CHAPTER 6 Database Administration

Introduction

This chapter describes all the operations that users who are members of an account group that provides access to IMSeries' database administration functions can perform. Note that, unlike some security systems, someone who can access the database administration functions may not be able to perform any other function in IMSeries. To learn how to set up account groups and how to establish permission for those groups, read the section "Setting up User Accounts"

You can access the database administration functions by logging on with an account that gives you access to those functions and then by choosing Database Administration from the File Menu that is available immediately after you log on.

After you have chosen a view from the view palette that IMSeries displays upon log in, the database administration functions are not available. You need to choose that option from the file menu while the view palette is displayed. You can return to the view palette by closing any open windows in IMSeries.

The database administration functions are displayed in two pages -- the Setup and Maintenance Page, and the Web Server Page. The discussion begins with the Maintenance Page a picture of which is included as Figure 15.

Settings and Maintenance Functions

The following text describes each of the functions on the Settings and Maintenance Page of the database administration functions. Note that most of the Settings and Maintenance Functions must be executed from a single-user version of IMSeries. Because of this, you should install a single-user version of IMSeries on the same computer on which the IMSeries server will be running.

FIGURE 15. Database Administration: Maintenance Page

Configuration File

After you have set up a database by defining the folder names, setting up the custom student fields, configuring the choice lists, and setting the section configurations, you can move those settings to another database by using these two buttons.

A Save Configuration

When you click Save Configuration, you can create a configuration file in which IMSeries stores the folder names, the custom student fields, all choice lists, and the section defaults (e.g., grade types, assessment types and weights, and grading period) for the open database.

Once the file is saved, you can load it into any other IMSeries database to quickly configure the database so it has the same folder names, custom student fields, choice lists, and section defaults as the database that was used to create the file.

B Load Configuration

When you create a new database and want to configure it so it matches an existing database, or want to move the settings from one database to another, first save the configuration from the original database. Then, open the new database with an account that gives you access to the database administration functions. Choose Load Configuration. Use the file locator dialog box to navigate to and open the configuration file you saved earlier.

After you have loaded the configuration file into the new database, make sure to update the folder names and custom student field names so the values in the current column match the ones in the previous column. For detailed directions on how to do this, refer to the next section on Edit Folder Names.

In order to update the database and IMSeries application so you see the folder names and the custom student fields that are in the configuration file, you will need to edit the folder names and custom student fields as described in the next section.

Custom Names

These options allow you to specify different labels and names that IMSeries applies to the menus, folders and custom student fields. Use this feature when you want to configure IMSeries personnel will see terms and labels with which they are familiar when interacting with data IMSeries manages.

C Edit Folder Names

IMSeries lets you create your own names for all the folders that manage IMSeries information. This feature allows you to customize IMSeries for the language and approach that your organization uses for its instructional program. (It also enables IMSeries to be used for a wide variety of knowledge management tasks.)

IMSeries stores the folder names in two places -- in the database and in the IMSeries program. It stores the names in the IMSeries program so all the menus and dialog boxes reflect the names you have assigned to the folders. It stores the names in the database, so you can open the database from different locations and still reference the correct folder names.

In the configuration screen (see Figure 16), the names in the Previous Column (B) are the names that are stored in the database. The names in the Current Column (C) are the names that are stored in the IMSeries application.

The names in the Current Column are the names that you will see when you work with IMSeries. Usually, you want the names in the Current Column (the ones stored in the IMSeries program) to match the names in the Previous Column (the ones stored in the database).

In order to see the names you assign to the folders, you need to make sure the names are stored in the IMSeries program -- that is, they must appear in the Current Column.

To change the names of the folders, click Edit Folder Names. IMSeries displays a configuration screen where you can view all the folders in the IMSeries database. Because IMSeries is cross platform (that is, it runs on both Windows and Macintosh operating systems, its design needs to contemplate the restrictions of the most restrictive operating system. To maintain compatibility with the DOS operating system, IMSeries prevents you from entering characters that DOS does not allow you to include in file names. Therefore, you are only allowed to use regular text characters when you name the folders and fields. That is, you cannot use any character which DOS does not allow you to include in a file name. Generally, any alpha character will work fine. However, no extended characters, nor symbols such as (!, @, #, $, %, ^, &, *, -, etc.) are allowed.

