Project
MOSAICProject number : 45527
MOSAIC Consortium
Issue : 1/0
Change Record
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ISSUE |
DATE |
CHANGE STATUS |
PARAGRAPH |
ORIGIN |
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1/0 |
18/03/1998 |
all |
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Table of Contents
1 Introduction
1.3.1 Indexing SQL Server1.4 Microsoft Message Queue Server
1.3.2 Index Server: Basic Querying Features
1.3.3 Index Server: Basic Indexing Features
1.7.1 Messaging Foundation1.8 Proxy Server
1.7.2 Connectivity and Co-existence
1.9.1 Improved integration1.10 Deliver
1.9.2 Expanded functionality
1.9.3 Search
1. Introduction
1.2 Definitions, Acronyms and Abbreviations
| ADSL | Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line |
| ATM | Asynchronous Transfer Mode |
| CIMI | Computer Interchange of Museum Information |
| CSC | Cultural Service Centre |
| FTP | File Transfer Protocol |
| H/W | Hardware |
| IP | Internet Protocol |
| IPO | Input Processing Output |
| ISDN | Integrated Service Digital Network |
| LAN | Local Area Network |
| MIME | Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions |
| N/A | Not Applicable |
| ODBC | Open Data Base Connectivity |
| PC | Personal Computer |
| SMTP | Simple Mail Transfer Protocol |
| S/W | Software |
| WWW | World Wide Web |
This section should provide the definitions of all terms, acronyms and abbreviations.
Acronyms and Abbreviations:
| [AD 1] | WORK PACKAGE 1100: Survey on the State of the Art http://mosaic.infobyte.it/project/project.html |
| [AD 2] | WORK PACKAGE 1400: Target Users Profile Specification http://mosaic.infobyte.it/project/project.html |
| [AD 3] | WORK PACKAGE 1500: Requirements Definition Document http://mosaic.infobyte.it/project/project.html |
| [AD 4] | WORK PACKAGE 1600: Technical Note on Application Reuse http://mosaic.infobyte.it/project/project.html |
1.4 Reference Web Sites and Documents
| ATM technology |
http://www.infowin.org/ACTS/ANALYSYS/PRODUCTS/THEMATIC/ATM/ http://www.atmforum.com ftp://ftp.atmforum.com/pub |
| ADSL technology | http://www.adsl.com |
| ISDN technology | Simple introduction to ISDN http://www.isdntek.com/net.htm |
|
Telecommunication Carrier |
http://www.ascend.com |
| Videoconferencing |
http://www.de.infowin.org/ANALYSYS/PRODUCTS/HANDBOOK/handbook.html specific for video conferencing: http://www.de.infowin.org/ANALYSYS/PRODUCTS/HANDBOOK/acts_hb_3.3.html |
| Publishing Team Guidelines for the Web Design | http://www.de.infowin.org/ANALYSYS/PRODUCTS/HANDBOOK/acts_hb_5.html |
| Security of Infrastructures | http://www.megaitalia.it |
Chapter 1 : Introduction
This chapter contains the scope, definitions, acronyms and abbreviations, the applicable documents, the reference documents and the document structure.
Chapter 2 : System Overview
This chapter contains the Mosaic system requirements
Chapter 3 : System Design Guidelines
The documents is mainly structured in tables that summarises the main features of each component. In this chapter is given the description of the fields contained in each table.
Chapter 4 : Description of Network Component Service
The system component involved with the Network service are described in this chapter
Chapter 5 : CSC Component Description
The system component involved with the CSC are described in this chapter
Chapter 6 : Configuration list
The configuration table summarise the configuration of each component
Chapter 7 : Coverage Matrix
For each component the coverage matrix identifies the covered and not covered Requirements by the chosen architecture
A CD-ROM is attached to this document to illustrate its contents in an easy and intuitive way.
2. System Overview
The MOSAIC project introduces a new approach in the organisation, maintenance and international promotion of cultural wealth and museums, based on new advanced technologies such as Multimedia and Telecommunication applied to museums, art galleries, architecture and other piece of arts.
The main target of MOSAIC is to increase the visibility of the cultural wealth collected in the European museums, diffuse the knowledge and increase the cultural exchanges between the European countries and their co-operation.
The present document wants illustrate the physical composition of the system starting from the logical model presented in the Requirements Definition Document [AD 3]. The model illustrates the logical component decomposition of the system. The document aim is to define each system component in term of its physical parts. The document, of course, gives an indication about its physical contents that could be adapted to specific needs. The figure illustrates the Mosaic contents and the CSC technological segments as logically defined into the WP1500 document.
Figure 1 : The Mosaic technological segments
| local USER | Applications |
Tele-conference, object manipulation, smart card, ecash, Search&Retrieval, data entry, network navigation, IT-services Access to physical space: Training Room, Video Conference, Virtual Theatre, Multimedia Room, CyberCafé, Marketing Area, Workshop |
| Network Access | Internal Network Services and External Front-end |
| USER/CSC Network | Applications | Email, file-transfer, web-access, S&R, ECMS, ecash, newslist, Cultural on-line browser |
| Network Access | Pop3, SMTP, FT8, http, Z39.59, listserver, Corba, ODBC |
| CSC/CSC Network | Applications | OPAC-provision, database, maintenance, ECMS, accounting, digitalisation |
| Network Access | Virtual collection, 3D models for exhibition, ISDN/ATM-trasmission, real audio/video IPR |
3. System Design Guidelines
An architectural design gives a definition of the contents of the system components and interfaces between them. Component may be systems, subsystems, data stores, program, infrastructures and processes.
Each component of Mosaic is described in terms of :
If some item is not applicable the corresponding field should be tagged as N/A (Not Applicable).
To give an easy way to understand the logical and physical decomposition of the Mosaic Network and Mosaic CSC, it has been produced a CD-ROM enclosed to this document. Another reason of the presence of the CD-ROM is that such a complex matter needs of adequate communication media. Description of Network Component Services
4. Network Infrastructure, Inter-Operability gateway
Figure 2 : Mosaic Network general overview
Figure 3 : CSC Network Infrastructures
Purpose
The requirements that the component implement are:
Function Server
Function Client
This component supply the following functionality:Resources (Hw/Sw)
Client Station:
Client Home:
Server Station
PC:
WindowsNT 4.0 Operating System
Database Server: Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Proxy Server, Web Server: Internet Information Server
Workstation UNIX
UNIX Operating System, Database Server, Web Server, Database
Network components
If an ISDN network is available, one need:
ISDN Interface:
ISDN is used to provide a solution for the interconnection of remote local area networks. It offers a cheaper option than leased lines, and a much better performance than the analogue telephone.
Example of interconnection between CSCs:
The router is used to dial up and route data across the ISDN only when there is data needing to be sent. This therefore avoids a permanent connection between the two LANs.
The speed of remotely accessing the Internet via the PSTN, even using high-speed modems, does not match the speed of access with the ISDN. Compression of data achievable with modems is also available with ISDN lines. In particular, the ISDN is used to connect to an ISP (Internet Service Provider) at high speeds, but at a reasonable cost. This is essential as it allows the user to gain access to the full benefits of the WorldWide Web (including pictures, sounds and application programs).
Example of remote user connection: (the figure shows a LAN (CSCs) and a remote user that connect ISDN)
For more details see [AP 4] Technical note on Application Reuse pag. 22 – 36
Reference Tools
Refer to [AD 4] (Technical note on Application Reuse)
Processing/IPO
Performances
The user will work on an abstract level where he/she uses TCP/IP. The upper three layers are IP-based. On the transport layer one can use the different network technologies:
Only general remarks are possible, because the costs depend from:
ATM (for technical information see
most expensive concerning basic hardware and infrastructure costs and communication costs. In the easiest case one needs an ATM-Card at each workstation. But it can also be necessary to set up an ATM-network, and then it strongly depends on the applications. For high end ATM one need glass fiber infrastructure which is normally not available.
A calculation for communication costs needs to be done for every point-to-point connection and is by itself very expensive, because there is not one provider for the direct connection from point-to-point. Even the distance between two points is not an indicator for the communication costs.
The budget can differ from some ten thousands ECU to a million and more ECU.
ISDN (for simple introduction to ISDN see http://www.isdntek.com/net.htm)
ISDN is a versatile telephone line connection that provides for higher Internet access speeds than conventional 28.8 Kb/sec analog modems carried over normal dial-in telephone lines. ISDN carries voice and data simultaneously over a single copper wire pair. It links directly into the switched telephone network and thus can make connections anywhere in the world, providing both ends have ISDN-compatible equipment. Under the right conditions, it serves as a bandwidth building block used to construct virtual circuits from 128 Kb/sec to 1,544 Kb/sec.
ISDN has three channels: two 64 Kb/sec B data channels and one 16 Kb/sec signaling D channel. All three channels can carry data, but only the 64 Kb/sec channels carry the B designation for bearer channel. For high-speed data transfer, the two B channels can be coupled via software for transmission in the same direction, and provide 128 Kb/sec data transfer. The D channel can carry X.25 packet data, but this is an auxiliary use of that channel; its main purpose is to carry dialing and incoming call information.
ISDN offers several advantages to business users:
The hardware and communication costs depend on the bandwidth needed. If 64kb/sec are sufficient one has the costs for one call, if 2Mb/sec are necessary one has the costs for 32 calls. Also the necessary hardware has to be taken into account.
Two diagrams for network connections (as an example with ISDN) are given in the following:
Figure 1 Lan-to-Lan Access (figure from http://www.ascend.com)
The Pipeline 50 connects to a central site over an ISDN BRI line. Multiprotocol routing and bridging allows remote users to simultaneously access corporate resources.
The Pipeline 50 connects remote users to the Internet over an ISDN BRI line. At speeds up to 512 kbps, it's a breeze to download high-resolution graphics and video clips or to just simply surf the Internet.
ISDN can be used in Europe. ISDN is not available at every location in the world. Thus here are great dependencies from the location of a CSC.
ISDN is used to provide an alternative solution for the interconnection of remote local area networks. It offers a cheaper option than leased lines, and a much better performance than the analogue telephone:
(for more details see [AP 4] Technical note on Application Reuse pag. 22 – 36)
ADSL (See the site: http://www.adsl.com) The UT-MediaNet system supports DMT (Discrete Multi-Tone) ADSL modems. The technology delivers digital streams up to 8 Mbit/s to the end users. The distance limit between local exchange and customer premises modems, however, is about 6 km with 1.5 Mbit/s channels and 4 km with 5 Mbit/s streams. The highest data rates can be obtained with copper pair distances around 2.5 km.
In the ADSL network architecture, the application data flow, encapsulated via AAL5 or AAL1 into ATM cells, is transported by the broadband switching network. The traffic is routed to the appropriate ADSL line termination port on the basis of the appropriate VPI/VCI contained in the ATM cell headers. The ADSL interface module terminates the ATM and the adaptation layer protocols and sends the user data over the copper wire using CAP or DMT modulation.
