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Web - Based Systems

The concept of client/server architecture has dominated IT architecture for several decades. However, the specially structured client/server applications that were considered revolutionary in the mid1990s may soon become obsolete due to the rapid development of Webbased systems, as well as the introduction of new concepts such as utility computing and software services. Although all of these new technologies are based on the client/server concept, their implementation is considerably less expensive than that of many specially structured client/server systems. Furthermore, the conversion of existing systems to Web-based ones can be easy and fast, and the functionalities of the Webbased can be larger than those available in non-Web-based client/server systems. Therefore, the Internet, intranets, and sometimes extranets are becoming an indispensable part of most IT architectures. New Webbased architectures may replace old architectures, or may integrate legacy systems into their structure. Technically, the term Web-based systems refers to those applications or services that are resident on a server that is accessible using a Web browser and is therefore accessible from anywhere in the world via the Web. The only client side software needed to access and execute Webbased applications is a Web browser environment, and of course, the applications must conform to the Internet protocols. An example of such an application would be an online store. Additionally, two other very important features of Web-based functionalities are:
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1. The generated content/data are updated in real time, and 2. Web based systems are universally accessible via the Web to users (dependent on defined user-access rights). The major communication networks of the Web environments are the Internet, intranets, and extranets.

The Internet
Sometimes called simply the Net, The Internet, as no other communication medium, has given an International or, if you prefer, a "Globalized" dimension to the world. Internet has become the Universal source of information for millions of people, at home, at school, and at work. Internet is actually the most democratic of all the mass media. With a very low investment, anyone can have a web page in Internet. This way, almost any business can reach a very large market, directly, fast and economically, no matter the size or location of the business. With a very low investment, almost anybody that can read and write can have access to the World Wide Web. Physically, the Internet uses a portion of the total resources of the currently existing public telecommunication networks. Technically, what distinguishes the Internet is its use of a set of protocols called TCP/IP (for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). Two adaptations of Internet technology, intranets and extranets, also make use of the TCP/IP protocol.

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Today the Internet continues to grow day by day. The following table shows the incredibly fast evolution of the Internet from 1995 until the present time.
Table (10) Evolution of the Internet from 1995 until the present time

Date Number of Users % World Population December, 1995 16 millions 0.4 % December, 1996 36 millions 0.9 % December, 1997 70 millions 1.7 % December, 1998 147 millions 3.6 % December, 1999 248 millions 4.1 % December, 2000 361 millions 5.8 % August, 2001 513 millions 8.6 % September, 2002 587 millions 9.4 % December, 2003 719 millions 11.1 % December, 2004 817 millions 12.7 % December, 2005 1,018 millions 15.7 % December , 2006 1,093 millions 16.7 % December , 2007 1,319 millions 20.0 % December , 2008 1,574 millions 23.5 % June, 2009 1,669 millions 24.7 % December , 2009 1,802 millions 26.6 % June, 2010 1,966 millions 28.7 % September, 2010 1,971 millions 28.8 % March, 2011 2,095 millions 30.2 % September, 2011 2,180 millions 31.5 % December, 2011 2,267 millions 32.7 %

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Intranets
The concept of an intranet is a natural progression in the marriage of the enterprise and the Internet. An intranet is the use of Web technologies to create a private network, usually within one enterprise. Although an intranet may be a single local area network (LAN) segment that uses the TCP/IP protocol, it is typically a complete LAN, or several interconnected LANs. A security gateway such as a firewall is used to segregate the intranet from the Internet and to selectively allow access from outside the intranet. Intranets have a variety of uses, they allow for the secure online distribution of many forms of internal company information. Intranets are used for workgroup activities and the distributed sharing of projects within the enterprise. Other uses include controlled access to company financial documents, use of knowledge management, research materials, online training, and other information that requires distribution within the enterprise. Intranets are usually combined with and accessed via a corporate portal.

Extranets
Extranets connect several intranets via the Internet, by adding to the Internet a security mechanism and possibly some functionality. They form a larger virtual network that allows remote users (such as mobile employees) to securely connect over the Internet to the enterprises main intranet.