The display in Figure 16 shows what the configuration screen looks like.

FIGURE 16. Edit Folder Names Configuration Window

The folders are listed in alphabetical order (sorted by their default names), but by clicking on any of the column titles, you can have IMSeries sort the names by the values in that column. Pressing [Alt+Click]^PC or [Option+Click]^Mac will sort them in reverse order.

The folder names in the current column (C) are the names that you see when you work with IMSeries. If you change names in the current column, you need to quit IMSeries and re-launch it to see the changes in the IMSeries interface.

A	Default	These are the names we assign to the folders when we build IMSeries. IMSeries uses these names when it displays the folders until you change the IMSeries program by updating the names in the Current Column. So, when you install a new version of IMSeries, the folder names in the interface will match the default names until you update names in the Current Column
		The default names are always available for reference in this column. So, if you want to restore the current folder names to match the default names, click Use Defaults.
		When you click Use Default, IMSeries replaces the names in the Current Column with the ones in the Default Column.
B	Previous	IMSeries obtains the names in this column directly from the database you are currently working with. They represent the names as they were when you (or someone else) last configured them.
		You can update the current folder names to those that are stored in the database, by clicking Use Previous.
		When you install a new version of IMSeries, this operation allows you to quickly update the new IMSeries program so it displays the correct folder names.
C	Current	These names are the ones that are stored in the IMSeries program (either single-user or server).
		When you install a new version of IMSeries, the names in this column will be the same as those in the Default Column.
		If you change the names in the Current Column and save those names, they are stored in the database and in the IMSeries program.
		To change the names, double click on a name and edit it using normal editing techniques. When you have finished editing one name, press [Enter] or [Return] to accept the edits and move to the next folder in the list.
		If you click Use Previous, all the names in the Current Column are replaced by those in the Previous Column -- these are the names that are stored in the current database.
D	Cancel / Save	To have IMSeries ignore any changes you have made to the folder names, click Cancel.
		To save all the changes you have made to the folder names, click Save. IMSeries notifies you that you will not be able to see the changes until you quit and re-launch IMSeries.
		If you click Save and then quit IMSeries. When you re-launch IMSeries and return to this display, the names in the Previous and Current Columns will be identical.
		If you are using a multi-user version of IMSeries, you will need to update the IMSeries server application so it displays the proper folder names when it is accessed. To update the server, click Copy Names to Server. Then, using the file locator dialog box, navigate to the server and open it. The server is updated automatically.   If you are planning to define any of the fields in the Student Custom Folders, you probably will not want to execute the Copy Names to Server operation until you have that task completed.

Make sure you update the server application if you change the folder names or custom student fields. If you do not, the names will not show up when people access IMSeries from their clients even though you have properly stored the names in the database.D

D Edit Student Fields

You may already be familiar with the Student Folder and the information it manages on each student. If you need to review the features of the Student Folder, see the chapter entitled "Student"

In addition to the Student Folder, IMSeries lets you configure up to twelve (12) custom student folders to store information related to students. You can store information in up to 95 fields in nine of the twelve folders and in up to 130 fields in three of the twelve folders.

One of the fields is a document field where you can save documents of all types that pertain to students. The other fields are divided into five (5) different data types, and there are ten (10) different fields for each of the five types. There are 10 text fields, 10 string fields, 10 numerical fields, 10 date fields, and 10 boolean fields.

		String fields hold up to 40 characters of text and you can associate a choice list with each field.
		Text fields hold up to 32,000 characters of text. No special formatting is available, however every character is searchable.
		Numerical fields hold any real (decimal) number. These fields are useful for storing scores on standardized tests, grade-point averages, as well as physical attributes such as weight or blood pressure.
		Your operating system settings control the formatting of date fields. They are useful for storing enrollment and withdrawal dates, dates on which physicals were given or shots taken, as well as dates for important meetings or events in the children's lives.
		Boolean fields are two-choice fields (e.g., "Yes" or "No", and "True" or "False"). You can use these fields to store flags to indicate whether a student meets specific criteria or is involved in a certain program.