At the customer premises, the ADSL unit receives and decodes the application data, providing proper user interfaces towards the customer’s PC or Set Top Box. Both ATM Forum 25 Mbit/s and Ethernet 10BaseT user interfaces are currently available, depending on the supported services (SDVB, VoD or fast Internet access). In the general architecture, user signalling is carried transparently by the access network and it is interpreted by the ATM switch, which is in charge of creating and releasing the ATM connections with the service providers.
ADSL product line
The ITALTEL equipment which realises the ADSL access network is based on the Multiservice Peripheral Module (MPM), an advanced multiservice node which can manage ADSL lines as well as Passive Optical Networks. The MPM module can be configured for a broad range of applications, from a small number of ADSL interfaces (up to 100) to the largest configuration, serving several thousands of broadband users. The users can be broadband users only or they can also have POTS or ISDN services. In this latter case, the ADSL modem frame houses the POTS/ISDN splitters necessary to extract the narrow-band traffic towards the narrow-band switch. (for more details on ASDL technology refer to [AD 4] "Technical note on Application Reuse" pag. 20 – 21)
Internet
can be realized via every telecommunication system. It is recommended to use ISDN, but not necessary. The infrastructure costs are the same like for ISDN point-to-point connection, but the communication costs are less, because only the connection to the next Internet service provider need to be taken into account. Costs depend whether one has a dedicated line or a call line. Internet, because it does not use normally a dedicated line, is the cheapest solution. But it depends on the application. A general recommendation can not be made.
Security
Concerning the aspect of security the ACTS project INFOWIN has presented within a handbook on Communication Services: (http://www.de.infowin.org/ANALYSYS/PRODUCTS/HANDBOOK/handbook.html).
The 768 kbit/s return channel can be used as a return channel for interactive services or as a separate data path for bi-directional applications.
The chapter for security you will find under: http://www.de.infowin.org/ANALYSYS/PRODUCTS/HANDBOOK/acts_hb_3.5.html
| Performance Hierarchical Caching | Firewall Security Dynamic Packet Filtering | Easy Management Internet Service Management (Intuitive GUI-based tool) |
Distributed Caching with | Reverse Proxy/Virtual Hosting Server Proxying | Web Administration Command Line Administration with Scripting |
| 40% Better Performance HTTP 1.1 Support | Real Time Alerts and Logging VPN Support | Array Administration Configuration Backup and Restore |
| SOCKS Support |
Data Structure
Support all current network protocols, including TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, NetBEUI, AppleTalk, DLC, HTTP, SNA, PPP, and PPTP. And, for client compatibility, it's the most flexible network operating system available, working with a wide variety of client operating systems such as Microsoft Windows 3.x, Windows 95, Windows NT Workstation, IBM OS/2r and Macintosh.Quality
The aspect of quality for the different network technology solutions concerns jitter, delay, and bandwidth. Best quality is given by ATM, followed by ISDN and ADSL. Internet is the worst solution concerning quality.ISDN allows users to benefit from high-quality voice transmission, with a bandwidth of 7 kHz or more being available. This requires the user to purchase a specific handset or other equipment which can be PC-based.
This high-quality telephony mode can also be used by radio broadcasters for, e.g. concert transmission, and videoconferencing.
4.1 Distributed Database, Metadatabase, Search Engine & Agent, Multilingual & Interoperability
Purpose
The Distributed Database shall
The Distributed Database shall
The requirements that the component implement are:
MD1.FUN The metadatabase shall maintain records for multiple agencies
The metadatabase shall:
MD3.FUN admit management of records
MD4.FUN have functions as middleware between user client and distributed servers
MD5.FUN use of Z39.50
MD6.FUN able to retrieve information, hours, costs and accessibility to museums, archaeological areas, etc...
MD7.FUN able to give a complete set of information about museums and galleries, on the administrative as well as on a very specialised scientific level
MD8.FUN have a Work arts catalogue
MD9.FUN able to Locate artwork
MD10.FUN retrieve works and know their technical-administrative characteristics
MD11.FUN be a multimedia trans-European database to manage and locate artwork; creation of digital museums
MD12.FUN have images of art-works in high-resolution mode in the most compatible and efficient way (from the point of view of speed and cost)
MD13.FUN have the possibility to correlate information from more data base or images of different historical ages (evolution in time) or in space (pictorial schools, imitations, attributions, etc...)
MD14.FUN The have data on the "recent" work (e.g., when did the institution obtain it)
MD15.FUN have File-types, historical data availability: these information should be furnished:
The metadatabase shall:
MD1.COP transmit intellectual property fairly
MD2.COP transmit intellectual property securely
MD3.COP apply a standards system for sales modalities
MD4.COP support licensing transactions
MD5.COP support Inter-operability with unrelated IPR databases
MD6.COP support Inter-operability with new security-based technologies
MD7.COP Creator shall load the work on to the server
MD8.COP Creator shall add the name to the work loaded on to the server
MD9.COP Creator shall add the identity to the work loaded on to the server
MD10.COP Creator shall add the price per copy to the work loaded on to the server
MD11.COP The client server will can download the work from the server
MD12.COP The client server shall provide an e-cash account for the work
MD13.COP The relevant databases for the search shall have to be selected. The window on the left hand side of the mask shall show all the different databases that can be searched and selected into the window on the left.
MD14.COP The search criteria shall be determined in the following screen. The search attributes that shall be selected depend on the definitions laid down in the metadata databases. In the Attributes list box the user shall find the different definitions. These attributes can then be combined using Boolean logic in order to make the query more precise.
MD15.COP After a successful query the user shall view a list of results. Here short descriptions of the queried cultural objects are given. The window on the bottom of the interface shows the number of records found in each selected database.
MD16.COP The electronic image of the queried object shall be viewed in different renditions
MD17.COP This interface shall show how the descriptions of the objects might change according to the various types of objects searched
MD18.COP The user shall have the possibility to view the retrieved object in full screen size
MD19.COP This screen shot depicts the starting of a new search using a subject heading term for the query ('Gotik'). The small window appearing in the near centre of the screen shows that the display of records resulting from the query should be restricted in number (4) and that not more than 50 corresponding GRS (Generic Record Syntax) elements should be displayed
MD20.COP Again a list of resulting records, this time limited to the pre-determined amount, together with a short object description will be displayed
MD21.COP These records shall be viewed in different renditions, as well
MD22.FUN The metadatabase shall display basic information on property rights and acquisition modalities (e.g auction date)
MD23.FUN The metadatabase shall allow for simulatneous parallel searching of diverse servers
MD24.FUN A knowledgebase co-ordinates distributed search of diverse servers
MD25.FUN The knowledgebase recognises the relevant servers
The requirements that the component implement are:
Function Server
The distributed database has the following functions:
1. Support existing standards as CIMI …
2. Support link management
The Metadatabase, Search Engine & Agent has the following functionality:
1. retrieve the information, hours, costs and accessibility to museums, archaeological areas ...
2. a work arts catalogue
3. locate the artworks
4. update the catalogue links
5. the access to the client is done by using a proper interface (form)
This Multilingual & Interoperability the following functionality:
1. access to query any information world-wide independent of language knowledge
2. get queries results in user’s native language
3. have multimedia products in a multi-lingual format
4. have inter-operability using standards CIMI
5. a thesaurus function for matching and translation
Function Client
The distributed database has the following functions:
Resources (Hw/Sw)
H/W: Server, LAN
S/W: CIMI server, CIMI client, Local database, standards ODBC, CORBA refer to [AD 4] (Technical note on Application Reuse) pag. 46 - 47
Reference Tools
Refer to [AD 4] (Technical note on Application Reuse)
Processing/IPO Performances
The Entities Relation diagrams shows the CIMI database structure A user client part contain the software to connect with the CSC sever. The server has a specific part to communicate with any of the remote database to connect with. Each remote database has a part to interface with the structure of its database.
Data Structure
Refer to the [AD 3] Requirements Definition Document, Annex 1: The CIMI profile
The metadatabase maintains records for multiple agencies. It permits the input and management of metadata records and functions as middleware between the user client and the distributed servers. What makes possible this uniform information search and retrieval is the use of a common protocol (Z39.50). In the basic search and retrieval model the user can search just one pre-selected server at a time.
Refer to the [AD 3] Requirements Definition Document, Annex 2: Metadata Categories
Quality
Refer to the [AD 2] Target User Profile Specification, paragraph 3.2.4
Figure 4 : Architecture of a Search&Retrieval System based on Z39.50 where distributed searching is possible (CIMIzit current model)
The present CIMIzit model allows for simultaneous parallel searching of diverse specialised servers. Before starting the search process the user has to determine which servers he/she wants to search for information.
Figure 5 : The Cultural On-line Browser Interface
Figure 6 : The Cultural on-line Browser Client software layers
|
Cultural on-line Browser |
|
|
Commercial Browsers |
|
|
CIMI client |
Plug-ins |
|
Operating System |
|
Purpose
The requirements that the component implement are:The Cultural on-line Browser shall
Function Server
This component supply the following functionality’s:
1. Receive the clients query request and activate them (Query engine)
2. CIMI query engine
Function Client
This component supply the following functionality’s:
1. an easy hyper-media navigation and surfing access in different kind of art work and history showing to the users a graphical interface with a geographical approach based on the layout of the CIMI Z39.50 Inter-operability test-bed
2. access to appropriate links to other works of the same author
3. thematic queries
4. multilingual approach
5. temporal approach
6. multimedia debates on different cultural topics
7. retrieve of generic information such opening hours, costs and accessibility to museums, meteo news, cultural events...
8. the possibility of guided tours
9. the possibility to buy products by electronic sales
10. the possibility to acquire high quality images
11. respect of the existing juridical and copyrights law with management of IPR
12. watermarking of images
13. advertising of cultural products
14. display of the matching records
Resources (Hw/Sw)
H/W: PC Clients
S/W: The client station has to be equipped by a multimedia kit, Plug-in, CIMI Clients
Reference Tools
Cultural On-Line Browser
Processing/IPO Performances
It accept the following inputs from the user
The results are displayed on geographic map or in text format. The geographical query could be activated by using the map interface choosing the country of interest
Data Structure
Z39.50 standard, HTML data formatting, internal data structure, latitude and longitude
Quality
Refer to the [AD 2] Target User Profile Specification, paragraph 3.2.4
5. CSC Components Description
5.1 CSC Organisation, Publishing Team, Promotion & Advertising
Figure 7 : CSC Organisation
Figure 8 : CSC Organisation Tools Infrastructures
Purpose
The requirements that the component implement are:
CO1.INF The CSC organisation shall foreseen the following profiles:
The CSC management
CO8.INF shall guarantee the utilisation of CSC profits to promote the cultural wealth
CO9.INF guarantee the management of the rental contract, the clients relationships, the fees gathering from the sites open to the public
CO10.INF guarantee the Mosaic agreements in the area of responsibilities
The Publishing Team
PT1.FUN shall maintains the CSC operativity
PT2.FUN analyse the users access permission to the services of the CSC
PT3.FUN analyse the Tools, Services and Forum access to produce statistics
PT4.FUN acquire and elaborate raw multimedia data as images from scanner, sounds, video, text.
