Technology

In this section:

The technology required to support the BI platform encompasses a wide range of resources.


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WebFOCUS Solution

WebFOCUS supports a broad set of core and extended product features. Depending on the product features and product usage required, resources may vary between customers. The following table describes the core product features.

WebFOCUS requires the following resources to run.

Core Product Components

Description

Resources Required

App Studio

  • Desktop development tool.
  • Can be integrated with source control tools.
  • Design mode: Internet Explorer 9 or higher.
  • Run time: Any supported browser at run time.
  • Source control libraries (optional).

WebFOCUS Client

  • Manages the web development tools, data discovery tools, reporting tools, and portals.
  • Comprised of a number of web applications.
  • Sends user requests to the WebFOCUS Reporting Server for processing.
  • Any supported browser.
  • Web server (optional).
  • Web server plug-ins (optional).
  • 32-bit or 64-bit Java Application Server.
  • 32-bit or 64-bit Java SDK or JRE.
  • RDBMS database repository.
  • 32-bit or 64-bit JDBC drivers for connection to the WebFOCUS RDBMS repository database.

ReportCaster

  • Manages scheduling and distribution.
  • Comprised of Scheduling Wizard and Distribution Server.

32-bit or 64-bit Java SDK or JRE (if installed on a separate machine from the WebFOCUS Client).

WebFOCUS Reporting Server

  • Provides data access.
  • Manages metadata.
  • Performs aggregations and calculations.
  • Provides styling and formatting.
  • Processes Java Services requests.
  • Any supported browser for access to the Web Console.
  • 32-bit or 64-bit Java SDK or JRE for Java Services.
  • 32-bit or 64-bit native database client libraries to match the bit addressing of the Reporting Server.
  • 32-bit or 64-bit JDBC drivers for access to JDBC data sources.
  • 32-bit or 64-bit LDAP libraries for access to LDAP/AD servers.
  • 32-bit or 64-bit Open SSL libraries for Web Console encryption.

WebFOCUS Workload Distribution Facility (CLM)

Manages workload distribution.

Any supported browser for access to the CLM Web Console.

Resource Management

Collecting application statistics.

RDBMS repository for storing collected statistics.



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Enterprise Data

At the heart of an enterprise architecture and BI platform are the Operational Data Stores (ODS), Enterprise Data Warehouses (EDW), and Data Marts (DM) that supply the integrated, transformed, and cleansed data for reporting and analysis. For more information, see Understanding the Data.


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Hardware Resources

Hardware choices are an important factor in achieving a scalable platform that performs optimally.

Choosing a Platform

Unless a platform has been pre-determined by company policy or by some other means, the most reliable way to make a choice is by:

Load Balancers and Proxy Servers

For a load-balanced architecture, a common approach is to cluster server components so it appears to be a single server. A hardware-based load balancer may be used by some customers to distribute requests to different web servers in a web server cluster. The same load balancer may act as a proxy server. A virtual IP is exposed to external users so it seems they are accessing a single machine. However, internally, the virtual IP is mapped to each of the web servers in the web server cluster. It is recommended that:


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Software Resources

Identify software resources:


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Network Resources

It is important to review the following aspects of your network when designing the architecture.

Network Speed and Availability

The speed of the network and availability of network bandwidth is one of the deciding factors in the placement of WebFOCUS server components.

TCP/IP Ports

TCP/IP ports are used in two ways:

Host Names and DNS Aliases

Before performing the WebFOCUS installation, you must know if the machines will be referenced by their Domain Name Service (DNS) physical name or DNS aliases (CNAME). Knowing this up front and entering the correct entries during installation will prevent a reinstallation or manual changes to WebFOCUS configuration files.

Network Restrictions

As a security measure, customers sometimes impose restrictions on TCP/IP ports so they cannot be accessed from certain machines. WebFOCUS server components use a number of TCP/IP ports to listen for incoming requests. Depending on which WebFOCUS features are part of the WebFOCUS solution, they can be changed or addressed during the design process.

Network Security

Any website exposed to the Internet must be protected. Common protections include the use of proxy servers, multiple firewalls (DMZs), and third-party software. Many companies deploying sensitive information over the web require a secure sign in prior to granting access to the website.


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Information Services

A crucial aspect in planning an implementation is knowing which services are required and ensuring that those services are available and functioning independent of WebFOCUS. Outlined below are common information services for WebFOCUS.


Information Builders