Before you, or others, can use the custom student fields available in the twelve student custom folders, they must be named, and the names stored in the database and IMSeries application. To do this, use the following steps.

1. Before naming the fields in the student custom folders, you might want to first name the folders. The section "Edit Folder Names" describes how you can edit the names of the folders including the student custom folders. To quickly find the 12 student custom folders, sort the folder names by the values in the default column (click on the word "Default" at the top of the Default Column). Then scroll down through the folder names until you see Student Custom 1.

2. Double-click in the Current Column in the row occupied by Student Custom 1 and enter a new name for that folder. Repeat for each Student Custom folder you want to rename and use.

3. To see the names and to be better able to define the custom fields for the Student Custom folders, you should save the new names, quit IMSeries and then re-start it. Log back on with an account that gives you access to the database administration functions.

4. Now, click on the Edit Custom Fields pop-up (located just below the Edit Folder Names button), and choose the folder for which you want to define the field names.

IMSeries displays a configuration window for the Student Custom Folder you chose. Figure 17 shows two pictures of the configuration window. The picture at the rear shows the configuration window when it first opens and you have defined none of the fields. The top picture shows what the window might look like after you have defined the fields.

FIGURE 17. Configuring Fields for Student Custom Folders

5. The first time you use the configuration window to define the fields, there will be no values in the Previous Column (see 'A' in Figure 17). To define the fields, choose the field type you want to define (either String, Text, Numerical, Date, Time, or Boolean) and double click in the Current Column for that field. Enter the name and press [Enter] ([Return] on the Macintosh).

IMSeries will not allow you to include symbols or extended characters as a part of the field names.

6. If you are defining a string field and want to associate a choice list with that field, double-click in the Choice List column for that field (see 'A' in Figure 18). If you click once more, IMSeries will insert a check in the check box. This indicates that you want to associated a choice list with the field. To remove the choice list, click again to remove the check in the check box.

FIGURE 18. Associating a Choice List with a Custom String Field

7. After you have defined all the names (see 'B' in Figure 17), make sure to click Save to record the names in the database and the IMSeries program. To see the names displayed in menus and on the folder tabs and record layouts, you must quit and re-launch IMSeries.

8. After restarting IMSeries, log on with an account that gives you access to the database administration functions.

9. When you have finished naming all the fields and folders, click Copy Names to Server to update the server.

E Copy names to server

When you change the names of the folders and student custom fields, you do so from a single-user version of IMSeries. When you save the names, IMSeries updates the single-user version automatically. In order to be able to see the names when you use IMSeries in a multi-user mode, you need to update the servers.

When you click Copy Names to Server, IMSeries presents a file locator dialog box. Use this box to navigate to and open the IMSeries Server. Once you have the IMSeries Server highlighted, click Open. IMSeries copies the folder names and field names to the server automatically.

You probably will not want to execute the Copy Names to Server operation until after you have named all the folders and all the custom student fields.

Make sure that you perform the operation for each IMSeries server that is in use.

F Customize Help Files

The on-line help system that accompanies IMSeries is entirely HTML based. As you might guess, the on-line help system refers to the IMSeries folders quite often. Suppose the on-line help system refers to one of the folders as the objective folder, but you have used the Edit Folder Name function to change the folder's name from 'objective' to 'performance task'. You can see that if the help system continues to refer to the folder as the objective folder, the IMSeries users will find the help system to be of very limited use.

Customize Help Files is a solution. Whenever the help system refers to a folder, a special code in the underlying HTML marks that word as a folder name. When you click Customize Help Files, IMSeries begins checking the entire on-line help system. When it finds a word that is identified as a folder name, it replaces that word with the name that IMSeries is currently using for that folder. For a discussion on how to edit the IMSeries folder names, refer to See "Edit Folder Names"

Whenever you change the names of the folders make sure to save the changes and quit IMSeries. When you re-launch IMSeries and log back on, you will see the new names. To bring the help system "in synch" with the new folder names, click Customize Help Files.

Import

These buttons give you a way to import data files into IMSeries as a part of the maintenance functions. There are two options -- Import Records and SIS Import.

Note that the account you are using controls which records you can import. If you are using a manager account, you may not be able to import records because that account is reserved for system maintenance.

