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Cloudconnector

Cloudconnector provides a complete server framework that is customized for Cloudscape.

Cloudconnector consists of a JDBC server with compatible client software. This software (WebLogic Version 4.5.2) is provided by WebLogic and has been customized for use with Cloudscape.

Features of Cloudconnector

Cloudconnector provides most of the functionality of WebLogic server (formerly known as Tengah/JDBC and then WebLogic). WebLogic, like Cloudscape, is a Java application. Therefore, Cloudscape with Cloudconnector provides all the flexibility of Java: You can develop and deploy database applications as standard client or server applications, browser applets, or servlets (HTML clients). Cloudconnector enables any Java application to access and update remote enterprise databases with security and transactional integrity.

Cloudconnector provides HTTP-based administration through servlets. It also provides easy-to-use, HTTP-based administrative tools.

The following sections list some of the features of Cloudconnector.

Development

Cloudconnector makes it easy to develop and deploy Java database and Web applications. Cloudconnector applications are simple and portable. Cloudconnector insulates programmers from disparities between Java platforms and databases, and handles lower-level programming complexities such as sockets and threads.

Integrated Development Environments (IDEs)

Cloudconnector extends leading Java IDEs to support the development and debugging of multitier database applications. IDE GUI builders, HTML generation facilities, and compatible data-aware controls can all be used with Cloudconnector.

Web Development in Java

Cloudconnector supports standard HTTP servlets for invoking Java business logic in HTTP and provides Java HTML generation for incorporating dynamic content into Web pages. For example, Cloudconnector can automatically generate HTML tables from query results. You can embed Java code in an HTML page. Servlet session management gives Cloudconnector the ability to manage client sessions across many browser-server interactions as scalable, reliable conversations.

Workspaces

Cloudconnector includes WebLogic's support for a set of hierarchical workspaces that maintain client state. Workspaces can also be used to store private objects or accommodate any level of sharing.

Integration

Using the Java-standard Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI), Cloudconnector can access existing directory services such as Novell NDS, Sun NIS+, Microsoft Active Directory, or others supporting the Internet-standard Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP).

Deployment

Cloudconnector protects the execution of Java applications by ensuring scalability, security, and transactional integrity. Since both Cloudscape and WebLogic are written in Java, no client-side library installation is required. Instead, client libraries are dynamically loaded directly from Cloudconnector (or any Web server).

Transactions

Cloudconnector support for transaction processing safeguards business-critical applications and corporate data so that integrity cannot be compromised.

Firewall Support

All of Cloudconnector's services are securely available through firewalls via HTTP tunneling.

Data Caching

With Cloudconnector, JDBC result sets can be cached in server-side workspaces so that appropriately authorized clients do not need to repeat common queries. Sharing query results reduces the load on both the database and the network.

Shared Database Connections

Cloudconnector scales to support large numbers of simultaneous users by maintaining configurable pools of database connections that can be shared among many clients. Connection pools accommodate intermittent users without the performance overhead of opening and closing database connections. See User Authentication Using Cloudconnector for more information on connection pools.

Server Scalability

Cloudconnector scales to support many clients by carefully managing threads and connections. A single client/server connection is shared across all bidirectional communications.

Standard Internet Protocols

Web browsers can access Cloudconnector via normal HTTP requests. Forwarding capabilities, such as HTTP proxying, enable dispatching to servers other than the original Web server. For higher performance, HTTP connections are maintained across requests.

Management

Cloudconnector provides centralized management for a potentially large distributed configuration of connected clients and servlets through a single cohesive view of the overall system.

Graphical Management Console

Cloudconnector offers a comprehensive pure-Java console for remotely monitoring and updating the state of Cloudconnector applications and servers. Multiple clients and servers can be securely and easily managed from a single remote console.

Integrated Logging

Cloudconnector automatically logs diagnostic and security audit information and provides interfaces for applications to log their own exception conditions. Optionally, JDBC use can be logged in database-specific logs. Logs can be viewed remotely from a Web browser or from the WebLogic Console.

The WebLogic JDBC Services Integration

Cloudconnector has customized WebLogic JDBC in the following ways:

  • CloudscapeServer class

    Cloudconnector comes with a CloudscapeServer class (COM.cloudscape.core.CloudscapeServer). A standard (non-Cloudconnector) WebLogic server uses the class weblogic.TengahServer instead. When using the WebLogic documentation, replace references to weblogic.TengahServer with COM.cloudscape.core.CloudscapeServer.

  • License file

    Cloudconnector comes with a special license file (/license/WebLogicLicense.xml). A standard (non-Cloudconnector) WebLogic server requires you to request keys from WebLogic. When using Cloudconnector, you do not need keys for JDBC features.

  • Customized server directory

    In a generic WebLogic installation, the server runs in a directory called myserver. In Cloudconnector's integrated installation, the server runs in a directory called CloudscapeServer. Cloudscape provides this directory for you in /frameworks/cloudconnect.

  • Customized properties

    Cloudconnector provides a weblogic.properties file that is customized for use with Cloudscape. Cloudscape provides this directory for you in /frameworks/cloudconnect

  • Customized JDBC Driver

    Cloudscape provides a specially integrated client JDBC driver (COM.cloudscape.core.WebLogicDriver) that accepts a simpler URL for Cloudconnector access.

  • Customized startup and shutdown utilities

    Cloudscape provides utilities for starting and shutting down Cloudconnector.