white paper HP e3000 Business Servers Web-enablement Web Enabling Your HP e3000 Applications and Data Access
Table of Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 “Webify” Existing Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Front-end Tools and Graphical User Interface tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Common Gateway Interface (CGI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 Introduction The purpose of this paper is to explain the technology and tools available to access data via an HP e3000, HP 9000 or NT web server and integrate existing or create new HP e3000 applications with these web servers. First, let’s take a brief look at the evolution of HP e3000 toward today’s world of e-services. The first HP e3000 with its operating system MPE was released in 1972. The HP e3000 has always provided a superior and reliable platform in the computer industry.
2 In order to help our customers understand how to evolve their current business to the Internet and e-service world, we categorize our customers into four scenarios. 1. “Webify” existing applications. These are the customers including independent single shops wanting to bring their business to web-based computing.
3 “Webify” Existing Applications In earlier days, a well-designed web site using multimedia elements and having visual appeal impressed people. Today’s businesses expect interactive, instant, bi-directional access to information, and full Web-based applications that directly support key business processes. These web applications transform Web sites from collections of static HTML pages into strategic applications capable of exploiting underlying data base capabilities.
4 • Javelin from MiniSoft is a connectivity tool that delivers legacy host information to the desktop via the point-and-click interface of Internet browsers. • PERCobol from Synkronix (LegacyJ) is a COBOL compiler allowing programmers to make use of existing skills and existing business logic to build features and functions present in Java. • Remote VPlus Client from Synkronix (LegacyJ) supports a variety different graphical client.
5 Let’s take a look at a “traditional” HP e3000 application. A traditional HP e3000 application is usually a host/terminal-based COBOL application, using VPLUS to handle the communication with the user and Image/SQL intrinsic to read/write data from and to the database. “Traditional” VPLUS/COBOL Application User I/O VPLUS Calls Application Logic COBOL Now, let’s look at that application in a Web environment. Note that the main application logic and communication with the database has not changed.
6 A servlet is a user-supplied extension of the web server. Servlets are to Web servers as applets are to Web browsers. The servlet API provides web application developers with a mechanism for extending the functionality of a web server. Servlets are an effective substitute for CGI programs. They provide a way to generate dynamic documents that are both easier to write and faster to run. The next phase of MPE/iX Web Server will support Servlets.
7 The following diagram shows a three-tier architecture of a Web-Database ODBC model, Web browser, Web server, and database server. The Web browser is on any PC or workstation client. The Web server includes an HTTP server and a Web GUI tools application running on NT. The database server has ALLBASE/SQL or IMAGE/SQL running on the HP e3000.
8 HP’s JDBC driver can be deployed in three different architectural models: two-tier, three-tier thin client, and three-tier ultra-thin client. Two-tier Model In the two-tier architecture, the database and Web server are placed on the same machine as the JDBC applet. The JDBC applet, JDBC API, and JDBC driver client either are preinstalled on the client systems or downloaded from the Web server. Applications can run as an applet or as a program on another machine.
9 Three-tier ultra-thin client model If high performance is critical, the ultra-thin client offers an attractive option. In this model, business logic is moved up from the client to the application server on the Web server, and the JDBC client is run from the Web server to the back-end database. The Web application server or servlet appears as the client to the JDBC driver client and connects to the enterprise database via the JDBC server on the database server.
10 E-Commerce Applications In the e-commerce world, the HP e3000 brings customers, both new and existing, the capabilities to establish and maintain their Web presence quickly, easily and reliably, and to provide the kind of e-commerce solutions their customers are looking for. From the HP perspective, we recognize that seamless, reliable network computing is essential for e-commerce. Because the HP e3000 is so highly interoperable with virtually all platforms (UNIX, Windows NT, etc.
11 Enterprise Solutions Data interoperability in a web-centric enterprise-computing environment is not only between the HP e3000 and other HP e3000s or NT and the HP e3000, but also with other platforms such as UNIX, IBM, and Solaris.