PT5.FUN manage the selling of images via on-line sale service in respect of current regulations and within agreements of IPR
PT6.FUN manage the home page for institutions, museums ... linked to the CSC or hosted by the CSC
PT7.FUN manage the use of CSC infrastructures and workshop organisation
PT8.FUN manage the production and diffusion of promotion and advertising materials
PT9.FUN create new products to be introduced in the market
PT10.FUN support the curator during the creation of new exhibitions
The Promotion and Advertising
PA1.FUN shall promote events to publicise the Mosaic activities and its CSCs
PA2.FUN shall prepare sites to present Mosaic and its activities
PA3.FUN shall prepare advertising materials to promote Mosaic activities and the CSCs
PA4.FUN activity shall be based on a marketing approach with the main goal to assure services to a well defined list of clients. The promotion activities shall use both traditional and technological approach
PA5.FUN activity shall promote initiatives prevalently on the network using tool able to stimulate the audience of a large public. The network shall assure the primaries services for the advertising (virtual show in VRML and documents on internet)
Function Server
The CSC organisation supply the following functionality:
1. CSC director is responsible of all CSC activity
2. Marketing director having in charge the goal to increase the CSC activity
3. Curator having in charge to manage temporary and permanent aspects of the CSC (from a cultural point of view) and assure the respect of local laws
4. Operative Staff having in charge to assure the operativity of the CSC. The Operative Staff shall be composed by Executors and a Publishing team (researchers, editors, graphics, programmers, system manager and educators)
The Publishing Team shall supply the following functionality:
1. maintain the CSC operativity
2. manage the users access permission
3. produce statistics on Tools, Services and Forum access
4. elaborate raw data (images, text, sound) to produce multimedia products
5. produce and disseminate advertising material
6. support the curator during new exhibition creation
7. support to visitors in infrastructures
The Operative Staff shall supply the following functionality:
1. manage and the security of all the infrastructures
2. manage the operativity of the air conditioning system
3. activate the simultaneous translation service
4. assure all the services in the CSC
The Promotion and Advertising supply the following functionality:
1. promote events to publicise Mosaic activities and its CSC
2. prepare sites to present Mosaic and its activities
3. prepare advertising material to promote Mosaic and its activities
4. marketing approach for promotion prevalently on network
Function Client
1. Help desk to towards admitted peoples in the CSC
2. Localise the data
3. Thematic forum management and request management
Resources (Hw/Sw)
Reference Tools
Refer to [AD 4] (Technical note on Application Reuse) S/W: Telepay, Watermarking tools, Image Encription, IEAK, Flashpix, Lightscape, Macromedia Flash2, Macromedia Shockwave, VRML-Editor, HTML-Editor, Dynamic HTML-Editor, Kudo Image Publisher, DynaWeb, Dynatext, Turist Tutor, ModelMaker, 3DRAW, MicroScribe 3D, Cyberware 3D scanner
For the security aspects, the products of MegaItalia cover all the most important issues: access check, fire check, acoustic alarms, videocameras … (see http://www.megaitalia.it)
Processing/IPO Performances
The CSC organisation shall be structured as in the following:
The Publishers Team is a part of the CSC Operative Staff.
It is managed by the Curator. This team has in charge to operate with information technologies to maintain operative the CSC services (access permission, tools services and forum access, raw data elaboration to produce multimedia products, disseminate advertising material, support the curator for exhibition creation, management of the security of all the infrastructures. The security is a very important issue: the check of the access, the check of fire, )
The Promotion & Advertising component has in charge to produce advertising material about the CSC and to promote its activities. By the information technologies could be produced gadgets (brochures, souvenirs, T-shirts, posters, documents, coupons, magazines...)
Data Structure
Raw data (images, audio, text), synthesis data for monitor & control and research
Quality
The people in the CSC organisation shall have appropriate experience in the field of Marketing, Cultural Wealth and Information Technology. Publishing Team Guidelines for the Web Design are under: http://www.de.infowin.org/ANALYSYS/PRODUCTS/HANDBOOK/acts_hb_5.html
The security & control is a very important aspect in the managing of a CSC. The following diagram shows the main security aspect and the relationship as from some products distributed by MegaItalia (source: MegaItalia http://www.megaitalia.com).
Figure 9 : Security & Control
Figure 10 : Restoration & Conservation
Purpose
The requirements that the component implement are:
The Forum shall:
TF1.FUN have a number of active topics to guarantee several parallel debates
TF2.FUN shown the list of messages with the newest on top for each topic
TF3.FUN have the possibility to create new topics, sent message, reply to a message. Each user could be use its native language
TF4.FUN have a browsing functionality
TF1.OPE be created and managed by special users with the administrative tools
Function Server
The Thematic Forum supplies the following functionality:
Function Client
The Basic Services the following functionality:
The Thematic Forum supply the following functionality:
Resources (Hw/Sw)
CSC Publishing Team Hardware/Software
Reference Tools
Telepay, Watermarking, HTML-Editor, paper printing, photo quality reproduction, 3D movie playing, 3D object creating and showing, digitalisation, merchandising, Netforum, Altavista Forum
Refer to [AD 4] (Technical note on Application Reuse)
Processing/IPO Performances
The watermarking allows non visible label insertion on the image to guarantee the copyrights. The access to the label shall be possible after the digitisation of a secret key to enable the label reading/modification
The Telepay service has the following dependencies:
for the buyer:
The basic service shall allow paper printing in several formats, photo reproduction and elaboration, 3D object creation/modification and showing, image digitalisation
Data Structure
Intenal data for the thematic forum
Quality
Refer to the [AD 2] Target User Profile Specification, paragraph 3.2.4
5.3 Archiving Tool (Tools)
Purpose
The requirements that the component implement are:
The archiving tool shall
The archiving tool shall have the following functions in administration:
The archiving tool shall have the following functions in documentation:
The archiving tool shall have the following functions for co-operation with other standard application:
Function Server
Gives support for the network management
Function Client
This component supply the following functionality:
Resources (Hw/Sw)
CSC Publishing Team Hardware/Software
Reference Tools
Refer to [AD 4] (Technical note on Application Reuse)
IMDAS, DigitalBox, Highway, XML/SGML-Editor, NetForum, EmbARK, MCMS
Processing/IPO Performances
The archiving tools shall be used by the Publishing Team. They shall allow the raw data acquisition (their digitalisation by using scanners, their correction, organisation and storage on local databases. The archiving tool shall run on the Publishing Team Hardware/Software Platform
Data Structure
CIMI, Internal archive of the tool, CORBA and ODBC standards supported
Quality
Refer to the [AD 2] Target User Profile Specification, paragraph 3.2.4
5.4 Application & Market Products
Purpose
The requirements that the component implement are:
Function Server
This component supply the following functionality:
Function Client
This component supply the following functionality:
Resources (Hw/Sw)
CSC Publishing Team Hardware/Software
Reference Tools
Refer to [AD 4] (Technical note on Application Reuse)
Equilibrium deBabelizer, MultiGenII, GameGen, Alias, Softimage, CosmoStudio, Oxygen, ClarusEon, Macromedia Director
Processing/IPO Performances
The Application & Market Products shall be used to: convert raw data to produce and elaborate graphic materials, video products, to manage the file transfert, to produce multimedia products on CD-ROMs, to create web sites, to create Virtual Reality applications by producing sophisticated 3D models, to create virtual sets and the Promotion & Advertising material for prochures, documentations, coupons, images, audio and video files
Furthermore the creation of a virtual space dedicated to television production (virtual studio) can introduce actors or particular puppets (character animation) who in the three-dimensional synthetic dominion may present the line of products live on Internet (broadcasting) or on special television shows (debates, thematic spaces, ...) or create adverts, documentaries and anything else concerning the virtual content present in the Cultural Service Center.
Another possibility is to allow the remote visitors to choose the camera/cameras position (through a booking) and to change the visual space to look for VIPs or particular circumstances characterizing the exposition space.
Internet technology together with an eye on the CSC can allow to extend the entire initiative to the virtual public consequently increasing the number of spectators present. During this vision adverts may be placed on particular areas of the screen.
Another aspect of the Internet site is made up of the multimedia management of the line of products which can open spaces for sales or communication through push technology of updating subjects selected for distributors or general public.
The suggested approach for the derivated line production, can be mainly summarised as follows :
In particular, for the technological point of view, we believe that the course to take is multiple:
All of these technological derivated products can generate another series of promotional publicity (derived products: T-shirts, video,etc.) able to widely penetrate and attract the majority of people whereby the virtual reality audio-visual room can stupefy.
Data Structure
Internal data structures mainly based on the CORBA and ODBC standard
Quality
Refer to the [AD 2] Target User Profile Specification, paragraph 3.2.4
5.5 Virtual Exhibitor (Tools)
VEX is a tool that allows to plan, design and build an exhibition down to the last detail without actually moving or touching any of the exhibits. All that is required are images (slides, prints, etc.) of the items to be exhibited.
It is made of several independent modules: the 3D VEX Modeler, the 3D VEX Picture Maker, the 3D VEX Expo Build, the 3D VEX Expo Print, the 3D VEX Show Module (see processing IPO for more details)
VEX hardware requirements have been kept to a minimum in order to make the tool affordable to a wide variety of users. It runs on a Silicon Graphics O2 - the smallest and cheapest SGI graphic machine available today - or better.
Purpose
The requirement that the component implement are:
The Virtual Exhibitor shall
VE1.FUN give the possibility to construct and simulate in 3D, through VR technology, an exhibit space
VE2.FUN have at least two main functionality : design and show
VE3.FUN be able to edit simple 3D representation of the exhibition environment to be showed
VE4.FUN be able to insert in the 3D representation lights, doors, windows, floors, walls, ceiling, objects
VE5.FUN have an user friendly human/computer interface to create the 3D room representation
VE6.FUN The human/computer interface of the 3D modeler shall have a window with a milli-meter grid on which it is possible to draw the 2D map of the room. The 2D map shall be scaled respect the real room
The 3D modeler shall
VE7.FUN have the Load command to load a previously created exhibition environment (by the use of more sophisticated 3D Modelling tools like Multigen, Alias ...)
VE8.FUN have the Import Object function to load previously created 2D representation (to be used in the map) and 3D representation for the objects preview
VE9.FUN be able to create the frames and pictures inserted in the 3D representation
The 3D Picture Module shall
VE10.FUN automatically generates the whole information necessary to implement the infinite resolution technique, starting from an high resolution image
VE11.FUN accept images in standard formats like (tiff, jpeg, gif ...)
VE12.FUN be able to define the picture frame
VE13.FUN be able to define for each frame some attributes like size, number of level of resolution, multimedia information (audio description) ...
VE14.FUN have the possibility to associate the multimedia information to each frame
The Virtual Exhibitor Authoring System shall
VE15.FUN shall have the possibility to use all the data created by the 3D modeler module and the 3D picture module and to check their interaction
VE16.FUN be able to load the 3D room representation previously created and all the frames that to be placed
VE17.FUN be able to render high realism by inserting and switching-on and orient many lights on a single picture
VE18.FUN be able to render high realism applying the infinite resolution technique for the pictures visualisation
VE19.FUN be able to load a 3D representation previously created by the Authoring System
The Virtual Exhibitor Show System shall
VE20.FUN be able to freely navigate inside the 3D representation and to use the multimedia associated to each picture
VE21.FUN be able to correct manage the texture memory to optimise the performances.
