Client/Server Architecture and Attributes
The client/server software architecture is a versatile, message-based and modular infrastructure that is intended to improve usability, flexibility, interoperability, and scalability as compared to centralized, mainframe, time sharing computing. A client is defined as a requester of services and a server is defined as the provider of services. A single machine can be both a client and a server depending on the software configuration. This technology description provides some common client/server architectures and attributes.
The original PC networks were based on a file sharing architecture, where the server downloads files from the shared location to the desktop environment. The requested user job is then run (including logic and data) in the desktop environment. File sharing architectures work if shared usage is low, update contention is low, and the volume of data to be transferred is low. In the 1990s, PC LAN (local area network) computing changed because the capacity of the file sharing was strained as the number of online user grew (it can only satisfy about 12 users simultaneously) and graphical user interfaces (GUIs) became popular (making mainframe and terminal displays appear out of date). PCs are now being used in client/server architectures.
As a result of the limitations of file sharing architectures, the client/server architecture emerged. This approach introduced a database server to replace the file server. Using a relational database management system (DBMS), user queries could be answered directly. The client/server architecture reduced network traffic by providing a query response rather than total file transfer. It improves multi-user updating through a GUI front end to a shared database. In client/server architectures, Remote Procedure Call (RPC’s) or standard query language (SQL) statements are typically used to communicate between the client and server. The following descriptions provide examples of client/server architectures.
A unique structure is a two-tier architecture. With two tier client/server architectures the user system interface is usually located in the user's desktop environment and the database management services are usually in a server that is a more powerful machine that services many clients. Processing management is split between the user system interface environment and the database management server environment. The database management server provides stored procedures and triggers. There are a number of software vendors that provide tools to simplify development of applications for the two-tier client/server architecture. The two-tier client/server architecture is a good solution for distributed computing when work groups are defined as a dozen to 100 people interacting on a LAN simultaneously.
... access to what and in which sequence. The router connects the LAN to other networks, which could be the Internet or another corporate network so that the LAN can exchange information with networks external to it. The most common LAN operating systems are Windows, Linux, and Novell. Each of these network operating systems supports TCP/IP as their default networking protocol. Ethernet is the dominant LAN standard at the physical network level, specifying the physical medium to carry signals between computers, access control rules, and a standardized set of bits used to carry data over the system. Originally, Ethernet supported a data transfer rate of 10 megabits per second (Mbps). Newer versions, such as Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet, support data transfer rates of 100 Mbps and 1 gigabits per second (Gbps), respectively, and are used in network backbones.
The internet works on the basis that some computers act as ‘servers’. These computers offer services for other computers that are accessing or requesting information, these are known as ‘clients’. The term “server” may refer to both the hardware and software (the entire computer system) or just the software that performs the service. For example, Web server may refer to the Web server software in a computer that also runs other applications or it may refer to the computer system dedicated only to the Web server applicant. For example, a large Web site could have several dedicated Web servers or one very large Web server.
File servers are an important part of any business. The file server is the central location of files for a business small or big. The file server can be a cloud accessible server which grants accesses anywhere. The file server can also be a dedicated server which is only used on the business network. I am going to touch on the specifications of a file server. This means I am going to go over CPU, memory, bus, DMA, storage, interrupts, input/output peripherals, and monitors of a files server.
Basically, a Browser/Server (B/S) model is adopted in the system design where nearly all computing load is located on the server side, while the client side is only responsible for displaying. In this project, SOA is used to facilitate data communication and interactive operations for the reason that each web service is an independent unit in SOA. The general structure of the web-based UMS using SOA is described as follows (Figure 2). In Figure 2, the server side is composed of GIS web service providers, an image cache server, a web server and a firewall.
One of the important components of software engineering is the platforms. There are many various types of computing platforms. A few of these include AmigaOS, Linux, Windows, Solaris. These examples are just a few of many different computing platforms. The types of computing platforms can be differentiated into three different categories, which include operating-system examples, software frame work examples, and also hardware examples. Each of the different platforms has slightly different requirements and means of maintenance. Even the required standards for the platforms differentiate depending on which platform being used. Platforms are a vital part of systems and for applications, and are available in many various forms. The basis of this paper is mainly to observe the differences and similarities of four of these platforms. The particular platforms being compared and contrasted with each other include: Linux, Microsoft Windows, UNIX, and Macintosh. The purpose is to look at the purpose of each of these platforms and also to perceive the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Communication within our network has much improved with Windows NT. We are now capable of sharing files and data between all offices. Our Fast Ethernet Intranet provides speedy and stable communication transport.