The manager account does not let you import curriculum, cross references, nor instructional and assessment data. You can import support information (e.g., student, staff, contact, schedules, etc.) with the manager account.

G Import Records

This option is simply a convenient way to import data which are stored in binary files into IMSeries. When you click Import Records, IMSeries displays a file locator dialog box. Use this dialog box to navigate to and open the file that contains the data you want to import.

In order to import data into IMSeries using the Import Records function, the file will need to have been created via a binary export operation (usually from another IMSeries database).

For information on how to create binary import files (that is, how to export data from an IMSeries database into binary files), see the Chapter on "Exporting Records"

H SIS Import

This function remains in IMSeries to accommodate those users who are using Campus America's K-12 Student Information System (SIS). A routine in SIS exports student records, staff records, section records, course records, and subject records into a specially formatted text file which IMSeries can read. You will probably not want to use this operation unless you are using SIS because; (a) you can now create import specifications in IMSeries that perform the same and more functions, and (b) the SIS import specification supports only a subset of the student information you probably will want to manage.

If you want to review the SIS import specifications, please contact your IMSeries representative. We will gladly make them available to you.

Maintenance

These are functions that, when run, can impact the entire database. You will not be able to execute these functions unless you are the only one logged onto the database and the Web Server is not running.

I Reorder Sequence Fields

Unless you reposition records once they are in the database, IMSeries displays them in the order in which they are added. For example, if you open a list window to display all the units for a given course, IMSeries will display them such that the one that was added first is displayed at the top of the list, and the one that was added last is displayed at the end (bottom) of the list.

Usually, you want to put the records into a different sequence than the one determined by the order in which they were added to the database. IMSeries provides a function for you to re-sequence any list of records so IMSeries will display them in a logical order.

It is possible that, if you move a large number of records around in a set of records, IMSeries will not be able to maintain the order into which you have placed them. If you find that, after re-sequencing records, IMSeries does not display them in their re-sequenced order, access the database administration functions and click Reorder Sequence Fields. IMSeries will update the sequence numbers and will display the records in the sequence into which you placed them.

You are not likely to encounter problems where IMSeries cannot list a set of records in their proper sequence. However, it is a good idea to run this procedure every month or two to make sure your users do not encounter frustration by not being able to put their records in a desired order.

J New Grading Period

Use the New Grading Period function to maintain a 'clean' and responsive 'live' database. Each time you click New Grading Period, IMSeries deletes all lessons, assignments, tests, and attendance and performance data the open database.

If you want to keep historical data that details the instruction that each learner has received, how s/he has responded to that instruction, and who designed that instruction, then this function should be used only after you have backed up the database and/or after you have exported every record in the database and have imported the information into an 'archival' database.

		If you want to keep longitudinal files for future consultation, reporting, and research do not execute the New Grading Period function until after you have exported the data in the database and have saved it in another IMSeries data file.
		Data such as individual lesson plans, absence records, assessments and student performance information are purged from the database when you execute the New Grading Period function.

If you want to build a database on which you can conduct longitudinal research, you should create a separate 'archival database' and export the records from the open database before you perform the New Grade Period Function.

You could store historical information from several different IMSeries databases in the archival database. Then, you could query the archival database anytime you want to conduct some very powerful research. The following bullets illustrate some examples of questions you could explore in order to inform and improve instructional programs.

		Which resources and activities were used to address certain standards during the past five years?
		Have students' scores on specific standards changed during the past several years?
		Which activities or instructional strategies seem to work the best over time?
		What data if any, can we use to predict future performance of students based on historical information?
		Has instruction improved since we adopted the new text book series?

You can also merge data from several different IMSeries databases into an archival database. For example, if you have a different IMSeries server in each of your campuses, you might want to combine the data from those separate databases into one organization-wide, archival database at the end of the school year.

If you repeat this process at the end of each year for a series of years, you can build an archival file which can be a tremendously valuable source of data to help you better understand how the instructional process occurs in your organization. As long as the data remain secure, they should also be very useful if you ever need to demonstrate historical performance for accountability purposes.