Function Server
Support for
Function Client
It allows you to:
Resources (Hw/Sw)
H/W minimal configuration:
H/W great configuration:
Access to the use of CSC organisation tools
Reference Tools
VR Exhibitor
Refer to [AD 4] (Technical note on Application Reuse)
Processing/IPO Performances
The processing of the virtual exhibitor is done by the following modules:
The virtual exhibitor tour shall allow the conversion of raw data (images, audio, texts) from local archive or internet to produce: CD-ROM, Virtual Reality showrooms, advertising materials, video files, models for virtual sets. The virtual exhibitor shall allow to refine and modificate the 3D models
Figure 11 : Virtual Exhibitor Processing
Data Structure
Local database, ODBC and supported CORBA tool, Multilayer Images, Infinite resolution Manipulation
Quality
Infinite resolution algorithm (PICTEL). For more detail refer to: [AD 2] Target User Profile Specification, paragraph 3.2.4
Purpose
The requirements that the component implement are:
the Authoring Tool shall
AT1.FUN be able to construct multimedia documents in a structured form
AT2.FUN be able possibility to store those documents on a database
AT3.FUN be able to publish those documents on Web, CD-ROM and print media
The module shall be able to
AT4.FUN edit simple text documents
AT5.FUN insert on them multimedia files.
AT6.FUN designing a structure for the document
AT7.FUN stores the documents in a object-oriented manner
AT8.FUN permit to different users to access and modify the documents
AT9.FUN answer queries for a specific item
AT10.FUN access to the local database with the archiving tool in CIMI standard
AT11.FUN publish the multimedia documents on different media
Function Server
Local Network connection management and access to remote archives
Function Client
This component supply the following functionality:
1. allow to construct multimedia documents in a structured form
2. allow document storing in a database
3. allow to publish this documents on Web, CD-ROM and print media
4. allow to edit simple text document
Resources (Hw/Sw)
See the CSC Organisation, Publishing team office tools
Reference Tools
AltavistaForum, Macromedia Flash 2, Macromedia Shockwave, VRML-Editor, ASP, HTML-Editor, Dynamic HTML-Editor, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premier, BCSW, Active Server Page, CASUS, Oxygen
Processing/IPO Performances
They shall allow the creation of images, photo refinement, web sites, video in a personalised way
Data Structure
Internal data or market Databases, Models formats (Inventor …)
Quality
Refer to the [AD 2] Target User Profile Specification, paragraph 3.2.4
5.7 Training Room (Infrastructures)
Purpose
The requirements that the component implement are:
The Training room
TR1.INF shall be equipped of suitable furniture (chairs, desk ...)
TR2.INF shall be equipped of white-board and screen and data projector
TR3.INF shall be equipped of a suitable computer stations for multimedia applications
TR4.INF courses shall be done by a Tutor or by Video-Conference
TR5.INF shall be guarantee a simultaneous language translation services
Function Server
The Training Room, Video Conference and Workshops supply the following functionality:
1. equipped of suitable furniture, white-board, screen and data projector
2. equipped of multi-media computer stations
3. equipped of a simultaneous translation services
4. guarantee sites for academic debates
5. access to Universities or remote Databases on education programmes or Other Educational Institutions Public or Private
Function Client
1. Execute training session
2. Allows debate between partecipants
Resources (Hw/Sw)
Multimedia PC, Printer, White board, Projector, Forniture, Telephon, Learning materials
Support of the others Infrastructures
Reference Tools
VIP, Tourist Tutor, Crystal-Eyes, Barcographics 808S
Processing/IPO Performances
Activate learning courses both with tutor or with remote connection. Creation of thematic session.
Data Structure
Didactic material on electronic format, CD-ROM, internet, Slides
Quality
The tutor shall have appropriate experience to perform course and training
Concerning the aspect of Videoconferencing the ACTS project INFOWIN has presented within a handbook on Communication Services (http://www.de.infowin.org/ANALYSYS/PRODUCTS/HANDBOOK/handbook.html). The chapter for videoconferencing (mentioned as co-operative work, which is still more than videoconferencing) you will find under http://www.de.infowin.org/ANALYSYS/PRODUCTS/HANDBOOK/acts_hb_3.3.html
Data Structure
Used communication protocols
Quality
For more detail refer to: [AD 2] Target User Profile Specification, paragraph 3.2.4
5.9 Virtual Theatre, Workshops (Infrastructures)
Figure 12: Virtual Theatre plant
Figure 13: Virtual Theatre plant
Purpose
The requirements that the component implement are:
The Virtual Theatre shall have
VT1.INF a large screen (several meters)
VT2.INF some projectors to cover the whole screen surface
VT3.INF projector able to support the graphic resolution and the output frequencies of the workstation
VT4.INF an interface device used to create a physical connection between users and the computer through which they interact with the images displayed
VT5.INF The interface device shall be easy to be used also by not skilled people present in the theatre
The Virtual Theatre shall have
VT6.INF a workstation able to reproduce the virtual environment movements at least at a speed of 15-20 frame/s
VT7.INF an audio reproduction system able to integrate the graphic reproduction with sound
VT8.INF a workstation with a specific tool to realise virtual exhibitions
VT9.INF a simultaneous language translation service
WS1.FUN The CSC shall guarantee sites for academic debates on thematic topics
WS2.FUN The support services shall guarantee:
Function Server
1. Direction Room service
2. Manage the Network connection
Function Client
The Virtual Theatre supply the following functionality:
1. have large screen and projector able to support the large output frequency of the workstation
2. have interface device to create interactivity between users and the computer
3. have an high fidelity audio reproduction system
4. equipped of a simultaneous translation services
Resources (Hw/Sw)
Virtual Theatre minimal configuration (1 channel projection)
Workstation:
Onyx2 IR Deskside, 2xR10000, 64 MB texture Memory, DG4-2, 64 MB memory, 4.5 GB HD, TAPE, CDROM, ASO, Additional 64MB texture Memory, First 256 MB memory
Projector:
Video-Projector 1280x1024, Analogic card, Kit to mount the screen (eventually), Screen 2x1.5 m
Stereo Glasses:
Stereo Graphic Emitter, Stereo Graphic Cristal Eyes
Other material:
W113 interface, Alphanumeric terminal, Modem, Joystick, Amplifier, 2 Speakers, Continuity Group, Cables
Virtual Theatre maximal configuration (3 channel projection)
Workstation:
Onyx2 IR 3-pipe 8xR10000, 1GB RAM, 6x64KB Texture Memory, 9GB HD
Projector:
Video-Projector 1280x1024, Analogic card, Kit to mount the screen (eventually), Screen 6x2 m
Stereo Glasses:
Stereo Graphic Emitter, Stereo Graphic Cristal Eyes
Other material:
W113 interface, Alphanumeric terminal, Modem, Joystick, Amplifier, 2 Speakers, Continuity Group, Cables
Reference Tools
VIP, Tourist Tutor, Crystal-Eyes, Barcographics 808S
Processing/IPO Performances
The operator shall activate the virtual application on the workstation. By interacting with the device interface (joystick, flybox …) he can shows different aspects and point of views of the reconstructed environment to the peoples present in the virtual theatre. To have a complete 3D vision peoples could use Crystal eyes (special glasses) that present images to the viewers in high-resolution, full-colour in a stereoscopic virtual world
Data Structure
Internal data of Virtual Reality Application
Quality
Refer to the [AD 2] Target User Profile Specification, paragraph 3.2.4
Multimedia Room (Infrastructures)
Figure 14 : Multimedia Room
Purpose
The requirements that the component implement are:
The multimedia room shall
MR1.INF be equipped by working stations able to run multimedia application
MR2.INF support the vision of multimedia application developed in the world and not easily accessible in the market
MR3.INF Have multimedia products in a multi-lingual format and in addition derived products which are linguistically correct
The multimedia room shall
MR4.INF give to the students the possibility to use tools not easily accessible on the market and to do training on the job introducing itself in the work market
MR5.INF be rental to little company with the target to develop innovative products in cultural wealth field
MR6.INF be rental to profit company for training of professional profiles
MR7.INF have an help desk service to assure the use of new multimedia products
MR8.INF have access to the local multimedia archive by a local area network
Function Server
1. connection to the LAN
2. access to local and remote archives
Function Client
The multimedia room supply the following functionality:
1. allow to connect several sites at the same time
2. allow the TV and ISDN connection
3. allow the booking and accounting services
4. allow a simultaneous language translation
5. equipped to present documents, videos and slides
6. allow remote teaching
Resources (Hw/Sw)
Multimedia PCs, Local area network, Network concentrator, Router, Modems, Commercial Internet Browsers, Telephonic line, Restoration Area
Reference Tools
Netscape Communicator, Internet Explorer
Processing/IPO Performances
The service use a local LAN and a server that contain the multimedia catalog. The user with a card can work in such a room and consultate the multimedia products
Data Structure
Local Databases
Quality
Refer to the [AD 2] Target User Profile Specification, paragraph 3.2.4
5.10 CyberCafé & Workshop(Infrastructures)
Purpose
The requirements that the component implement are:
The Cybercafé room shall:
CC1.INF be equipped with N computer stations from which is possible access to Internet and E-mail service. The computer stations shall be equipped with the most diffused software Netscape, Explorer, FTP, Telnet ...
CC2.INF have a restoration service to enjoy foods and drinks
CC3.INF be allow to peoples that use restoration services
CC4.INF be equipped with a telephone service
CC5.INF The starting web site on a Cybercafé computer station shall be the CSC home page containing at least introductory information about the CSC activities, the partners and sponsors logo, their internet links ...
CC6.INF The Cybercafé room shall have computer stations connected to a Network Concentrator
CC7.INF The Network Concentrator shall be linked to a Router and a Modem shall be used if the telephonic line is not digital
The Marketing area shall
CC8.INF support the management of the promotion (show room, marketing exposition, advertising space,...).
CC9.INF manage the selling of the derived products
CC10.INF manage the advertising space renting and the promotion of new events.
CC11.INF present the Mosaic project and the features of all the CSCs.
