Primary Database And The Application Server Needs example essay topic

Hardware and Software Recommendations Many times the hardest thing for a company to do is not to come up with the brilliant idea, or the money-saving plan. The hardest thing is for the company executives to compare and select the correct and most useful hardware and software that will enable them to complete their idea or plan. This section will investigate some of the different options available to Team B, and present the basis for their selections. Software requirements Currently, Company XYZ has multiple venues for taking customer orders: emails, phones, website, faxes, EDI, and flatfiles. All these orders have different processes, and they use different systems that are then merged into one order management system. These manual processes lead to unnecessary expenses, delays, and usage of manpower.

There are six different venues and five people in the department. In addition to receiving the phone orders, someone has to appease irate customers, check e-mails, update the website, handle the faxes, and also manage the flatfiles and the EDI systems. The updates of the catalogs and websites, manual creation of orders, and handling customer service can seriously limit the department's ability to conduct business. For this reason, automation of the order process is required for the benefit of the company. It will provide the department with the hassle-free environment that they require to build sales volume and fulfill efficiency goals. Using a single interface connected to a single application can provide visibility to the entire order lifecycle, so that at any point during the transaction, the customer can be updated on the status of their order with ease.

Application To reduce the high costs associated with manual processing, Escalate will integrate the various manual order receiving processes under one system. "Escalate's unique order management technology accepts orders from multiple channels, processes them across divisional and company lines, handles all types of orders through a single system and is scalable to high volumes". (Escalate) 1. The system has a built-in event and exception management that enables the staff to be more proactive in their notifications to the customers regarding their orders. 2. With an online order status feature providing a track and trace feature, associates can remain efficient and be able to consolidate orders across platforms.

3. The system also has an optional shipper integration module that can allow the company to retire one additional process and provide ease in consolidating shipping contracts across vendors to save shipping costs. These can then be rolled over as benefits onto the customers, leading to an increase in the productivity. 4. With a lower cost of managing orders and shipments, and decreasing the order to cash lifecycle the company can experience an increase in revenue.

Technology Escalate 7 is an end-to-end application suite that provides desktop control not only to manage but also to execute enhanced order / sales planning. In addition to order management, this newly released version also includes applications like logistics management, and order change management. All the applications in the suite share a common platform. With EDI posing limitations to the amount of information that can be shared, with whom, and when, it can greatly hamper effective order processing. Escalate 7 overcomes these limitations by supporting multiple user-friendly features. The application is available as a software license or as a managed solution.

Escalate 7 is built using the latest Internet standards and is also J 2 EE compliant. With a high performance scalable design, it can work with the existing application server architecture of the company or even be used with an inexpensive servlet engine. It has a standard J 2 EE application server and an RDBMS database infrastructure. The RDBMS (Relational Database Management System) provides an important feature, in that the data can be viewed in many different ways.

This feature can also dissolve the flatfile system that is currently being used. A full scale RDBMS is a database that can be spread across multiple tables, whereas flatfile databases use one database per table. In essence, by using this application we are retiring the EDI, and the flatfile systems, along with integrating the shipping venue into the order processing system. So the staff has more time devoted to their orders and to customer service. Database For our purpose, the company will use the Simplex Database as their database system. It is compatible with multiple systems and server configurations.

The database is written in Perl. The specifics for this are: Unix, Linux, or Solaris operating system on a workstation HTTP server like Apache that is configured for Perl CGI scripts Perl 5.005 or later version For a small to medium size organization such as Company XYZ, Simplex provides its own built-in binary file database that can hold up to ten thousand records. Therefore, a third party database system is not required. This database provides a powerful back-end to custom built or third party applications that can be interconnected with it to provide seamless interfacing. Hardware requirements Since Escalate allows the use of the existing application / database infrastructure, this can be a cost-saving factor for the organization. With a little cleanup of the systems (both administrative, and user workstations) and some upgrades of the hardware on which they rely, the entire operation can be brought up-to-par when the new application is ready to be launched.

There are currently five workstations in the department that share a database server with no redundancy. This could be a major delay factor in the event of a network downtime. For the databases redundancy is necessary. A primary database that feeds the application server that in turn interfaces with Escalate on the user's desktop can be implemented. In retrospect both the primary database and the application server needs to have backups in events of failures. Company XYZ already has a database and an application server, although they are outdated.

They need to be upgraded and two more workstations need to be added to the network as backup systems. The staff's PCs also need to be made more proficient in their speed and capabilities. The RAM and the processor speed need to be evaluated on their machines and upgraded if necessary. Specific Hardware and Back-Up System Team B has selected Dell Computer to provide the hardware to run Escalate for Company XYZ's automated order entry.

From Dell's website, the following is the hardware associated with the server. Dell Power Edge 2600 Tower Chassis Server -Dual 2.4 GHz Intel Xeon Processors, 512 K Cache, 533 MHz Front Side Bus -1 GB DDR SDRAM (2 x 512 MB) -4 x 73 GB 15 K RPM Ultra 320 SCSI Hard Drive -PERC 4/Di 128 MB (2 internal channels) Embedded RAID controller configured for RAID Level 5 -Red Hat Linux 8.0 Professional factory installed -Power Vault 110 T 160/320 GB, Internal SDLT tape drive with controller -CA ArcServe Server for Linux backup software -5 Pack SDLT Media -CD-ROM -3.5" Floppy -Redundant internal power supply -Keyboard -Mouse -15" VGA Monitor -Stand alone 1500 UPS 120 V Uninterrupted Power Supply -Dell 2508 8-port all-gigabit unmanaged switch $11,239 + tax & shipping RAID Level 5 provides redundancy for data integrity and uptime assurance as well as optimized performance. Because Company XYZ's customers are generated from the retail sector, a day's worth of orders cannot be reproduced if the local RAID stops functioning. Therefore, to ensure the data is not jeopardized, an offsite mirror will be employed.

The tape drive back-up system will follow a schedule. The weekend will be used to perform a full back-up to tape and the weekdays will consist of incremental back-ups. The previous week's data will always be stored off site to guard against fire, theft or any other disaster. Every quarter, a long-term, permanent tape will be made and stored offsite as well.

The battery back-up unit will also help eliminate the possibility of server failure during a power outage. The battery will be connected to the server to initiate shutdown proceedings when battery time nears exhaustion. Team B has decided that the Dell hardware and the Escalate 7 software will provide the most benefit to Company XYZ in their goal of automating the order process. This information will be presented to the Board of Directors at the next meeting on August 8, 2003, for their review and approval.

Team B will then proceed with a timeline for the implementation of the new system, including when and how the system will be installed..