12 Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) Internet directory services in the enterprise environment have become increasingly important.
13 IBM’s MQSeries IBM’s MQSeries enables users to exchange information between applications across different platforms, from mainframes to PCs. MQSeries client from Willow Technology enables HP e3000 applications to communicate with one or more MQSeries Queue Managers running on any supported platform. Microsoft’s Message Queuing Service Microsoft’s Message Queuing Server (MSMQ) is bundled with Windows NT Server; it delivers messages between different Windows NT or Windows 95 applications.
14 E”speak To accelerate the creation of open, e-services world, HP has engineered the e-speak technology. E”speak will make it easier and faster to create, deploy, manage and connect e-services. By defining a common services interface that lets e-services talk to each other and work together — regardless of what technology platform they were built on — e-speak will serve as the universal language of e-services.
15 Internet Security The explosive growth of the Internet has revolutionized the way companies communicate and conduct business. More companies use the Internet in conjunction with their Intranets to store, process and exchange information. In order to enable HP e3000 applications to play a key role in this evolving e-services and Internet world, HP embraces a key Internet security building block SSL (Secure Sockets Layer Protocol), and offers a secure web server on the HP e3000.
16 Secure Edition of the MPE/iX Web Server based on Apache The MPE/iX Web Server based on Apache provides HP e3000 customers a quick, easy, powerful and affordable way to establish an Internet and intranet presence. In addition, HP will offer the Secure Edition of the MPE/iX Web Server based on Apache for users to conduct secure transactions over the Internet. The Features include: • Full-strength 128-bit encryption • Support for SSLv2, v3 and TLS v1.0 protocols.
17 Firewall To secure your system in the Internet world, you must use multiple lines of defense. The outermost layer of security is the firewall. A firewall is a security device that places a combination of hardware and software between a company’s internal network and systems and the Internet. Today, firewalls are widely recognized as the preferred security technology for controlling network traffic crossing the boundary between the Internet and business private internal networks.
18 • Securing the web server. Most web security incidents are caused by improperly configured Internet software. The software could be the web server itself, or applications run by the web server such as CGI programs. However, CGI introduces major security vulnerabilities because CGI allows a client to activate custom programs on the server. A CGI program may have a security hole that allows an intruder to execute unauthorized commands or to discover information about the system.
19 Summary Various tools and methods are available to web-enable HP e3000 applications and to interoperate the HP e3000 with different systems. The best business solution for today’s evolving computing environment is often the usage of: the Internet connectivity, more than one platform and the leverage of each platform’s strength.
20 Appendix: Third Party Middleware and Tools ADBC (Adager DataBase Connectivity) ADBC Technology requires a Java client (using native methods) to communicate as directly as possible with the IMAGE intrinsics. A “monitor” program on the HP e3000 may be required, but, ideally, there should be a minimum of layers between the client and the IMAGE intrinsics. ADBC is a registered trademark of Adager Corporation. ADBC/API, an implementation of ADBC technology developed by Advanced Network Systems, Inc.
21 Bradmark’s StarMan™ StarMan( takes CA-MANMAN into the future by bringing web-enabled functionality to this HP e3000-based product. StarMan( eliminates the need for direct connection to the HP e3000, and brings data processing for CA-MANMAN into the web environment via a unique distributed processing model.
22 Cognos’ PowerHouse® Web and the HP e3000 As organizations around the world begin to investigate the use of Web technologies for some of their business application needs, the Cognos® PowerHouse family of high-productivity application development tools is ready to help save valuable developer time and money in building and deploying those solutions. There are currently thousands of HP e3000 sites around the world that rely on PowerHouse 4GL to build and run their business-critical application solutions.
23 Existing HP e3000-based PowerHouse 4GL applications can be Web-enabled with PowerHouse 4GL 8.29 to then run on the HP e3000 under PowerHouse Web 2.29 - with the same native access to TurboIMAGE, ALLBASE/SQL, KSAM, MPE and ORACLE data that PowerHouse 4GL currently provides. And because PowerHouse Web provides a Web-specific PowerHouse application server engine, all of the existing business rules in the application logic are protected and reused.