Remember, if you want to maintain these data, make sure you export every record from the open IMSeries database using the Export Function before you execute the New Grading Period Function. Then, you must import these data into an archival database if you want to be able to access and analyze it. For detailed information on how to export every record in an IMSeries database, see the section, "Exporting Records"

The following bullets detail how to close out a grading period and initialize a new one

1. Be sure to create a backup of the data file before you proceed or export all the records so you can import them into an archival database.

2. Click New Grading Period. IMSeries displays a warning box alerting you to the fact that instruction and assessment records will be deleted if this process is continued. (A copy of the warning appears in Figure 19.)

3. A status window is displayed as IMSeries updates the open database and prepares it for a new grading period.

FIGURE 19. New Grading Period Warning

4. When the database has been prepared for a new grading period, you are notified. Click OK to finish the process.

Once you have set a new grading period, you will want to update schedules, section defaults, student records, and other information that is likely to change on a yearly or semester basis. The following list includes items you may want to consider in updating the database for further use.

		If you cannot re-import student information from an administrative system, you will want to edit the student records to reflect the changes for the new grading period. For example, if you are advancing students to a new grade-level, you can run the Change Class Function. For details on how to do this, see See "Change Class"
		If you can, re-import the scheduling, section, and student information from central student information system. The chapter on"Importing Records" covers this topic.
		You may want to reconfigure the section default values. Consult See "Section Defaults" for a discussion on this operation.
		You may want to reconfigure the grading parameters and, perhaps, update the checklist rubrics. You can find details on how to change checklist rubrics in the section, "Checklist Configuration" .

K User Licenses

This field indicates how many users can simultaneously use IMSeries. If the number is "1", and you want several people to be able to logon to IMSeries at the same time, you will need to enter a license number in this field. To do this, click User License 1., IMSeries displays a dialog box into which you can insert a license number. After entering the number, this button indicates the maximum number of users that can be logged on at the same time.

A zero (0) in this field indicates that you have a site-license. In this case, the maximum number of users that can use IMSeries at the same time will be limited by the operating system and/or computer on which you installed the IMSeries server.

For more detailed instructions on how to install a multi-user license number, please refer to "Installing the License Number"

L Change Manager Password

When you create a new database, IMSeries creates a master account for the database. This record, the only record that exists in the new database, controls the initial access to the new database.

IMSeries assigns the name "Manager" as both the user name and password to the master account. Though you cannot alter the user name associated with the master account, you will want to alter the password immediately to prevent unauthorized individuals from accessing the functions associated with configuring IMSeries databases and controlling user accounts.

You should change the master password as one of your very first tasks after creating a new database.

Change the password associated with the master account by clicking Change Manager Password. IMSeries displays a password dialog box into which you can enter a new password.

You are not able to change user name for the Master Account. It is always "Manager". You can change the password for the Master Account however, but only if you are logged on with the Master Account.

Password Guidelines

Use the following suggestions to protect the security of your IMSeries databases.

		Enter a password that others could not easily ascertain. Longer passwords are more difficult to decode than shorter ones, and passwords that include a mixture of numbers and text and consist of mixed case characters complicate the processes that 'hackers' use to break into secure systems.
		Be sure you remember the password. If you forget it, you will either have to send the database to IMSeries technical support to 'unlock' it for you, or give an IMSeries technical support person access to your database so s/he can unlock it via a remote logon over the Internet.
		Passwords are case sensitive. If "hApHazaRD" is your password, you will not be able to log onto IMSeries by entering "haphazard" or "Haphazard" as your password.
		IMSeries encrypts passwords to enhance security. You will notice that you are not able to decipher passwords when they are displayed.
		Users can update their passwords by choosing Set Password from the File menu immediately after they log onto IMSeries.

M Default Help Location

The IMSeries on-line help system is HTML-based and, if you use the standard installation routine, is stored in a its own directory on the same computer on which the IMSeries application is installed.

IMSeries is distributed with two versions of on-line help -- a plain HTML 3.2 version and a Java-enhanced version. The version you choose will depend upon whether or not the browsers IMSeries users are using support Java.

You might want to explore the advantages of locating the help system on a central Web server so you can easily maintain it and update it. Of course, if users are not able to easily access a central server, you will want to keep the help system files on each workstation on which you have installed the client or single-user version.

