Architecture of a Geographic Business Intelligence Solution

In this section:

This section outlines the key components that are combined to form the architecture of a Geographic Business Intelligence Solution (GBIS). These key components include:


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Adobe Flex (Client)

For this Geographic Business Intelligence Solution (GBIS), Adobe Flex is used as the client. Adobe Flex is an open source framework used to develop rich Internet applications. When a user issues a request using a web browser, this request is passed to Adobe Flex to create a selection request for the ArcGIS Server. Adobe Flex is also used to process responses from the ArcGIS Server to pass to the middle tier. All symbol generating and map rendering processes occur in this framework.


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WebFOCUS Adapter for Geographic Information Systems (Middle Tier)

WebFOCUS Adapter for Geographic Information Systems is the middle tier (gateway) to issue requests to the WebFOCUS Reporting Server and receive responses from the Reporting Server. All responses from the WebFOCUS Reporting Server are processed to the web or to the client.


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ArcGIS Server

ArcGIS Server is a Geographic Information System (GIS) software package developed by ESRI that is used to deploy web-oriented spatial data services. It allows users to publish maps on to the web. ArcGIS Server processes any user selections that are made on the map. The map consists of various data layers for the corresponding perspectives that are being used (for example, streets, neighborhoods, arrests, and so on). Based on the location of these layers, ArcGIS Server performs spatial filtering and returns a response to the Client. The response is formatted as JSON formatted text. As a result, the Client uses this JSON formatted text to make further requests.

For more information on ArcGIS Server, visit the following website:

http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/getting-started/articles/026n00000007000000.htm


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WebFOCUS Reporting Server

The WebFOCUS Reporting Server is the Reporting Server used by WebFOCUS. WebFOCUS reports are triggered using a location-based query, which is passed to the WebFOCUS Reporting Server and then served as stylized reports.

WebFOCUS is the most secure and flexible business intelligence solution meeting all the reporting needs of the extended enterprise, ranging from analysts, to power users, and to the widest deployments for hundreds of thousands of users. The empowerment provided by WebFOCUS for organizations seeking to leverage all their data by accessing it all, from legacy to data warehouse, is unmatched.


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Architecture Diagram

The diagram in this section illustrates the workflow between the key components that are combined to form the architecture of a Geographic Business Intelligence Solution (GBIS). The line connectors between the components can be uni-directional or bi-directional. In addition, the function calls for the middle tier are clearly stated.


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