How content type hubs works?

Question

I am really new to that concept, never used before, but after some readings these are my conclusions and later my questions

1. To create a content type hub I need to create a site collection in there I will create the centralized content types
2. On the other site collections I will consume the content types from the main site collection

The question is: If I make a change on a content type in the hub, it will upgrade in all lists in all site collections automatically? Does sharepoint really use the definition of the content type from the main site, or its just copied every time something changes?

Are there any more advantages or disadvantages?

Answer 1

Yes, you create a site collection for the hub and activate the Content Type Syndication Hub feature at the site collection level.

There is a timer job that runs which will essentially copy the content types from the hub to the subscribing site collections. If you need a content type change immediately then you can start the timer job manually.

Note that site columns will only be synchronised if they are part of a content type. The way I usually get around this is to create a dummy content type and add any orphan site columns to that.

If specific content types need specific features activated such as Document IDs then the sync will fail to the subscribing site collection if the feature is not activated there.

When you create a new site collection it will automatically run the synch timer job as part of the deployment process so all the content types will be available immediately.

Answer 2

It's recommended to create a unique site collection to act as your content type hub. This allows for separation from your normal users and day-to-day activities. When working on a content type, there is an option to publish it, and then republish it after an update. Updates do not automatically go out if a CT is updated.

Also keep in mind the Content Type Subscriber timer job which runs hourly. This service handles the publishing of the CTs throughout the farm.

HTH