24 Comco’s CGIgnite HP e3000 Stability The Internet and the Web have added new ways of doing business to every industry. The HP e3000 provides a reliable, robust environment in which to do high-volume online transaction processing. Why should a company then be forced to introduce new architectures and learn how to manage them just to take advantage of the Web? Work How You Want To What is needed is a product that can bring your data to the Web quickly and with as little cost as possible.
25 CSL’s LINKWAY Solution Web Architecture The key to multi-tier web architecture is the integration from the web application server to the enterprise data, which must be presented in a totally secure manner. Performance is a critical issue where thin server/client connectivity is essential to optimize performance.
26 OMNIDEX for the Web from DISC Browser-based applications now come in many flavors, from e-commerce sites to company intranets to extranets, all designed for various purposes. However, as these Web applications grow in sophistication, all share a common requirement. The need to display the “freshest” data possible by integrating dynamically changing content from so-called “production” databases, often Image/SQL, to browser-based front-ends. Users have grown in sophistication as well.
27 Refer to the diagram below for the architecture of how a user connects from a Web client through the Internet or an Intranet to a Web server, and from there to a database server such as an HP e3000 running Image/SQL. For more information, please contact a DISC account representative at (303) 444-4000, or via e-mail at info@disc.com, or visit our Web site at www.disc.com/home.
28 Web Enabling with the LeeTech AIM Solution The LeeTech AIM, Application Intelligent Middleware, delivers Rapid Application Development (RAD) environment for the expedient development of enterprise and Internet solutions, while retaining the major investment in legacy systems.
29 This is what makes LeeTech AIM unique! LeeTech AIM takes into account the trillions of dollars of corporate investment in application systems that are currently production based systems, and allows them to be converted into client/server, web enabled solutions with little modification to the original code. Other client/server solutions require that the user both completely abandon the current system.
30 Level 8’s Geneva Message Queuing Geneva Message Queuing for HP e3000 provides communication and interoperability between HP e3000 - MPE/iX Version 5.1 and Windows NT. Message Queuing Message queuing is a very simple, reliable mechanism for sending information between applications that reside on different business systems. Prior to message queuing, cross-platform applications were built using one-off, point solutions that needed to be created each time a new development effort was started.
31 LegacyJ PERCobol Develop in COBOL, Deploy in Java Enabling legacy applications to be extended to multi-platform multi-threaded client/server computing architectures, and deploy applications to the Internet. In addition, companies with COBOL programmers can now produce Java applications without needing to spend time and money to learn Java.
32 Build Portable Applications PERCobol can be used to improve the portability of COBOL applications. Using PERCobol, COBOL programmers can create new or modify existing programs to deploy as platform independent Applications, Applets, Servlets and create Java Beans. Interactive transactional subsystems (such as IMS and CICS) can be extended with PERCobol to add enhanced user interaction and portability offered by running in Java.
33 In addition to the PERCobol compiler and runtime libraries, complimentary tools are included to assist COBOL programmers write or modify existing code. The Debug Tool is an execution time source level debugger enabling programmers to step through COBOL source code level while the application is running on the Java Virtual Machine. The COBOL Bean Utility generates the necessary PERCobol to allow Java Beans to be incorporated into a COBOL application.
34 Using ODBCLink/SE to Webify HP e3000 ODBCLink/SE is an implementation of Microsoft’s Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) interface that enables Microsoft Windows based applications and tools to access IMAGE/SQL on the HP e3000 and ALLBASE/SQL on the HP e3000 and HP 9000, in a client/server environment.
35 Minisoft’s Javelin Designer Javelin Designer is a Java servlet and a collection of Java components that enable running legacy applications from a web browser. The Java components provide a framework for translating between the user interface of the legacy application and a user interface presented through a web browser. The Designer allows existing legacy applications to run through the web browser “as is”, or the components can be used to form new user interfaces.