Function Server
Function Client
The Cybercafé supply the following functionality:
Resources (Hw/Sw)
Multimedia PCs, Local area network, Network concentrator, Router, Modems, Commercial Internet Browsers, Telephonic line, Restoration Area
Reference Tools
Netscape Communicator, Internet Explorer, VIP, Tourist Tutor, Crystal-Eyes, Barcographics 808S
Processing/IPO Performances
Allows the connection to internet by using commercial browsers like Netscape, Explorer … The peoples in the CyberCafé could enjoy themselves by a restoration service. The CyberCafé can allow debates and socialisation between the present peoples. Allow workshops, meetings, information exchange, advertisement diffusion, brochures document disponibility, gadgets
Data Structure
Internal formats for Internet. Catalog of all the multimedia and Virtual Reality titles on the market
Quality
The connection to internet has to assure a good download speed. The ISDN technology should be used in the Cybercafé. For each item in the catalog a brief note on the quality contents shall be present
5.10 Playroom (Infrastructures)
Purpose
The requirements that the component implement are:
The Playroom shall:
PL1.INF offer opportunities to entertain child and teenagers
PL2.INF be managed by a specific operator that shall entertain boys, teenagers and shall assure their security
PL3.INF offer the availability of computers, educational toys, jokes, lectures
PL4.INF The playroom’s computer application shall have a simple human interface with large coloured buttons, big text and easy to see hypertext links
PL5.INF The topics in the HTML pages shall contain arguments of general interest for children and teenagers
PL6.INF The playroom’s internet services shall be equipped of special protection that operates quietly in background between Internet and children and shall carefully screening out user defined 'Words', 'Phrases' and content that are determined as inappropriate
PL7.INF The Playroom shall have a simultaneous language translation service
Function Server
Function Client
This component supply the following functionality:
1. offer opportunities to entertain child and teenagers by employing specific operators that assure their security
2. offer availability of computers, educational toys, jokes, lectures
3. user interface of application offers large coloured buttons, big text and easy to see hypertext links
4. the topics in html pages contains arguments of general interest for children and teenagers
5. the play room supply a simultaneous translation service
Resources (Hw/Sw)
Reference Tools
VR Exhibitor, Refer to [AD 4] (Technical note on Application Reuse)
Processing/IPO Performances
The Playroom shall offer an opportunity to entertain child and teenagers. It shall offer the possibility to use computers, educational toys, lectures … A specific operator shall manage the children and shall assure their security
Data Structure
Internal data for the games
Quality
The specific operator s shall have experience to entertain children and teenagers
The CSC framework is depicted in the following figure. Three main areas has been identified: Database & Tools, Applications, Infrastructures & Device.
Figure 15 : CSC framework
Starting from the framework it is possible to configure the CSC configuration depending by following criteria:
Figure 16 : CSC configuration strategy
The following table indicates for each Mosaic component the minimal technological segment configuration.
|
Component |
Minimal Technological Configuration |
| Network Infrastructure & Inter-Operability Gateway |
Resources:
Server Minimal configuration
Networking Options
Clients supported:
|
| Distributed Database, Metadatabase, Search Engine & Agent, Multilingual Interoperability |
Resources:
H/W: Server, LAN, S/W: CIMI server, CIMI client, Local database, standards ODBC, CORBA refer to [AD 4] (Technical note on Application Reuse) pag. 46 - 47 |
| Cultural on-line browser |
Resources: H/W: PC Clients, S/W: The client station has to be equipped by a multimedia kit, Plug-in, CIMI Clients Reference tool: |
| CSC Organisation, Publishing Team, Promotion & Advertising |
Resources:
Reference Tool:
|
| Basic Services & Thematic Forum |
Resources: CSC Publishing Team Hardware/Software Reference Tools: |
| 3Archiving Tool |
Resources: CSC Publishing Team Hardware/Software Reference Tools: |
| Application & Market Products |
Resources: CSC Publishing Team Hardware/Software Reference Tool: |
| Virtual Exhibitor |
Resources: H/W minimal configuration:
H/W massimal configuration:
Reference Tools: |
| Authoring Tool |
Resources: CSC Organisation, Publishing team office tools Reference Tools: |
| Training Room |
Resources: Multimedia PC, Printer, White board, Projector, Forniture, Telephon, Learning materials Reference Tools: |
| Video Conference | NetMeeting, InPerson |
| Virtual theatre |
Resources: Virtual Theatre minimal configuration (1 channel projection) Onyx2 IR Deskside, 2xR10000, 64 MB texture Memory, DG4-2, 64 MB memory, 4.5 GB HD, TAPE, CDROM, ASO, Additional 64MB texture Memory, First 256 MB memory Projector: Video-Projector 1280x1024, Analogic card, Kit to mount the screen (eventually), Screen 2x1.5 m Other material: W113 interface, Alphanumeric terminal, Modem, Joystick, Amplifier, 2 Speakers, Continuity Group, Cables Virtual Theatre maximal configuration (3 channel projection) Workstation: Reference Tools: |
| Multimedia Room |
Resources: Multimedia PCs, Local area network, Network concentrator, Router, Modems, Commercial Internet Browsers, Telephonic line, Restoration Area Reference Tools: |
| CyberCafé |
Resources: Multimedia PCs, Local area network, Network concentrator, Router, Modems, Commercial Internet Browsers, Telephonic line, Restoration Area Reference Tools: |
| Marketing Area |
Resources: Multimedia PCs, Local area network, Network concentrator, Router, Modems, Commercial Internet Browsers, Telephonic line, Restoration Area Reference Tools: |
| Playroom |
Resources:
Reference Tools: |
| Component | Covered Requirements in minimal configuration | Not Covered Requirements |
| Network Infrastructure & Inter-Operability Gateway | NE1.INF NE2.INF NE3.INF NE5.INF NE6.INF | NE2.INF (partially) |
| Distributed Database, Metadatabase, Search Engine & Agent, Multilingual Interoperability | DD1.FUN DD2.FUN DS1.FUN DS2.FUN DS3.FUN DS4.FUN DS5.FUN DS6.FUN DS7.FUN DS8.FUN DS1.SER DD1.SER DD2.SER DD3.SER DD4.SER DD5.SER DD6.SER DD7.SER DD8.SER DD9.SER DD10.SER DD11.SER MD1.FUN MD2.FUN MD3.FUN MD4.FUN MD5.FUN MD6.FUN MD7.FUN MD8.FUN MD9.FUN MD10.FUN MD11.FUN MD12.FUN MD13.FUN MD14.FUN, MD15.FUN MD17.FUN MD18.FUN MD19.FUN, MD20.FUN MD21.FUN MD22.FUN MD23.FUN MD24.FUN MD25.FUN MD22.FUN MD23.FUN, MD24.FUN MD25.FUN, MI3.FUN MI4.FUN MI5.FUN MI6.FUN MI8.FUN MI11.FUN | MD1.FUN MD16.FUN MD1.COP MD2.COP MD3.COP MD4.COP MD5.COP MD6.COP MD7.COP MD8.COP MD9.COP MD10.COP MD11.COP MD12.COP MD13.COP MD14.COP MD15.COP MD16.COP MD17.COP MD18.COP MD19.COP MD20.COP MD21.COP, MI1.FUN MI2.FUN MI7.FUN MI9.FUN MI10.FUN MI12.FUN MI13.FUN MI14.FUN |
| Cultural on-line browser | CB1.FUN CB2.FUN CB3.FUN CB4.FUN CB5.FUN CB6.FUN CB7.FUN CB8.FUN CB9.FUN CB10.FUN CB11.FUN CB12.FUN CB13.FUN CB14.FUN CB1.COP CB15.FUN CB16.FUN | |
| CSC Organisation, Publishing Team, Promotion & Advertising | CO1.INF, CO2.INF CO3.INF CO4.INF CO5.INF CO6.INF CO7.INF CO8.INF CO9.INF CO10.INF PT1.FUN PT2.FUN PT3.FUN, PT4.FUN PT5.FUN PT6.FUN PT7.FUN PT8.FUN PT9.FUN PT10.FUN PA1.FUN PA2.FUN PA3.FUN PA4.FUN PA5.FUN | |
| Basic Services & Thematic Forum | BS1.ACM BS2.ACM SE1.FUN SE2.FUN SE3.FUN SE4.FUN CP1.FUN CP2.FUN CP3.FUN CP4.FUN CP5.FUN CP6.FUN CP7.FUN CP8.FUN CP9.FUN CP10.FUN CP11.FUN CP12.FUN CP13.FUN CS1.FUN CS2.FUN CS3.FUN CS4.FUN TR1.FUN TR2.FUN TR3.FUN TR4.FUN TF1.FUN TF2.FUN TF3.FUN TF4.FUN TF1.OPE | |
| Archiving Tool | AV1.FUN AV2.FUN AV3.FUN AV4.FUN AV5.FUN AV6.FUN AV7.FUN AV8.FUN AV9.FUN AV10.FUN AV11.FUN AV12.FUN AV13. FUNAV14.FUN AV15.FUN AV16.FUN AV17.FUN AV18.FUN AV19.FUN AV20.FUN AV21.FUN AV22.FUN AV23.FUN AV24.FUN AV25.FUN AV26.FUN AV27.FUN AV28.FUN | |
| Application & Market Products | GP1.FUN GP2.FUN GP3.FUN GP4.FUN GP5.FUN GP6.FUN GP1.OPE. VP1.FUN VP2.FUN VP3.FUN VP4.FUN VP5.FUN DA1.FUN DA2.FUN AP1.FUN AP2.FUN AP3.FUN AP4.FUN AP5.FUN AP6.FUN AP7.FUN AP8.FUN SH1.FUN PC1.FUN CM1.FUN CM2.FUN CM3.FUN CM4.FUN MU1.FUN MU2.FUN MU3.FUN ID1.FUN ID2.FUN ID3.FUN ID4.FUN | |
| ID5.FUN ID6.FUN VR1.FUN VR2.FUN VD1.FUN VD2.FUN VS1.FUN VS2.FUN DP1.FUN DP2.FUN CA1.FUN | ||
| Virtual Exhibitor | VE1.FUN VE2.FUN VE3.FUN VE4.FUN VE5.FUN VE6.FUN VE7.FUN VE8.FUN VE9.FUN VE10.FUN VE11.FUN VE12.FUN VE13.FUN VE14.FUN VE15.FUN VE16.FUN VE17.FUN VE18. VE19.FUN VE20.FUN VE21.FUN | |
| Authoring Tool | AT1.FUN AT2.FUN AT3.FUN AT4.FUN AT5.FUN AT6.FUN AT7.FUN AT8.FUN AT9.FUN AT10.FUN AT11.FUN | |
| Training Room | TR1.INF TR2.INF TR3.INF TR4.INF TR5.INF | |
| Video Conference | VC1.INF VC2.INF VC3.INF VC4.INF VC5.INF VC6.INF VC7.INF VC8.INF | |
| Virtual theatre | VT1.INF VT2.INF VT3.INF VT4.INF VT5.INF VT6.INF VT7.INF VT8.INF VT9.INF WS1.FUN WS2.FUN | |
| Multimedia Room | MR1.INF MR2.INF MR3.INF MR4.INF MR5.INF MR6.INF MR7.INF MR8.INF | |
| CyberCafé | CC1.INF CC2.INF CC3.INF CC4.INF CC5.INF CC6.INF CC7.INF | |
| Marketing Area | CC8.INF CC9.INF CC10.INF C11.INF | |
| Playroom | PL1.INF PL2.INF PL3.INF PL4.INF PL5.INF PL6.INF PL7.INF |
1. Annex 1: Networking Software products
Microsoft Windows NTr Server 4.0 is a multipurpose server operating system. Its ease of use, flexibility, and expanded Internet, intranet, applications and communications services meet the most demanding requirements of today's business computing, while providing the best network foundation for the future. The easiest server operating system for your most demanding business needs Task-oriented Administrative Wizards make server management easier than ever. Wizards group the common server management tools in a single place, and walk you through the steps required to add users, create and manage groups of users, manage file and folder access for network clients, and much more. In addition, independent test results show significantly higher throughput with Windows NT Server 4.0 as compared to Windows NT Server 3.51. Using the Ziff-Davis benchmark, NetBench 4.0, Windows NT Server 4.0 showed a 66 percent higher throughput than Windows NT Server 3.51 when running on Fast Ethernet. Estimates show that one NetBench client represents at least 10 actual clients. Therefore, the tests detailed here are actually simulating as many as 720 simultaneous users per server. Management tools, such as the Task Manager and Network Monitor, simplify the day-to-day administration of your network server. The Task Manager monitors applications, tasks, and key performance metrics of Windows NT Server 4.0, providing detailed information on each application and process running on the system. With this information, administrators can quickly terminate elements that are not responding, resulting in improved system reliability. The Network Monitor examines network traffic to and from the server at the packet level and captures it for later analysis, making it easier to troubleshoot potential network problems.
