Client/Server Architecture


 


1.      Do you think the problems faced by Hures is unique to them?  Why or why not?


                        The Client-server problem that Hures has encountered is not unique to them. Yes, Client-server computing had a positive impact on organizations, but, as with all new technologies, there are many challenges and questions with hard-to-find answers.


                        Desktop Management Task Force (DMTF), a standards          organization founded in 1992, is creating the most important set of        standards for network and systems management since the initial version            of simple network management protocol (SNMP) was released in 1988.    DMTF is tackling the significant problems involved with managing      hardware and software of PC desktops and servers. Its specs are           complete enough that users can now require conformance from vendors and look for management applications that incorporate the specifications         in their architecture.


                         Among the vendors that have supported DMTF since it was launched in 1992 are Intel, Microsoft, Novell, Digital, Hewlett Packard,           IBM, SunSoft and SynOptics. Since then many others have joined,    including AST Research, Compaq, Dell, Symantec and Apple, and    hundreds of hardware and software vendors have pledged to implement the DMTF specifications.


                        It may seem strange that this large group of vendors has decided to            work    together to make your life easier; historically, the opposite has been       true. But the DMTF members aren’t altruistic–they’re cooperating because    they believe that by easing the management burden, customers will move       toward client-server computing faster.


                        To make client-sever networks run smoothly, we will have to be       able to manage the desktop. The DMTF members are developing MIFs        and helping developers incorporate DMI into products through workshops    and publications. The work of the DMTF should make 1995 the year it    became possible to manage desktops in a cohesive and simplified             manner. Will the DMTF be a success? Absolutely.


2.      Suggest an alternative technology that could be used to overcome the problems faced by Hures with their Client/Server technology.


                        The lack of effective remote management for desktops is a major    barrier to widespread adoption of client-server computing. The PC has         become the ultimate open system. The complexity problem is even worse        at the workgroup and enterprise levels. Workgroups often contain             workstations from multiple vendors, some of which have attached printers,           others have CDROM drives and each has a different hard-drive capacity             and runs different software.


                        Today, managing these environments requires an arsenal of           separate vendor-developed utilities that for the most part cannot be       invoked remotely. What is needed is a standardized management agent            that the various components can share and a uniform and easily extended        way to format management information and commands.


                        DMTF specs will help save time and money. They will maintain       consistency throughout a network and will free managers to work on the             kinds of activities that push users forward rather than on the tedious    housekeeping tasks that hold them back.


                        The DMTF has addressed a problem that SNMP never defined: a    set of open APIs for accessing a common agent. DMTF’s agent is called    the Desktop Management Interface and it defines how management   applications request services from an agent through a Management          Interface (MI). It also defines how component providers can provide     routines that integrate into the DMI agent structure through the          Component Interface (CI). These definitions result in an open agent             platform that allows vendors to share a common management interface for          PCs or workstations.


                        The DMI is independent of operating systems and protocols. Think             of it as an interpreter: It takes requests from management applications and translates them through the DMVs Service Layer, so the           component can give the application the             information it needs. The DMI             also allows components to send notifications through            the Service Layer to             any application that is registered to receive this type of information.


                        The DMI enables component-specific agent modules to be   executed in response to management commands that come through the          DMI interface. It will be possible to remotely invoke disk diagnostics or test        routines on specific boards in a    machine in a standardized way.


                        In the DMTF specification, the definitions of management data are             called             Management Information Files (MIFs), and they resemble SNMP’s             Management Information Bases (MIBs). A MIF is a text file that contains     information about the component, its manufacturer, its configuration and         any other information that will help manage the device.


                        To assure that the information stored in a MIF remains the same,    regardless of which vendor creates the product, the DMTF is publishing    standard MIF structures for different components. Having a standard way       to specify desktop and server configuration information is a key             breakthrough, and it will enable us to automatically collect a full inventory            of all hardware and software. This will have the same impact on          systems management that SNMP’s auto-topology and discovery           capabilities have had on network management.


                        DMTF’s work is carried out in working groups, which are organized             around specific types of devices. Each group is establishing a definition        and structure for the MIF information to be stored on its components.


                        The PC MIF contains information on the CPU, operating system,    motherboard, audio, video, BIOS, I/Os, co-processor, power source and         expansion slots.                  


3.      One of the suggestions proposed by Hures IS department is the use of Intranet Webs.  Examine the pros and cons of such an idea.                                                    An intranet is a framework for creating and sharing corporate knowledge, the emphasis being on the word framework. Based on Internet standards and tools, an intranet focuses on content sharing within a limited and well-defined group.


                        Benefits of intranets. There are a number of major advantages in having an intranet, such as: ease of use; single intuitive user interface     (namely the browser); widespread industry support; and ability to link up         legacy systems (both applications and databases).