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An extranet allows controlled access from the outside, for specific business or educational purposes. In a business-to-business context, an extranet can be viewed as an extension of an organization's intranet that is extended to users outside the organization, usually partners, vendors, and suppliers, in isolation from all other Internet users. Typically, remote access software is used to authenticate and encrypt the data that pass between the remote user and the intranet. Extranets allow two or more enterprises to share information in a controlled fashion, and therefore they play a major role in the development of business-to-business electronic commerce (this subject will be covered in the next lectures). An extranet can be understood as an intranet mapped onto the public Internet or some other transmission system not accessible to the general public, but managed by more than one company's

administrator(s). For example, military networks of different security levels may map onto a common military radio transmission system that never connects to the Internet. Any private network mapped onto a public one is a virtual private network (VPN), often-using special security protocols. For decades, institutions have been interconnecting to each other to create private networks for sharing information. One of the differences that characterize an extranet, however, is that its interconnections are over a shared network rather than through dedicated physical lines.

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Advantages of Extranets Exchange large volumes of data using electronic Data Interchange (EDI). Share product catalogs exclusively with trade partners. Collaborate with other companies on joint development efforts. Jointly develop and use training programs with other companies. Provide or access services provided by one company to a group of other companies, such as an online banking application managed by one company on behalf of affiliated banks. Disadvantages of Extranets Extranets can be expensive to implement and maintain within an organization (e.g., hardware, software, employee training costs), if hosted internally rather than by an application service provider. Security of extranets can be a concern when hosting valuable or proprietary information.

Enterprise Web
The Enterprise Web is an open environment for managing and delivering Web applications. The Enterprise Web combines services from different vendors in a technology layer that spans rival platforms and business systems, creating a foundation for building applications at lower cost. This foundation consists of the services most commonly used

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by Web applications, including business integration, collaboration, content management, identity management, and search, which work together via integrating technologies such as middleware, componentbased development. The result is an environment that spans the entire enterprise, is open to all platforms for which adapters are available (or completely open with Web services), and is available to all audiences. Providing a common foundation for Web applications built on any platform lowers infrastructure and development costs; integrating resources from different systems into Web applications increases the return on those systems; and creating a common user experience for audiences across the enterprise to work together drives enterprise productivity and increases profits. Enterprise Web environments are available from all major software vendors (e.g., Microsoft, IBM, SAP, Oracle, BEA, PeopleSoft, and more). Benefits of Web Technology 9 Easy to Install: Web-based applications are installed centrally on a single server. In an enterprise environment, this means saving tens of thousands of dollars because there is no need to visit each user PC to install the software. 9 No Driver Conflict: Maintaining a client/server network is difficult because you must install software on each PC. This often means hours of labor during the installation process and after the fact to
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ensure that there are no driver conflicts among the applications installed on the PC. 9 Lower Database Licensing Cost: A web-based product changes the database licensing cost from a per-seat model to a concurrent user model. This results in decreased deployment costs ranging from 25 to 75 percent. This will result in a savings of several thousands of dollars in an enterprise environment. 9 Easier On-going Maintenance: New releases of the software are installed at a central server, eliminating the need to update each workstation. This significantly reduces the on-going maintenance costs. 9 Reduced Training Costs: End users are already familiar with their browser and its functionality. This provides a familiar starting point for the end user making it easier for them to adapt to a web-based system. Web-Enabled A review of tracking system solutions on the market today will show that almost all companies, claim to have web-based software when, in fact, they only have web-enabled software. The browser-based modules they deploy generally have very limited capabilities. All of the core functionality is still in their traditional client/server products.

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The world is moving very rapidly towards web-based products and ones that are web-enabled will not survive and they being pushed out of the market by newer, more powerful products. Web-enabled products suffer some major deficiencies that will create significant problems for the groups that deploy them. These problems include:

: Out-dated Approach: A web-enabled product merely continues the traditional approach to tracking. Items are entered using a centralized approach with traditional software product. This information is then made available to the intranet for viewing and requesting. : Training: Deployment of a web-enabled product has a major impact on training. You will need to train on two very different platforms: a traditional client/server product for managing the content and a browser based product for viewing, searching, and requesting. One objective of an enterprise system is to keep it simple. This means providing all the necessary functionality to the end user in a single package. : Greater Cost of Deployment: In an enterprise application, webenabled products are far more expensive to deploy because they will also require the installation of the fat-client component. The more users you have, the greater the deployment cost will be. Cost of deployment will also increase due to more database licenses

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required and the costs incurred from installing the product on every client PC. : Replacement: Web-enabled applications have limited life in the market. They will eventually be replaced by more robust webbased products. Product replacement is always an issue with end users because the new version will have a different look and feel along with a new set of functions. When you upgrade you will have to obtain more training and deal with the disruption of a new system all over again. This problem can be completely avoided by going to a web-based product immediately.

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