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Benefits
of Client/Server
In
the typical network environment the server acts as an Input
/ Output system. The workstation receives the files (databases
and indexes) and performs functions on the files. If for any
reason the workstation is frozen or rebooted, the files may
not be updated properly and corruption occurs.
In a Client/Server
environment, the server controls the databases and indexes.
The server searches and updates the files, while the workstation
only instructs the server as to what operations should be performed.
Due to this arrangement, it is next to impossible for an individual
work station to corrupt a file.
A Client/Server
environment also improves WAN performance since less information
must travel across the network bridge. In addition, general
performance is easier to address since the most dramatic improvements
will be gained by upgrading the server hardware rather than
each individual workstation.
How We Did It
To
provide our users with the benefits of a Client/Server environment
and still keep our price reasonable, we chose the Advantage
Database Server. The Advantage Database
Server is a NetWare Loadable Module (NLM) which acts as a
database server for the xBase database files which are used
by the A.M.I. system. In comparison to SQL based Client/Server
systems A.M.I. with Advantage Database Server is a very cost
effective solution.
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Will
it run faster?
Assuming you
change nothing else on your network, the biggest increase
in speed will be noticeable when running reports. There is
a dramatic increase in speed of the major reports in our system
in the Client/Server environment. As far as operational speed,
i.e. order entry, the speed is roughly the same.
Will we need retraining
on this version ?
The look and
feel of the A.M.I. system has remained the same. It is only
the back-end, the part of the system that manipulates the databases
and indexes, that has changed.
Installation
Installation
of this new version requires two steps. First, the NLM must
be loaded on the file server - this takes a few minutes. Second,
the A.M.I. software must be upgraded - this takes as long
as a traditional A.M.I. upgrade.
Pricing
See
Price
Sheet.
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