Thin-client computing now offers real hope for progress. The state of affairs described above is like a fat pitch don the middle of home plate, just begging for thin-client computing proponents to smack it out of the park. When it comes to total cost of ownership for desktop computing services, thin-client computing is a bottom-line winner. Yes users will have to five up some control of their desktops. Any yes, administrators will need to learn a new approach to application deployment. But the payback is so clear; thin clients' arrival is almost inevitable.
Peer-to-peer is a communications model in which each party has the same capabilities and either party can initiate a communication session. Other models with which it might be contrasted include the client/server model and the master/slave model. In some cases, peer-to-peer communications is implemented by giving each communication node both server and client capabilities. In recent usage, peer-to-peer has come to describe applications in which users can use the Internet to exchange files with each other directly or through a mediating server.
A network can be based on either a peer-to-peer level or server-based, also referred to as domain-based. To distinguish the difference, a peer-to-peer network, also known as a workgroup, is a network in which a group of computers are connected together to share resources, such as files, applications, or peripherals. The computers in a peer-to-peer network are peers to one another, meaning no single computer has control over one another. There is also no central location for users to access resources, which means that each individual computer must share their files in order for other computers to have access (Muller, 2003, p.411). “In a peer-to-peer environment, access rights are governed by setting sharing permissions on individual machines.” (Cope, 2002) On the other hand, in a domain-based network, the computers connected together are either servers or clients. All of the other computers connected to the network are called client computers. The server is a dedicated machine that acts as a central location for users to share and access resources. The server controls the level of authority each user has to the shared resources. When logging on to the network, users on client machines are authenticated by the server, based on a user name and password (Lowe, 2004, p.13).
To build a good and stable network is extremely difficult. It takes a team of very knowledgeable engineers to put together a system that will provide the best service and will forfill the need for the companies users and clients. There are many issues that have to be resolved and many choices have to be made. The toughest choices IT managers have to make, are what will be the best server platform for their environment. Many questions must be answered. Which server software offers complete functionality, with easy installation and management? Which one provides the highest value for the cost? What kind of support and performance can be expected from this system? And most important of all is what is more secure? In this paper, Microsoft Windows NT Server is compared to UNIX, in the large commercial environment. The main focus of the comparison is on the areas of, reliability, compatibility, administration performance and security.
This share point is being implemented by AUMA. This SharePoint is used by many people within the company or outside the office. By using the SharePoint as a File management system by reducing the file duplications, improving the ability to search the documents with intuitive structure, can easily access the legacy versions of the documents along with the version features and finally can improve the accessibility of the content for the internet.
After the introduction of client server architecture, this is used in many industries, business companies and military institutes. Its popularity is high than other software because it is provides more versatile structure.
In contrast to the poorly defined Windows DNA (Distributed interNet Architecture), .NET is a tangible and easily defined software product. It is an application framework, meaning that it provides applications with the system and network services they require. The .NET services range from displaying graphical user interfaces to communicating with other servers and applications in the enterprise. It replaces Windows COM (Component Object Model) with a much simpler object model that is implemented consistently across programming languages. This makes sharing data among applications, even via the Internet, easy and transparent. .NET also substantially improves application scalability and reliability, with portability being a stated but not yet realized objective. These are clear benefits demonstrated by the pre-beta edition of .NET.
Distributed systems are grouping of computers linked through a network that uses software to coordinate their resources to complete a given task. The majority of computer systems in use today are distributed systems. There are limited uses for a singular software application running on an unconnected individual hardware device. A perfect distributed system would appear to be a single unit. However, this ideal system is not practical in real world application due to many environmental components. There are many attributes to consider when designing and implementing distributed systems. Distributed Software Engineering is the implementation of all aspects of software production in the creation of a distributed
Local Area Networks also called LANs have been a major player in industrialization of computers. In the past 20 or so years the worlds industry has be invaded with new computer technology. It has made such an impact on the way we do business that it has become essential with an ever-growing need for improvement. LANs give an employer the ability to share information between computers with a simple relatively inexpensive system of network cards and software. It also lets the user or users share hardware such as Printers and scanners. The speed of access between the computers is lighting fast because the data has a short distance to cover. In most cases a LAN only occupies one or a group of buildings located next to each other. For larger area need there are several other types of networks such as the Internet.