source-CMS til millioner af udviklere, Version2 Tania Andersen (10 Jun 2008) Microsoft vælger open source til udviklersite, Version2