36 Web Dimension Web Dimension is an application server and a collection of Java components for designing and deploying web and client/server applications. The main components of Web Dimension are: • A platform independent application server that can be use with or without a web server. The application server will deploy site-built applications through web browsers or through the Web Dimension UI Viewer. • Java components for building applications and user interfaces.
37 User Interface Components Web Dimension includes a wide variety of user interface components for building user interface pages. These include text boxes, labels, check boxes, combo-boxes, radio buttons, push buttons, tables, graphics, and others. These components are used to build user interface pages using a visual development environment such as Visual CafÈ or JBuilder. User interface pages can also be merged at run-time with HTML pages to provide sophisticated web-content in the user interfaces.
38 3. A new graphical user interface is created for an existing HP e3000 legacy application. The user interface is delivered from a web server, but requires more complexity than possible with HTML. Web Browser UI Viewer as Applet HP e3000 Web Server Web Dimension Application Server Web Dimension Application HP e3000 Legacy Application User Interface Pages HP e3000 4. Web Dimension Application Server Web Browser A new web application is created to access a TurboImage database.
39 Premier Technical Brief - OSCAR Inside of each “legacy” application are the yearnings of discrete functions, borne to encapsulate access to our data, under oath to secure its access from proposed and even unknown access platforms (the Web being the current hype).
40 Premier Technical Brief - ACTIVE Premier Software has released support for an MPE interface to Active Software’s Active/Web Information Broker. Now in addition to Premier’s own RPC legacy wrapping technology, customers can enjoy the full range of non-MPE integration capabilities available with the Active/Web Information Broker - one of the top Message broker technologies in the market. Premier’s offering allows customers to fully engage MPE application’s in the world of Web Event based integration.
41 Speedware: The Leader in Web-enabling HP e3000 Applications Speedware Autobahn offers the first and only Web Application Server specifically designed for the HP e3000. Speedware Autobahn’s Open Web Architecture integrates current Web technology into your HP e3000 environment while leaving the door open for future technologies.
42 Speedware Autobahn’s Open Web Architecture can integrate a wide range of Web technologies into your HP e3000 environment and provide a framework for integrating new Web technologies as they appear. These include Java, ActiveX, JavaScript, Visual Basic Script, Flash, VRML, XML, HDML, NS API, IS API, and many more. Speedware Application Server Speedware Autobahn uses a unique Application Server architecture that offers a key advantage to HP e3000 users.
43 Willow Technology MQSeries and the Internet For most companies, the reality of information systems is a mix of old and new technologies, with tried-and-tested systems co-existing with dynamic new innovations like the Web. Unfortunately, making these systems work well together can be costly and time-consuming. MQSeries simplifies communication between applications running on identical or different hardware platforms across networks.
44 Benefits of the Internet to MQSeries users • Provides easy access to customers and suppliers for Electronic Commerce • Low cost clients with an attractive user interface • Low cost Wide Area Network providing intra- or inter-company communications Benefits MQSeries brings to integration of the Internet and WWW • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Assured delivery of messages Transactional message support Deliver a message once, and once only Time-independent (asynchronous) processing Heterogeneous any-
45 Partners Summary: Third Party Middleware and Tools Tool Tool Type Contact Info Advanced Network Systems VPLUS+ Bradmark MPE Command Center Bradmark StarMan HP SAMBA/iX Minisoft Frontman Minisoft Javelin Minisoft Web Dimension OmniSolutions GUI3000 Qedit Remote VPlus Client Symantec VisualCafÈ Synkronix PERCobol Walldata RUMBA Web-to-Host Whisper Technology Programmer Studio CSL LinkWay MB Foster ODBCLink Minisoft ODBC/32 Crystal Reports Lotus 1-2-3 Microsoft Excel Casahl Replic-Action (Lotus Notes an
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