Flexible network server architecture
Windows NT Server 4.0 delivers seamless integration with one platform for your e-mail, file server, databases, and communications. It works with the systems you already have, such as NetWare, UNIX, and IBM mainframes. Plus, with support for more than 5,000 hardware platforms, Windows NT Server 4.0 will run on more platforms than the three previous competitors combined. Windows NT Server 4.0 is compatible with all current network protocols, including TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, NetBEUI, AppleTalk, DLC, HTTP, SNA, PPP, and PPTP. And, for client compatibility, it's the most flexible network operating system available, working with a wide variety of client operating systems such as Microsoft Windowsr 3.x, Windows 95, Windows NT Workstation, IBM OS/2r and Macintosh. The Windows NT Directory Service can support as many as 25,000 users per domain and literally hundreds of thousands of users per enterprise. Regardless of how centralized or decentralized your business is, NTDS allows you to set up a directory to fit your organization exactly, and provide complete management of resources, services, and applications.
It's the easiest-to-use server operating system for most demanding business needs. Its integrated networking, application, and communications services provide the best network foundation for the future. Key services include Microsoft Internet Information Server, Index Server, Message Queuing, and Transaction Processing. Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition 4.0 is designed from the ground up for your largest and most mission-critical enterprise servers.
Windows NT Server 4.0 with Internet Information Server 4.0 (IIS) is a way to publish information and bring business applications to the Web. Activate the powerful security and encryption features embedded in IIS web server with a VeriSign Secure Server ID. The ID not only plays a key role in securing online transactions and communications with customers, but also provides proof of site's identity to visitors.
Windows NT Server 4.0 Becomes An Even Stronger Web, Application, and Communications Platform Businesses are looking to standards-based Web technologies to more effectively exchange information with customers, partners, and employees worldwide. And, they are trying to implement solutions that take advantage of existing investments in skills and technology. Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 with the Option Pack is designed to meet these needs for a wide range of users, from workgroups and departments on a corporate intranet to Internet Service Providers hosting Web sites that receive millions of hits per day.
The Option Pack delivers the following new application and communications services, that enable the development of the next generation of distributed applications on Windows NT Server 4.0:
Windows NT Server is the only network operating system with a built-in Web server, Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) version 4.0. The integration of IIS with Windows NT Server 4.0 means that Web server installation and management is simply another part of the operating system. In addition, with IIS 4.0 you can remotely administer your Web site from any PC with a Web browser.
Create Web pages with a rich variety of templates, audit and check the page links, and manage the overall Web sites you create with Microsoft FrontPager 98, a full-service Web page authoring tool built in to Windows NT Server 4.0. Designed for both individual users and collaborative work environments, FrontPage enables nonprogrammers and experienced developers alike to create and manage professional-quality Web sites. Microsoft Index Server 2.0 automatically indexes the full text and properties of various files, including HTML, on your server, whether it's an intranet, an Internet, or simply a file-and-print Server. Document Search services, which allow for content indexing and search capabilities of HTML and Microsoft Office documents, expand the functionality of your Web server as an information and data gathering tool. Built-in communication services Salespeople, home-based employees, traveling workers, and other mobile users connect to Windows NT Server 4.0 using Remote Access Service (RAS), a feature that lets remote users dial in to the network.
Conducting business over telephone lines can be costly. To address this issue, Microsoft, in conjunction with other industry partners, introduced the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP). PPTP allows remote users to dial into a local Internet Service Provider (ISP) and, through a secure channel, access their network just as if they were at their desks. PPTP provides this level of security because it offers protocol encapsulation and data encryption for RAS connections, allowing users to create virtual private networks across public data networks, such as the Internet. In addition, RAS enables clients dialing into Windows NT Server 4.0 to combine all available dial-up lines to achieve higher transfer speeds. For example, users can combine two or more 28.8K baud modems to achieve speeds of 57.6K baud or greater. Developers can take advantage of the unique client/server infrastructure known as the Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) for building high-performance, secure distributed applications over the Internet. DCOM extends the COM architecture to allow components to interact over networks while enhancing the total security and performance of the network operating system, providing a dynamic sharing of information over the Internet or corporate intranets. The new Internet Connection Services enable a network administrator to facilitate access to Internet and intranet resources and in the process dramatically reduce the total costs of network ownership. The Internet Connection Services ease of use, insured use of local access points, more self-sufficient clients, and ability to smoothly migrate to an outsource remote access solution make it the most economical and flexible remote access solution available today.
Built-in application services
Windows NT Server is an ideal platform for creating distributed applications. It's a secure, robust environment containing a rich array of distributed computing services accessible through familiar, standard APIs, and supported by a wealth of visual development tools. In addition, the built-in Microsoft Transaction Server and Microsoft Message Queue Server provide the tools necessary to build scalable and reliable distributed applications on Windows NT Server 4.0. Microsoft Transaction Server provides an easy way to build and deploy scalable, component-based applications. Microsoft Message Queue Server makes it easy for applications to communicate with each other quickly, reliably, and asynchronously through messages.
1.2 Internet Information Server
The most complete server platform for the Intranet Microsoftr Windows NTr Server operating system is the most complete server platform for your most demanding Internet and corporate intranet needs. It transforms the Web into simply another part of your operating system with its built-in integrated Web server, Microsoft Internet Information Server. Whether you're serving up pages to your local workgroup your intranet, or the Internet at large, Windows NT Server is the platform of choice.Windows NT Server enables comprehensive and dynamic full-text searches with the free downloadable Index Server. Professional-quality Web sites are easy to create and manage with the included Microsoft FrontPage Web site creation and management tool software. And WINS-DNS integration makes TCP/IP addresses much easier to manage.
Best of all, these tools are totally integrated into the operating system to make it easy for you to use and administer your network, increase system flexibility and scalability, and maintain centralized and comprehensive security. Windows NT Server offers everything you want for your complete intranet solution, and more.
The Web Application Services for Windows NT Server Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 with Internet Information Server 4.0 is the easiest way to publish information and bring business applications to the Web. Businesses are looking to standards-based Web technologies to more effectively exchange information with customers, partners, and employees worldwide. And, they are trying to implement solutions that take advantage of existing investments in skills and technology. Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) is designed to meet these needs for a wide range of users, from workgroups and departments on a corporate intranet to Internet Service Providers hosting Web sites that receive millions of hits per day. IIS 4.0 revolutionizes the Web capabilities of the Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0 operating system by providing the easiest way to share information, build and deploy business applications, and host and manage sites.
Integration with Windows NT Server
Windows NT Server is a high-performance, reliable, secure, and easy-to-manage server for sharing information and running applications in the most demanding businesses. Only Windows NT Server can enlist integrated Web services to easily extend these strengths to your intranet.
Publish and share information easily
Innovative Web publishing features, customizable tools, and new wizard technologies unique to Internet Information Server 4.0, make Windows NT Server with IIS the easiest way to publish information and share it securely over corporate intranets and the Internet.
Build and run Web applications
Web applications can simplify business processes, such as expense reporting, benefits management, purchasing, inventory management, marketing, and sales. Only IIS 4.0 provides everything you need to deploy reliable, scalable Web applications on Windows NT Server to meet these business needs.
Manage your Web sites
Powerful management tools in IIS 4.0 will help you easily set up Web sites, manage content, and analyze usage patterns to improve your site as it evolves. Customizable management tools, flexible administration options, and analysis tools, make Windows NT Server with IIS 4.0 the easiest Web server to manage.
Microsoft BackOffice and Internet Explorer
As the only Web server that is a integrated with Windows NT Server, Windows NT Server with IIS provides the easiest way to bring the robust capabilities of the Microsoft BackOfficer suite of server applications to the Web. With Internet Information Server, you are uniquely able to take advantage of:
Recommended systems requirements
Microsoft Index Server works with Windows NT Server 4.0 operating system and Internet Information Server 2.0 to provide your organization access to all of the documents stored on your intranet or Internet site. It allows you to perform full-text searches and retrieve all types of information from any Web browser, in just about any format, with just the click of a mouse or button. Index Server is a free, downloadable component of Windows NT Server version 4.0. It includes support for HTML, text, and all Microsoft Office documents in their original format. You don't have to convert all your documents to HTML just to find them. Microsoft Index Server can index documents written in seven languages. You can download versions that index documents written in any single language. If you need to index documents written in multiple languages, please download each required version. If you want the product documentation and samples installed in a specific language, you should install that version last. (Please note: The language choice is not for the language your site is running on, but the language of the documents you wish to index.)
Microsoftr Index Serve indexes the contents and properties of documents on an Internet or intranet Web site served by Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS). You can set up Index Server so that clients can search a Web site with any browser by filling in the fields of a query form formatted in HTML. When a client executes a query, the Web server forwards the information typed into the query form to the query engine. The query engine finds the pertinent documents, formats the results as an HTML Web page, and returns the results to the client. In addition to indexing Web pages in HTML format, Index Server indexes documents formatted by applications such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. Thanks to this feature, you can add documents to a Web site without having to convert them into HTML format.
What Index Server Does:
During the development of Microsoft Index Server, the team discovered and invented a number of different ways to take advantage of the full power of Index Server. Some of these discoveries are based on helpful feedback from beta testers and customers. Tips and Tricks share these discoveries and inventions with you.
Querying
The tips in this section tell you how to further refine queries to return exactly what you are searching for.
For the FileName property, both the file name and reversed file name are stored in the content index. The reversed file name is needed to resolve the query #filename *.htm because the content index can match prefixes, but not suffixes. If a file named Test.doc has been indexed, Index Server will return hits for queries such as #doctitle test* and #doctitle test.doc, but not for queries such as #doctitle *.doc. See DocTitle on the "Query Language" page. Vpath (as well as Path and Characterization) are not stored in the content index. Therefore, when CiForceUseCi is set to TRUE, Index Server will not return hits for queries such as the following, even if Test.doc has been indexed: #vpath /test.doc#vpath /tes*
Indexing
In addition to searching for text in various formats, Index Server can search for Web-based textual data in tables formatted with Microsoftr SQL Server version 6.5 relational database management system.
SQL Server contains a stored procedure, sp_makewebtask. This stored procedure exports SQL Server data as Web pages. By combining custom stored procedures and triggers, you can generate a Web page for each record in a SQL Server table and then index the Web pages with Index Server.