You probably do not want to store the help system on the same computer on which the IMSeries Server is installed. If the help system were on the same computer as the server, then you would need to provide file sharing services to the server machine. This would compromise performance as well as security.

If you store the help system in a central location, please monitor the response time to assure that each user can obtain help quickly and easily. If the help system is non-responsive, you might want to explore different strategies for storing and managing the help system.

If IMSeries "knows" where to find the help system, then it can display the help automatically when a user asks to see a topic. You can tell IMSeries where you have installed the help system by clicking Default Help Location.

When you click Default Help Location, IMSeries displays the current location. If you have not changed the location, this will be the default location. This is the folder in which the help system is installed when the standard installer is used to install IMSeries. Figure 20 shows a "typical" default location for the on-line help system.

FIGURE 20. Default Location for IMSeries On-Line Help

If you want to change the location, click Locate Help Contents. IMSeries will then display a file locator dialog box. Use this box to navigate to the machine, disk, and folder on which you have installed the help system.

N Data Entry

Use this button to control how IMSeries handles date values when they are entered and to control how IMSeries formats telephone numbers when they are entered or displayed. When you click Data Entry, IMSeries displays a dialog box that has two pages -- a Date Page and a Phone Page. Figure 21 shows the dialog box that you will use to configure these settings. The following text describes both pages of the dialog box.

FIGURE 21. Data Entry Dialog Box: Date and Phone Pages

Date Page

The values in the default century and pivot year tell IMSeries how to store date values in the database when users enter only two digits for the year. The Date Page in Figure 21 shows the default century as "19" and the pivot year as "80". This means that, when a user enters a two-digit year that is less than "80", IMSeries will prepend "20" to the year. Likewise, when a user enters a two-digit year that is greater than "80", IMSeries will prepend "19" to the year.

The following table should help you understand how IMSeries will convert a two-digit year entry into the proper century given the settings in Figure 21.

User Types	IMSeries Stores
"09"	"2009"
"92"	"1992"
"80"	"1980"
"00"	"2000"

Phone Page

If you click on the Phone tab in the Data Entry dialog box, IMSeries will display the fields where you can set the formats that control how IMSeries will request and display phone numbers. shows the phone page of the dialog box. (See the Phone Page in Figure 21.)

Use the pop-ups to the right of the Entry Filter and Display Format fields to control how IMSeries displays dates when users are entering them into the database and when users are viewing them.

The formats should be fairly self-explanatory. Substitute a number for every pound sign ('#') in the format. For example, if the format is (###)-###-###, then if a user types in 8005554161, IMSeries will present that number as (800)-555-4161. The choice lists includes formats for phone numbers in the United States as well as in most foreign countries.

O Default Field Order

Normally, when a record is viewed from a Web browser, IMSeries puts the fields in alphabetical order in order to display the information associated with that record. However, you can override that and control the order in which IMSeries displays the fields of any record when that record is viewed from a Web browser by clicking this button.

After you click Default Field Order, IMSeries responds with a dialog box that enables you to re-order the fields for any record you are allowed to view. Figure 22 shows this dialog box.

FIGURE 22. Setting Default Field Order

In the left-hand window ('A' in Figure 22) IMSeries displays all the folders that your account lets you view. When you select one of the folders, IMSeries displays the fields associated with the record type managed by that folder. The fields are displayed in the right-hand window ('B' in Figure 22). You can set the order in which you want IMSeries to display the fields for the selected record by selecting the fields and dragging them up or down. In the figure, the description field has been dragged to the top of the list so IMSeries will display it first (rather than Category 1) when an activity record is viewed from a Web browser.

Web Server

IMSeries includes a powerful Web server that, when running, enables users to access IMSeries from any standard Web browser. The built-in Web server is HTML 3.2 compliant and conforms with the HTTP 1.1 protocol.

The topics in this section describe how to set IMSeries up so users can interact with it via Web browsers. If you are using the 'classic' IMSeries interface, you can safely ignore this discussion.

To start the Web server, log on to IMSeries with an account that gives you access to the Database Administration Functions. Immediately after you log on, choose Database Administration from the File Menu. Click the Web Server tab of the Database Administration Display (see Figure 15 on page 54 for a depiction of this display).

