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Modern Systems Analysis and Design

Fourth Edition

Chapter 14 Designing Distributed and Internet Systems

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Learning Objectives
Define key client/server, LAN, distributed database, and middleware terms. Distinguish between file server and client/server environments. Describe alternative distributed system designs. Describe standards for Internet-based system design. Describe options for ensuring Internet design consistency. Describe site management issues. Describe issues related to managing online data.

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The Process of Designing Distributed and Internet Systems

The process is similar to designing singlelocation systems More opportunity for failure due to number of components Main issues involve ensuring reliability, availability, survivability, performance

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Deliverables and Outcome

A document that consolidates system design information:
Description of each site Description of data usage for each site Description of business process for each site Contrasts of alternative IS architectures for site, data and processing needs of each site

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Designing Internet Systems

Most new system development focuses on Internet-base applications (for internal processing, business-to-business, and business-to-consumer) Main design issues:
Standards Separating content from display Future evolution Site consistency Site management Online data management

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Standards for Internet Design

Internet design is simpler than client/server due to proliferation of standards Types of Standards:
Domain naming (BIND): a method for translating domain names into Internet Protocol (IP) addresses Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP): a communication protocol for exchanging information on the Internet Hypertext Markup Language (HTML): the standard language for representing content on the Web via command tags

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Separating Content from Display

HTML has limitations due to format orientation of tags eXtensible Markup Language (XML) has been developed to separate content from display XML: an Internet authoring language that allows designers to create customized tags that represent data transmitted between applications

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Future Evolution
Move from desktop PCs to thin clients
Most processing and data storage occurs on the server

Use of wireless mobile devices

Wireless Access Protocol (WAP): a wireless version of HTTP Wireless Markup Language (WML): a wireless version of HTML

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Site Consistency
Professionalism requires a consistent look-and-feel across all pages of a Web site Aids to consistency:
Cascading Style Sheets
A set of style rules that tells a Web browser how to present a document

Extensible Style Language (XSL)

Specification for separating style from content when generating HTML documents

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Site Management Issues

Customer Loyalty and Trustworthiness
Conveyed by
Design quality Up-front disclosure Comprehensive, correct and current content Connected to the rest of the Web Data security Personalization Customization

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Site Management Issues (cont.)

Web Pages Must Live Forever
Customer Bookmarks Links from Other Sites Search Engine Referrals Old Content Adds Value

System Security vs. ease of use

Remember my password Use of cookies

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Online Data Management

Context development
Method of understanding how a system fits within the existing business activities and data

Integration depth
Measurement of how far a system penetrates into the existing technology infrastructure

Organizational breadth
Measurement that tracks the core business functions affected by a system

Context, Breadth and Depth

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Online Transaction Processing (OLTP)

Refers to immediate automated responses to the requests of users Designed to handle multiple concurrent transactions Plays a large role in electronic commerce applications

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Online Analytical Processing (OLAP)

Refers to graphical software tools that provide complex analysis of data stored in a database. OLAP server is the chief component Good for time series and trend analysis Enables user to drill-down into the data

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Merging Transaction and Analytical Processing

Requires combining operational and informational components

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Data Warehousing
Collection of data for decision support Key features
Subject-oriented: organized around key subjects Integrated: data are collected from many operational systems and made to conform to standards Time-variant: data contains a time dimension Nonvolatile: data cannot be updated by users

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Steps in Building and Using a Data Warehouse

Extract data from various source system files and databases Transform, integrate, and load the data Data warehouse is a read-only environment Users access via query languages and analytical tools

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Data Warehouse Architectures

Two-level
Data warehouse and decision support environment

Three-level
Operational systems Enterprise data warehouse
Centralized, integrated data warehouse Control point and single source of all data made available to end users

Data marts
A data warehouse that is limited in scope based upon aggregation and selection

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