RE: Database Server... -- MIDRANGE-L

Kenneth,

        We have done this in a way that did not take much work, it may not
be the best in the long run but allowed us to get our feet wet in a short
time.  We use ODBC to access the AS/400 from the NT server, although I have
heard that OLE DB would be better.  You can control the user profile that
connects to the 400 so can control access with this.  We use the Client
Access driver but any one would work.  In order to have good performance we
have put almost all processing on the 400 side.  Note that all our
applications so far are just inquiries.  The web app writes to a 'inquiry
file' that has a record format with all the input and output fields defined.
This 'inquiry file' has a trigger on it that updates all the output fields
based on the input fields, the trigger updates the buffer before the record
reaches the database.  Therefore the web app just does a write and then a
read to this 'inquiry file' to do an inquiry.  This minimizes the amount of
i/o between the two, otherwise we had performance problems with the web app
trying to look up all the info directly.  The web app just needs to create
some kind of unique control type number so that it reads the proper record
back from the 'inquiry file.  One advantage of this approach is that all the
logic is contained within programs on the 400 and can use existing programs
in some cases.

Hope this helps,

Scott Mildenberger

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Graap, Ken [SMTP:keg@exchange.gasco.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2000 3:33 PM
> To:   'Midrange'
> Subject:      Database Server...
> 
> Some very basic questions....
> 
> We are looking at allowing customers access to their accounts. 
> 
> The decision has already been made to host a WWW site on an NT server...
> (What can I say? ... They don't want to use the AS/400)
> 
> but, all the customer information resides on our AS/400.
> 
> Would it be a relatively straight forward process to access the AS/400
> data
> from the NT WWW server?
> 
> Would the Web Developer use SQL calls? ODBC? something else?
> 
> Would a special user profile have to be defined to allow this kind of
> access?
> 
> Would it be a very good idea to implement security via "Exit Program
> Registration" on the AS/400?
> 
> Would it make more sense to replicate a subset of data to the NT WWW
> server
> and synchronize it on a regular basis, in other words, don't allow direct
> access to the AS/400 database server?
> 
> Any thing else I need to think about?
> 
> 
> Kenneth
> 
> ****************************************
> Kenneth E. Graap
> IBM Certified Specialist
> AS/400 Professional
> Network Administrator
> NW Natural (Gas Services)
> keg@nwnatural.com
> Phone: 503-226-4211 x5537
> FAX:    603-849-0591
> ****************************************
> 
> 
> 
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