 Architecture
|
| CONNX® is a Universal Data Access tool
that provides a simplified data access middleware solution that preserves and enhances
database systems by giving heterogeneous, secure and real time access to disparate
databases through a single "master driver". This means that disparate data
sources can be treated as one relational database, allowing the enterprise complete
database flexibility. The CONNX product line
provides access to several types of databases through open data access technologies
including ODBC and OLE DB. CONNX is compatible with ANY ODBC compliant
front-end application and also supports a vast amount of database specific data types for
data conversion.
Enterprise database solutions with CONNX include:
 |
Connectivity "pipe"
for ODBC, JDBC and OLE DB compliant applications |
|
Data Migration |
|
Application Development |
|
Internet / Intranet / Extranet
Development |
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Ad Hoc / enhanced reporting |
|
| Connx Architecture 
|
| Above is the CONNX enterprise data model.
CONNX has a distributed SQL engine, meaning that the work of processing queries is
distributed between the client and the server. Most of the CPU intensive query processing
such as data conversion and sorting is performed on the PC. All of the data retrieval is
performed on the server. In the case of CONNX for DataFlex, all processing is done on the
PC, because there is no server component. The
following diagram shows the distribution of labor in the CONNX architecture:
|
| Client
PC |
VMS
Mainframe |
| Data Conversion |
| Meta-data Retrieval (CONNX CDD) |
| First Pass SQL Optimisation |
| Partial Joins |
| Sorting |
| Grouping |
| Extended SQL Functions |
| CONNX Security |
|
| Indexed Retrieval |
| Non-Index Retrieval |
| Partial Joins |
| Data Compression (If Requested) |
| RPCs (Remote Procedure Calls) |
| Database Security |
|
|
| This distributed architecture has
several advantages: |
|
When performing joins,
significantly less data is sent across the network because no duplicates are transmitted |
|
The workload on the VMS/VAX
server or VMS/Alpha server is minimal, because CPU-bound tasks are moved to the client,
resulting in a reduction of load on the mainframe/data server and better performance
across the enterprise. |
|
When several users are issuing
queries simultaneously, the CPU power of each client computer is utilised in addition to
that of the server, resulting in true parallel processing. This makes CONNX highly
scalable to a large enterprise. |
The goal of CONNX is to provide access to all data on the
enterprise through a single open access driver. CONNX will treat ALL data sources as a
single database CONNX provides read/write access to the data in these systems using three
main components:
|
The CONNX Data Server and ODBC
Driver. |
|
The CONNX Data Dictionary. |
|
The CONNX Client. |
CONNX supports databases on the following host database
platforms:
|
| Operating
System |
Database |
| VAX/VMS |
RMS, RDB, DBMS |
| AXP Alpha/VMS |
RMS, RDB, DBMS |
| Windows (16bit & 32bit) |
DataFlex |
|
| Versions of CONNX are available for the DEC
Alpha platform. |
The CONNX Data Server
The CONNX Servers for ORACLE DBMS, ORACLE RDB, Digital RMS Files and Dataflex are
full-fearured data servers that translate SQL requests into the native database
requests.The CONNX ODBC Driver makes this server transparent to the end user. The CONNX Data Server features include:
|
Complete user-level and group
level security. (In addition to existing security) |
|
Low memory and disk resource
utilisation. |
|
Complete file and/or table
security. |
|
RPC Support (for VMS only). |
|
The CONNX Data Dictionary
The CONNX Data Dictionary (CDD) is a repository of information about the database tables
and fields. It contains the meta data about the source information and provides a GUI
screen for easy and intuitive querying of the database.The CONNX Data Dictionary features include:
|
Contains information about all
of the databases being accessed through CONNX. |
|
Can reside on a shared server
disk, or on the client computer. |
|
Describes the structures of
the tables or files being accessed. |
|
Defines additional security
for tables, views, and columns. |
|
Multiple views of the same
data are allowed, thus enhancing security and ease-of-use. |
|
Import of existing data
definition information. |
|
Wizard assistance for common
tasks. |
|
The CONNX Client
The CONNX Client is based on an ODBC Driver, which is a dynamic link library that
applications call to access data located in remote systems. The CONNX ODBC driver
processes the ODBC function calls, submits requests to the appropriate data source, and
then returns the results. The CONNX Client
features include:
|
Tightly coupled with the CONNX
Data Dictionary. |
|
Uses Structured Query Language
(SQL) is the standard for accessing information. |
|
Provides the ability to use
off-the-shelf ODBC compliant applications without the need to program. |
For more information or to order an evaluation, please contact us
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