IMSeries will display the Web Server page of the Database Administration Window. A representation of that page appears in Figure 23.

FIGURE 23. Database Administration: Web Server Page

You can control the actions of either of two Web servers from this page. Use of the two server strategy (as described below) can increase the number of users who can simultaneously access a single IMSeries database.

If you are using a single-user version of IMSeries, the 4D Server Web Server settings will not be available.

		If you are using a single-user version of IMSeries, activating the Web server in the Local Web Server region of this page ('A' in Figure 23) will enable you to use a Web browser to interact with IMSeries. (Of course only one person can interact with IMSeries at any given time, since you are using a single-user license.
		If you are using a client to access IMSeries, you could activate the Web server in the 4D Server Web Server area ('B' in Figure 23), along with the Local Web Server ('A' in Figure 23) to distribute processing between the machine on which the client is running and the machine on which the IMSeries server is running.

Using this strategy, you can increase the number users who can simultaneously access a single IMSeries database. Since each client machine can handle up to 200 users, and you can have up to ten client machines linked to a single IMSeries database, the number of users who can access a single IMSeries database increases to between 1500 and 2000.

Figure 24 illustrates a possible configuration. The laptops at the left of the figure represent machines on which the end-users work.

FIGURE 24. Setting up Local Web Servers

As illustrated in Figure 24, each laptop is running an HTML 3.2 compliant Web browser (e.g., Internet Explorer or Netscape). The laptops are sending HTTP commands to the local web servers (which are running on the two computers in the center of the diagram). 4D Client is running on these computers, and the local Web server on each machine has been turned on so they can be recognized by the browsers running on the laptops.

The local Web servers are handling screen displays and document field manipulation. Because the 4D Server Web Server is turned on, the 'intermediate' computers can off-load the screen manipulation and document field tasks from the 4D Server Web Server which is running on the right-most computer.

Web Servers

A Local Web Server

Click Start Web Server in the Local Web Server area ('A' in Figure 23) to initiate the built-in Web server if you are using IMSeries single-user version and want to interact with IMSeries via a Web browser. An associated check box, enables you to indicate whether or not you want IMSeries to start the Web server automatically each time IMSeries starts. A port setting is available so you can specify the port through which network communications for the server pass.

When you click Start Web Server, IMSeries displays the Internet Protocol Address (IP address) of the machine on which IMSeries is running. This is the number that your Web clients need to use as the address to access IMSeries. For example, once the Web server in Figure 23 is started, you could connect to it from Internet Explorer (or Netscape Navigator) by typing "http://12.2.112.9" as the address in the browser. The accompanying figure illustrates how the address you place into the browser's command line, corresponds to the IP address of the Web server.

If IMSeries displays 0.0.0.0 for the IP address, the network or TCP/IP settings on your computer are not set up correctly. See your technical support personnel or network administrator if you need help on configuring TCP/IP.

If you are using 4D Client to interact with IMSeries and turn on the Local Web Server, you can set up the machine on which the client is running as an 'intermediate' server and, if you turn on the 4D Server Web Server (see below), you can off load some of the processing from the server to the machine on which the client is running. (See Figure 24 for an illustration of this type of setup.)¹

B 4D Server Web Server

Click Start Web Server in the 4D Server Web Server settings if you want to use a Web browser to work with IMSeries. If the 4D Server Web Server is started from a client along with the Local Web Server, then IMSeries will share the data processing load between the IMSeries Server and an 'intermediate' client. By using this strategy, you might be able to get better performance than if you relied only on the Web server. You should also find that you can increase the number of users that can simultaneously access a central database since different users can attach to the different IP addresses that are available via the different servers.

Suggestions

The following bullets highlight some items that you should consider when running the built-in Web servers.

		The machine on which a Web server is running should have a fixed IP address if DNS is not available. This will help clients by giving them a fixed reference for their book marks. If DNS is available, clients will be able to see (or use) the server's domain name instead of its (more cryptic) IP address.
		The Web server runs only if TCP/IP is available.