The following procedure outlines how this is done.
Preliminaries
To understand the two examples, you need to be familiar with the following:
1.3.2 Index Server: Basic Querying Features
These are the basic features of a query:
The scope tells the query engine where to look when searching. It describes the set of documents within the corpus that will be searched. The restriction tests to see if a document should be returned. A restriction is a set of terms that can be combined by various operators. The result set defines the information to return from a query. In addition to the basic features, other features let you control how results are returned and displayed, for example, how results are sorted.
You can also:
Scope
A query scope specifies the set of documents that must be searched. Typically scopes are specified by a directory path on a storage volume, such as D:\Docs.Index Server indexes documents based on sites. An administrator can index all the sites on a server, or select a subset of sites to index. Queries can be run against multiple sites, against a single site, or even against a single physical directory within a site.
Restriction
You can query against the contents of Web pages and other documents served by IIS and Index Server. The types of documents you can query include HTML, Microsoftr Word, Microsoftr Excel, Microsoftr PowerPointr, and plain text documents. Other document types are not supported by Index Server directly, but a content filter can be written to extend the list of supported document types. A content filter reads a proprietary document format and emits textual words, which are indexed by Index Server. For more information on content filters, go to the http://www.microsoft.com/ and search for IFilter interface.With Index Server you can search for multiple words and phrases within documents as well as words and phrases near other words and phrases. Index Server also provides free-text queries. With free-text queries, you can enter any set of words or phrases, or even a complete sentence, as the query restriction. Index Server will examine this text, identify all the nouns and noun phrases, and post a query using those terms. For example, assume you typed the following free-text query:The Fulton County Grand Jury said Friday an investigation of Atlanta's recent primary election produced no evidence that any irregularities took place.Index Server identifies the following words and noun phrases:
Words: Fulton, county, grand, jury, Friday, investigation, Atlanta, recent, primary, election, produce, evidence, irregularity
Phrases: Fulton county grand jury, primary election, grand jury, Atlanta's recent primary election
These words and phrases are combined into a restriction, weighted for proper ranking, and posted as a query against the corpus.
Property restrictions. In addition to querying contents, users can query properties stored on objects. These properties include file size, creation and modification dates, file names, authors, and so on. Clients can query both textual properties (file name and author, for example) and numerical properties (size and modification date, for example). Clients can also query all ActiveXT properties, including custom properties on Microsoft Office documents. You can use the standard comparison operators in queries.
These include =, >, <, >=, <=, and != (not equal) for numeric and textual properties. In addition, for textual properties all the content query functionality is available. With Boolean operators (AND, OR, and NOT) and parentheses, you can freely mix restriction terms.
Fuzzy queries. Index Server supports fuzzy queries, which contain simple wildcards (such as those in MS-DOSr), and matches regular expressions against textual properties. Content queries support simple-prefix matching (for example, dog* will return dogmatic and doghouse). Index Server also supports linguistic stemming, which matches inflected and base forms of query words. (For example, swim** is expanded to swimming, swam, swum, and so on.)Although Index Server does not support true natural-language processing, it supports free-text mode.
Result Sets. Index Server assembles query hits into result sets, which are returned to the client. The administrator can limit the maximum number of hits returned to the client. For example, a result set of 200 hits can be returned the client in 10 pages of 20 hits each. The query form determines the number of hits returned per page, but you can configure a form to let the client specify the number of hits to be returned.In addition to sorting by rank, Index Server can sort query results according to any document property.If the corpus is stored on a local Windows NT File System (NTFS) volume, Index Server respects all security restrictions and checks access control lists (ACLs). In a result set, a user can never see a document reference if the ACL on that object prohibits Read access to that client. ACL checking on IIS remote virtual directories is determined by the IIS security on those remote virtual directories.If allowed, the client can specify the specific properties to return in a result set (that is, the columns in the result set). Index Server can display only properties stored in the property cache or properties that can be retrieved from the file being searched. The administrator can restrict the properties returned by a query.In addition to returning properties stored with the document, Index Server can generate document abstracts (or summaries), which can also be returned in a result set.
Logging. IIS logs all traffic moving between a client and the server. Standard IIS logging records query information such as the querying IP address and the queries posted to the server.
1.3.3 Index Server: Basic Indexing Features
These are the basic features of an index:
1.4 Microsoft Message Queue Server
Microsoftr Message Queue Server (MSMQ), also known by its code name "Falcon," is Microsoft's first product offering for the emerging market for message queuing technology on the Microsoft Windowsr 95 and Microsoft Windows NTr operating systems. MSMQ is a key part of the Microsoft Active Server platform and provides an easy way for applications to communicate with other applications over a network by sending and receiving messages. MSMQ messages can contain data in any format that makes sense to both the sender and the receiver. When an application receives a request message, it processes the request by reading the contents of the message and acting accordingly. If required, the receiving application can send a response message back to the original requester. While in transit between senders and receivers, MSMQ keeps messages in holding areas called queues-hence the name message queuing. MSMQ queues protect messages from being lost in transit and provide a place for receivers to look for new messages when they are ready. Most importantly, applications can use MSMQ to send messages and continue processing, regardless of whether the receiving application is running or reachable over the network. The receiver may be unreachable because of a problem, or naturally disconnected, as is the case with the applications used by remote or mobile users. Whenever the network becomes available or the receiving application is ready to process requests, MSMQ will deliver any waiting messages-with the reliability required by mission-critical applications. MSMQ offers a wide range of other features such as Microsoft ActiveXr support, dynamic routing and configuration, multiple delivery and acknowledgment options, and integration with Windows NT security facilities-making MSMQ the message queuing product of choice for applications running on Windows 95 and Windows NT operating systems. While it is focused on Windows 95 and Windows NT platforms, MSMQ is also interoperable with other important platforms and products-through products from Level 8 Systems.
MSMQ fundamentally is a product for asynchronous communication. The types of communication scenarios where MSMQ is likely to offer value include:
Example uses of MSMQ
Stock trading applications in the financial services industry can use MSMQ to deliver buy and sell orders from desktops to back office processing applications-quickly, reliably, and in the order they were sent-without requiring the desktop to wait for a response.
MSMQ features and benefits
Microsoft Transaction Server is a component-based transaction processing system for developing, deploying, and managing high-performing, scalable, and robust enterprise, Internet, and intranet server applications. Microsoft Transaction Server combines the flexibility and low cost of desktop applications with the mission-critical transaction processing features normally found in high-end mainframe systems. Microsoft Transaction Server defines an application programming model for developing distributed, component-based applications. It also provides a run-time infrastructure for deploying and managing these applications. Microsoft Transaction Server is a built-in feature of Windows NT Server 4.0 and Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition 4.0. In addition, existing licensees of these operating system platforms can obtain Microsoft Transaction Server through the Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack. Microsoft Transaction Server provides the easiest way to run scalable, robust applications on the Windows NTr Server operating system:
Applications are built from ActiveXT components, enabling easier development and greater reuse by a broad pool of existing developers.
Exchange Server
An e-mail server that embraces Internet standards and extends rich messaging and collaboration to businesses of all sizes.
Proxy Server
An Internet proxy server that provides fast and secure Internet access to every desktop in your organization.
Site Server
A comprehensive Web site environment for enhancing, deploying, and managing intranet sites on Windows NT Server and Internet Information Server.
Microsoft Site Server, Commerce Edition
Provides advanced management of commerce-enabled Web sites.
Systems Management Server
Centralized management tools that provide extensible computer inventory, software distribution, and diagnostic services.
SNA Server
The reliable platform that integrates existing legacy systems and data with modern network systems through the Internet and intranets.
SQL Server
Microsoft SQL ServerT 6.5 is a scalable, reliable, flexible, and high-performance relational database management system for Windows NT Server-based systems. Microsoft SQL Server, Enterprise Edition 6.5 extends the capabilities of SQL Server by providing higher levels of scalability, performance, built-in high-availability, and a comprehensive platform for deploying distributed, mission-critical database applications.
BackOffice Server
Microsoft BackOffice Server 4.0 is the integrated server suite, optimized for Windows NT Server, that makes it easy to develop, deploy, and manage powerful intranet and line-of-business applications. The BackOffice Server 4.0 server suite and Client Access License provide the simplest, most cost-effective way to purchase and use the entire BackOffice family of products.
BackOffice Small Business Server
Provides growing businesses with the essential tools to make sharing information and connecting with business partners and customers easier.
Commercial Internet System
A comprehensive set of standards-based, commercial-grade server components that enhance the Internet services and Web sites of commercial service providers (for example, ISPs, telecommunications carriers, and cable network operators).
Commerce Strategy
Microsoft Internet Commerce Strategy is a comprehensive offering of server and tools, payment, and partners-providing a commerce platform for businesses of all sizes.
1.7 Microsoft Exchange Server.
1.7.1 Messaging Foundation
A messaging platform is nothing without a solid foundation. A solid messaging foundation is scalable, reliable, and secure. It offers high performance and high availability. And it is backed by a services and support organization that can manage your needs from the department to the enterprise.
| Messaging Foundation | |
| Scalability | |
| Feature | Benefit |
|
Unlimited Message Store |
Size limits on the information store have been increased such that storage is limited only by the hardware on which Microsoft Exchange is hosted. |
| Backup Performance Improvements | Very large data stores require improved backup performance. In Microsoft Exchange, the backup API (Application Programming Interface) has been improved so that the output is increased to 25GB per hour. |
| Reliability | |
| Microsoft Cluster Server Support | Microsoft Exchange supports the Microsoft Cluster Server technology, providing single-node fail-over support in the event of software or hardware failure. This feature requires Microsoft Windows NT® Server. |
|
Security | |
| Feature | Benefit |
| Enhanced Security Management | Microsoft Exchange includes a number of enhancements for managing e-mail security, including Key Management Server (KMS) setup integrated with Microsoft Exchange server setup, bulk enrollment of users, and distribution of certificates and multiple password validation for administrators. |
|
S/MIME
(requires an S/MIME- aware client like Outlook™ Express or Netscape Communicator) |
Microsoft Exchange Server allows S/MIME-aware clients to send encrypted mail to one another. The ability to send and receive S/MIME encrypted or digitally signed mail is dependent on an S/MIME-aware client. |
|
X.509 v3
(requires an intranet certificate authority like the Certificate Server in Internet Information Server 4.0, or an Internet certificate authority like VeriSign) |
Microsoft Exchange accepts and understands X.509 certificates issued by an intranet certificate authority such as the Certificate Server in Internet Information Server 4.0, or an Internet certificate authority such as VeriSign. |
|
Offline User Support | |
| Feature | Benefit |
| "Change-only" Offline Address Book | The offline address book downloads only changed items rather than the entire address book, making downloads faster and less bandwidth intensive for remote users. |
| Multiple Organization Hosting | |
| Feature | Benefit |
| Virtual Organization Support | Administrators can create virtual organizations in Microsoft Exchange by creating multiple address containers within the Global Address List and preventing users from viewing any container other other than their own, allowing multiple organizations to be hosted securely on a single server |
1.7.2 Connectivity and Co-existence
A messaging platform must allow you to choose the protocols and clients that are best for your company, rather than ocking you into a single protocol environment. The Internet protocols should be part of the core server architecture, maintaining high performance. In addition, Enterprises have a mix of mail systems, making it critical that a messaging platform must be able to connect to, and co-exist with, any other mail system. It needs to support Internet and OSI standards. And it needs integrated connectivity with host-based systems like OfficeVision/VM (PROFS) and SNADS, and LAN-based systems like Notes, MS Mail, and cc:Mail. Better yet, it should be able to act as a switch between the different systems.