 


 


 


                        Commentators acknowledge that intranet equipment will outsell that          used for the Internet by a considerable margin. This begs the question of            why there has been such a huge take-up of intranets. The reasons why    intranets are so successful are: (1) Platform independence—web     technologies allow a whole range of different platforms to be linked by a   common interface. (2) Quick wins—an intranet can be set up very cheaply,   but if it is well designed it can make a big impact upon internal            communications. Something as simple as putting the phone book onto the             intranet can save a large organisation thousands of pounds on       reprographics, and the end result is a list that is always up to date. There    is no longer the danger of some copies being up to date, and others being      six months out of date. And (3) Cost savings—there are a number of          potential cost savings. These include user support. On an intranet, all the      processing and applications sit on the server. It is only necessary to update the software on the server, instead of on each individual user’s pc.       Another area of cost savings would be in network management, since        there would be a move from a multi-protocol network, to a single protocol        network, namely TCP/IP.


                        Cons of Intranets. There are also disadvantages: (1) Management             could lose control of the material provided in the Intranet. (2) There could         be easy security concerns with who accessess the intranet, plus abuse of     the intranet by users. And (3) Intranets may cause “information overload”,      delivering too much to handle.


                        According to an article in  in May 1997,     ‘Web-based technologies provide a common user interface across            disparate platforms, enabling the development of cross-platform      applications, the integration of existing legacy applications and databases,     and enhanced communications and information sharing among the         intranet users’ (1997).


                        In order to achieve the business benefits which an intranet can       undoubtedly bring, you have got to address the cultural issues. You have        to face headon the question of how you can create a culture within your           organisation which will encourage all your staff to use the new technology    and to share information. What you should be aiming for is a learning       organisation, one that is able to learn from experience, and one which       doesn’t continually reinvent the wheel. That means having the confidence      to try things out, being willing to fail in order to learn how to succeed,             finding out what works and what doesn’t. This isn’t going to be easy—who           wants to share their failures with work colleagues? But, if they do so, then   hopefully together employees can help each other along the road to          success. The collective brainpower of an organisation is clearly far more   powerful than that of any individual. If everyone is working together, then             they will bring together collectively a number of differ ent thoughts, ideas    and perspectives. To achieve this, there must be an information sharing   culture.


                                I think that one important factor is to ensure that employees feel      that it is worthwhile sharing information, or providing feedback and            suggestions about the intranet. This doesn’t have to be about monetary          rewards. Rather, it is about demonstrating that you value their efforts.             Show them that you have taken on board their comments and         suggestions, and that you have acted upon them. Or, if for some    reason the comments are impractical to implement or don’t fit in with the          overall strategy; take the time and effort to explain why.


 


4.      Do you think the popularity of Intranets and the Internet pose threats to traditional Client/server systems?


                        Just because people have discovered intranets doesn’t mean all companies should get one simply because their competitors have got one. Information Technology departments must enter into a dialogue with their firms′ senior management in order to try and understand what the key issues affecting the business are, because these should be what drives development, not IT issues. Unless this point is fully understood, businesses run the risk of failing to exploit the strategic and competitive advantages which are potentially available to them through investing in intranet technologies.


                                    It is easy to envisage the chief executive of a company going           along to lunch with his counterpart in a similar organisation. When he has lunch, his counterpart sings the praises of the wonderful new intranet that    they have just installed in their organisation. On his return from lunch, the      chief executive calls in the IT director and says, ‘We must get one of           those’. And so, an intranet is duly installed, and the chief executive can now look his peers in the eye and say that his company also has an         intranet. How many times do people find out that their competitors have a             particular piece of software, so they must get it too? What is important, of   course, is not whether or not an organisation has an intranet, but rather to     what uses it is being put. Over and over again, when you ask people what            their intranet contains, you find a remarkable unanimity amongst             organisations, where the intranet basically contains the telephone directory and the menu for the staff restaurant, but nothing of any          substance. I was amused to learn that this type of intranet has a name—          they have been dubbed ‘emptynets’ (1999).


                                    It is easy to mock such things, but it very much depends        upon the future development plans that an organisation has for its      intranet. If a company just puts up the phone directory and the menu, and        thinks that it now has a fully-fledged intranet, then something is wrong.             But if, however, that organisation has put up those applications       deliberately as a ‘taster’ of             what an intranet looks like, and as a means of getting people interested in the idea of an intranet then clearly there     is the potential to ask the users what they would like to see on the   intranet, and how they would like it to develop. It is vitally important for       companies to realize that an intranet is something dynamic. It has the      potential to grow into something that becomes a natural part of office             life, just like using the photocopier or the fax machine. Once people           grasp that there is a developmental process involved, then the intranet      could lead on to an extranet, and indeed to electronic commerce (also             known as e-commerce).


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 



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