However, the IMSeries server application supports TCP/IP along with the other two common network protocols (AppleTalk and IPX/SPX), and can support all three protocols at the same time. Because of this, if you have a LAN on which IPX is running, users in that LAN can access IMSeries with the standard IMSeries Client using IPX. At the same time, other users could access the IMSeries server from remote locations via the Internet or over a wide-area network (WAN) provided; (a) the server is also running TCP/IP, the network on which the server is operating supports TCP/IP, and (b) there are no filters or barriers that prevent the address from being accessed from outside the LAN.

		If only a small number of users (e.g., fifty or fewer) will be accessing the database simultaneously, you will probably not notice any enhancement in speed by implementing multiple local Web servers. However, if more than fifty users will be accessing the same IMSeries server at the same time, you can enable that to occur with little or no drop in performance if you run the local Web server on two or more 4D Clients.
		If you implement two or more local Web servers, try to distribute the URLs for the multiple Web servers evenly among the various potential users. This will help distribute the data processing across the Web servers. That is, if you are using three local Web servers, give the IP address (or URL) of the first server to (roughly) one-third of the users, the IP address of the second server to (roughly) one-third of the users, and the IP address of the third server to the remaining users.

Web Server Options

C Log All HTTP Requests

If this check box is activated, then IMSeries will automatically record every HTTP request it receives and responds to. The data recorded include:

		The URL requested
		The Method (e.g., Get or Put)
		The date and time that the request was received
		The IP address and name (if available) of the request source
		The request header
		The response code and response time
		The response header, and
		The user name under which the request was sent

These data, if recorded, are recorded as separate records which can, in turn, be exported (via a query) to enable you to analyze HTTP server responses with standard analyses packages so you can analyze network and server performance as well as 'sleuth' out security problems if you sense that that is necessary.

More details about the HTTP Log Records is included elsewhere, see "HTTP Log"

D Always Respond with "No Cache"

To update pages more quickly, most browsers can be configured to automatically store recently visited pages in caches on your local hard disk. Then, if you visit the page again, the browser loads the data for the page from a locally stored file (a cached file) rather than asking the remote server to re-send the page. This is a feature that is used to speed up the display of pages and make your interaction with the Internet more enjoyable.

This can cause problems, however, when working with an on-line database. Suppose, for example that you send a request via your browser to display a set of records. Suppose further that you want to edit one of those records. If after editing a record, you go back to look at the previously displayed list, you don't want your browser to load the page from your local hard disk (the cache). If it did, it would display the list of records it loaded (and saved to your local cache) before the changes were made. In order to assure that you always get up-to-date information from the database, you will probably want to activate the "Always Respond with 'No Cache' check box.

E Custom Home Page Query

If you want to create your own Web page that users see when they first log onto IMSeries with their Web browsers, you can do so by creating a query and then designating that query as the 'Custom Home Page Query'. For example, the query could be designed to:

		Display an Image Map
		Find out who the user is and what type of user ( staff, student, or contact) s/he is.
		Based on the type of user and his/her account permissions control access and operations.

The display depicted in Figure 25 is an image map 'driven' by a query that has been designated as the Custom Home Page Query for the IMSeries database being accessed by the Web browser.

For more information on creating and working with queries, see "Query"

FIGURE 25. A Home Page created by a Custom Home Query

F Import / Export CSS

IMSeries includes a default cascading style sheet that controls font and font attributes for a variety of the default interface features. If you want to access the information in this internally-stored style sheet, you can export it by clicking Export CSS. When exported, IMSeries places the cascading style sheet file in the same directory as the IMSeries application is located and names it "IMSeries.CSS".

Each time a Web session begins, IMSeries checks to see if the IMSeries.CSS file has changed (i.e., is different than the one stored internally). If it has changed, IMSeries uses the external CSS file (IMSeries.CSS) to control formatting. if it has not changed, then IMSeries uses the internally stored CSS information to control Web page formatting.

You can alter the internally stored CSS file by exporting the CSS file (as described above), editing the IMSeries.CSS file that IMSeries creates, and then clicking Import CSS to upload the new CSS data into IMSeries.

¹ If you are using IMSeries in a multi-user environment where the IMSeries Server is running on a windows machine, you will need to implement the 'intermediate server' strategy that is illustrated here. (A bug in 4D Write which ACI has not been able to fix causes crashes on the server when document fields are updated.)

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