Chapter 5
Saturday, 2 November 2013
Question
1
Explain
the role of the database in SAP’s three-tier-system.
There was a need for a
flexible and robust IT infrastructure with business excellence and capabilities
that could help management better forecast and plan. Lego implemented a SAP’s business
suite which is based on a flexible three-tier client-server.
Three Tier Systems
·
The First Tier (Presentation Layer)
This
is software component with a client interface browser type Graphic User
Interface (GUI). The graphic user interface is between SAP system and the user.
It gets the user input, sends it to application server for processing receives
data, formats and output it. The presentation layer resides on a user’s PC,
desktop or mobile device.
·
The Second Tier (Application Layer)
This
is where SAP software runs. It contains of at least one or more application
server which offers the services to users and a manage server responsible for
communication between the application servers. In the system, it receives and
process clients request. In turn these application servers send the processed
requests to the database system. The application layer is scalable as the
organization grows larger and more users are added.
·
The Third Tier (Database Layer)
This
consists of a central database system which consists of the database and DBMS
(Data Base Management System), it receives the processed clients request from
the second server to the database system which consists of one or more
relational database, these rational database contain the tablets that store
data on LEGO’s products, daily operations, the supply chain and thousands of
employees. The information is then stored and retrieved from the data base
system and sent back. A few database systems which you may find with SAP in
different implementation are Oracle, Microsoft SQL server, IBM and etc.
Question 2
Explain why Distributed
Architectures are flexible?
A
distributed architecture system consists of multiple autonomous computers that
communicate through a computer network. The computers interact with each other
in order to achieve a common goal. Basically, this group of computers would
each hold a specific software subset of the global aggregate operating system.
Distributed computing is a field of computer science that studies distributed
systems. They create an enterprise
architecture that copes with complexities of change in a company.
Distributed
programming typically falls into one of several basic architectures or
categories: client–server, 3-tier architecture, n-tier architecture, distributed
objects, loose coupling, or tight coupling. Distributed architecture enables
authorized personnel to have direct access to the database system from the
company’s various locations, including those in Europe, North America and Asia.
Distributed
architecture such as SAP’s business suites supports databases from different
vendors including those offered by Oracle, Microsoft, MySQL and others. They
are optimal for medium to high performance business environments. Complex
application rules can be easily implemented on the application server by
authorized personnel.
Separating
the application into multiple layers makes it easier to implement re-usable
components. A single component in the business layer, for example, may be
accessed by multiple components in the presentation layer or even by several
different presentation layers (such as desktop and the web) at the same time.
Question 3
Identify some of the business
intelligence features include in SAP’s business software suite.
Business
Intelligence (BI)
Tools
for consolidating, analyzing, and providing access to vast amounts of data to
help users make better business decisions
“SAP
software offered the best combination of standardized processes, yet with the
ability to respond flexibly to the changing demands of the toy industry,”
comments Esben Viskum.
“The
SAP landscape supports all our business processes, such as finance, logistics
and sales, and the long-term roadmap is to implement SAP Product Lifecycle
Management, integrated with SAP Warehouse Management. As the company grows and
rolls out the ‘cookbook’ to new geographies, we will add SAP ERP Human Capital
Management to the portfolio, too.
Question 4
What are the main advantages and
disadvantages of having multiple databases in a distributed architecture?
Explain.
The advantages are:
·
Fault tolerance
A
fault tolerance is a setup or configuration that prevents a computer or network
device from failing in the event of an unexpected problem or error such as,
power failure, power surge, data loss, system overload, virus etc. By LEGO
having multiple databases data can still obtained from other servers during
interruption from one of the data base. This enables the business to save time,
retrieve loss data and their daily operations will not be drastically affected.
·
Improved Scalability
Ability
of a business to expand to meet its business needs. Unlike a single-database
system, in which the amount of data that can be stored depends on the
limitations of one host and database, a distributed-database system is easily
scalable and, therefore, supports growth in LEGO. SAP supports an unlimited
number of users as well as data base, application servers and a variety of
hardware configurations. It enables an organization to start small and add
additional databases or applications or hardware. This would allow to
organization to effectively and efficiently add to the network when its needs
to expand.
·
Distribution of workload
Enables
administrators to distribute the load on various servers, a business function
such as logistics can be can be routed to a particular server for load
balancing ( division of its activities and processes between computer networks
so that it doesn’t get overwhelmed). Open system: from SAP encourages plug and
play with hardware from different vendors e.g. Microsoft oracle, used which
leads to more competition and lowers cost. This means that the system can
connect with other vendor therefore it is flexible.
The disadvantages are:
·
Security issues
It
is more vulnerable to external attacks than single databases and the
possibilities of abuse is more possible in multiple databases than a single
database as single databases have more control of information. To reduce the
chances of unauthorized users accessing sensitive information, Lego would need
a control system for example, not all information should be available to all
level of the organization.
·
Data quality and integrity
Since
the database is accessible to users remotely, adequate controls are needed to
control users updating data and to control data quality especially as the
organization grows. With increased number of users accessing data directly,
there are enormous opportunities for users to damage the data. Unless there are
suitable controls, the data quality may be compromised. The integrity of the
information is also relevant since a large number of users could be using the
database simultaneously, technical safeguards are necessary to ensure that the
data remains correct during operations and business decisions. The main threat
to data integrity comes from several different users attempting to update the
same data at the same time. The database therefore needs to be protected
against inadvertent changes by the users.
·
Cost of maintaining multiple databases
in a distributed architecture
Single
databases are usually designed to run a number of well-defined, pre-planned
processes because they are often adjusted to run efficiently for the processes
that they were designed for. Multiple data bases are costly to maintain as each
server requires a separate operating system. The cost of protecting and
securing the servers, upgrades, backups will be expensive and Lego would have
to weigh the benefits of using multiple database over the costs of
implementations , restructuring the organization , the as well as maintenance
costs.