| Connectivity | |
| Internet Support | |
| Feature | Benefit |
| IMAP4 | IMAP allows users to maintain copies of e-mail messages and discussion items on the server as well as the local message store. Microsoft Exchange supports the IMAP4 protocol, making it possible for IMAP clients to send/receive mail and participate in discussions. |
| LDAP v3 | Microsoft Exchange supports LDAP v3, which enables LDAP clients with appropriate permissions to manipulate directory objects. LDAP v3 also supports referrals and directory synchronization with other LDAP servers. |
| Enhanced Internet Security | Microsoft Exchange supports a number of enhanced Internet security features including SSL encryption of SMTP connections between hosts and SASL for authenticating SMTP login. It also prevents spoofing using authenticated login, and allows an administrator to accept or reject inbound SMTP connections based on the type of security being used. |
| Additional Internet Support | Microsoft Exchange includes support for a number of Internet technologies, including MHTML (which encapsulates HTML content in MIME messages allowing Microsoft Exchange to store HTML messages) and ETRN (both client-side and server-side support, which allows Microsoft Exchange to request messages for a selected Internet domain that have been queued on an SMTP server). |
| LAN and Host-based Systems | |
| Feature | Benefit |
| Lotus Notes Connector | The Notes Connector enables Notes sites to seamlessly exchange e-mail and synchronize directories with Microsoft Exchange servers. |
| OfficeVision/VM (PROFS) Connector | The OfficeVision/VM connector enables e-mail exchange between OfficeVision/VM systems and Microsoft Exchange. |
| SNADS Connector | The SNADS connector enables e-mail exchange between SNADS systems such as IBM OfficeVision/MVS or Fisher TAO and Microsoft Exchange. |
| Client Family | |
| Feature | Benefit |
| Outlook for Windows 3.x and Macintosh | Microsoft Exchange includes versions of Microsoft Outlook™ desktop information manager for the Microsoft Windows® 3.x and Macintosh operating systems. These versions of Outlook include the Outlook user interface and interoperability with the 32-bit Outlook scheduling environment. |
| Updated Forms Support | HTML forms, created using Visual InterDev™ Web development system, can be called directly from any Outlook client and launched directly in the default browser. |
| Outlook Web Access Enhancements | Outlook Web Access now includes calendar objects, allowing users to manage their individual calendar and participate in group scheduling. |
Common, Familiar Tools for CollaborationYou want to build collaborative applications that take advantage of the messaging platform. For that, you must have common, familiar tools that help you take advantage of existing knowledge and skills. In addition, there should be a common development environment between the collaboration environment and the services that you use to build line-of-business applications. The development environment should allow you to build applications that allow access to information via a common client such as a Web browser. Moreover, the messaging platform itself should include value-added components such as real-time chat services and support for server-side, event-driven script.
| Tools and Collaboration | |
| Collaboration | |
| Feature | Benefit |
| Microsoft Exchange Scripting Agent | Microsoft Exchange includes server-side scripting for creating event-driven agents, which can be used to create automated collaborative applications and simple workflow. |
| Microsoft Exchange Chat Service | Microsoft Exchange Chat Service enables real-time collaboration using any standard IRC or IRCX client. |
| Internet Locator Server Support | Microsoft Exchange will include the Internet Locator Server, allowing users to do ILS lookups using the familiar Microsoft Exchange directory. |
| Microsoft NetMeeting | Microsoft NetMeeting™ conferencing software is integrated into the Outlook client, allowing users to initiate net meetings directly from Outlook. |
| Development Tools | |
| Feature | Benefit |
| Collaboration Data Objects (CDO) Enhancements | CDO (formerly Active Messaging) is the object library used for Exchange ASP applications. By including objects for e-mail, discussions, scheduling, and directory access, Web site developers can create Active Server Pages that make it easy for users to access this information via a Web browser. |
| Authoring Tools | Design Time Controls, included in Visual InterDev, serve as templates that make it easy for Web site developers to create Active Server Pages. Wizards, available on the Web, allow Web site developers to create Active Server Pages without writing script or HTML using Microsoft Front Page® Web authoring and management tool. |
| Visual InterDev | Microsoft Exchange includes a single-user copy of Visual InterDev for creating HTML forms and Exchange ASP applications. |
| ADSI | Microsoft Exchange supports the Active Directory Services Interface, which customers can use in conjunction with LDAP to synchronize the Microsoft Exchange directory with foreign LDAP directories. Customers can also use ADSI to begin writing Microsoft Exchange applications that will integrate with and take advantage of the Active Directory in Windows NT Server 5.0. |
Management and Administration A platform must be easy to manage and administer. Tight integration with the operating system-sharing a security context, integration with OS management tools-is critical to avoid a duplication of effort. A single-seat view of all servers in the organization and the ability to connect to a server from any management console is key, particularly since IS resources are typically stretched. The platform should also have its own built-in tools to help monitor server and link health; these tools should be part of the standard offering, not an add-on. Finally, the system should provide least cost routing and dynamic rerouting of messages to help keep the cost of management low.
|
Management | |
| Feature | Benefit |
| Deleted Item Recovery | Deleted items or folders are "soft deleted" and maintained on the server for a specified period of time. During this time, deleted items can be recovered by the end user, freeing the administrator up to do other tasks. |
| SNMP Support | The MADMAN MIB (RFC 1566) is supported for use with SNMP management consoles. |
| Address Space Scoping | Connectors can be selectively restricted for specific use on an organizational, site, or server basis. |
Every day more and more companies connect their internal networks to the Internet for a variety of reasons-productivity, customer service, collaboration, and more. Some of the biggest issues these organizations face as they extend their networks to the Internet are security, manageability, and cost. Microsoft Proxy Server's firewall security, content caching, and management tools help organizations address these issues effectively.
Microsoft Proxy Server 2.0 is an extensible firewall and Web cache server that provides Internet security while improving network response time and efficiency. This product is redefining the Web caching and firewall categories by providing both capabilities in a single product. Release 2.0 is a ignificant upgrade from version 1.0. It has many new and exciting features that incorporate customer feedback and provide required benefits. These features are concentrated in three specific areas: Performance, Security, and Management.
Microsoft Proxy Server 2.0 delivers the most scalable caching solution to meet the most demanding performance needs. New caching features include:
With the addition of this new caching technology, Proxy Server 2.0 can meet the performance needs of businesses that range from small, single-office operations to large enterprises with multiple branch offices and ISPs with numerous points of presence. In addition Microsoft Proxy Server 2.0 provides:
Microsoft Proxy Server 2.0 has a number of new security features that further enable Microsoft Proxy Server to be used as a firewall. New security features include:
Microsoft Proxy Server is extensible, allowing customers to benefit from products developed to work with and complement its security features. These products include virus scanning, content filtering, reporting, and traditional firewalls.
Microsoft Proxy Server 2.0, like version 1.0, is fully integrated with Windows NT Server operating system and Microsoft Internet Information Server. This allows for effective administration and management of several Proxy Server computers from essentially any location. In addition, Microsoft Proxy Server 2.0 has the following new features that deliver ease of use, comprehensive management, and lower total cost of ownership:
These management features make Microsoft Proxy Server an easy-to-use, cost-effective solution for a variety of customers:
| Performance | Firewall Security | Easy Management |
| Hierarchical Caching | Dynamic Packet Filtering | Internet Service Management (Intuitive GUI-based tool) |
| Distributed Caching with CARP Cache Arrays | Reverse Proxy/Virtual Hosting | Web Administration |
| FTP Caching | Server Proxying | Command Line Administration with Scripting |
| 40% Better Performance | Real Time Alerts and Logging | Array Administration |
| HTTP 1.1 Support | VPN Support | Configuration Backup and Restore |
| SOCKS Support | Virtual Bundles |
Microsoft Site Server 3.0 is the powerful Intranet server, optimized for Windows NT Server with Internet Information Server, for publishing and finding information easier and faster. Learn how Site Server can help you maximize the effectiveness of your intranet. To learn how Site Server can help you do business online, whether with other businesses or with consumers, visit the Site Server, Commerce Edition Web site.
Site Server, Commerce Edition is the comprehensive Internet server, optimized for Windows NT Server with Internet Information Server, that enables businesses to cost-effectively engage and transact with customers and partners online. Learn why leading companies like Barnes & Noble, Dell, and 1-800-Flowers are doing their online business with Site Server.
Microsoft Site Server and Site Server, Commerce Edition introduce new and innovative features that provide a comprehensive solution to enable businesses to build powerful and cost-effective Web sites on Microsoft Windows NT Server operating system and Internet Information Server (IIS). The new features are focused in two main areas:
Site Server provides many points of integration that enable businesses to efficiently operate more powerful sites, including:
New areas of functionality are added to meet the growing needs of Web sites, including:
Sample sites
Microsoft Site Server 3.0 includes two fully functional sample sites you can customize with your organization's name, logo, and other information. The sites include:
The sites can be customized:
Upload control to submit content
Both sample sites include a Microsoft ActiveX control that automates the posting of information. Users simply drag-and-drop a document onto the control to submit content or double-click the control and the content is posted on a predefined directory.
Set attributes, types, and approval requirements
Using these sites, administrators can easily set content attributes and approvals for content. Content attributes are used to manage the content once it is posted at a site, to index it, and then to display it in produced view pages. Site Server Analysis can collect these content attributes, such as content author and topic, and create usage reports to determine content utilization. Understanding how often, by whom, and when content is viewed can improve the content development process.
The search feature of Microsoft Site Server is a full-featured enterprise search server that gives users a single place to go to find information across an organization.
Full text and property searches
Users can search for words or phrases in either the full text of the document or in special properties such as "author" or "topic." Advanced users can use complex, compound Boolean queries and advanced operators such as "near." Single query across many document stores and formats
Users can issue a single query that finds corporate information regardless of where it is stored across the enterprise. Search gathers information from across multiple
Site Vocabulary and the Tag Tool
The Tag Tool allows sites to add additional information to documents to enable more precise searching. Authors can use this tool to tag HTML content with additional meta information that is then indexed by the search feature in Site Server. For example, an employee looking for job postings on the intranet would find only job postings, rather than all the documents that contain the word "job" or the phrase "job posting." The Tag Tool can be used as a separate application or directly by FrontPage98. In order to achieve consistency across the enterprise, sites can use a Site Vocabulary, which is a defined hierarchy of topics and document types. Sites can customize the built-in sample vocabulary to their own use, or use vocabularies supplied by third parties.
Automatic language detection
Using a patented algorithm, The search feature of Site Server will automatically detect the language that a document was written in and index it appropriately. The correct language-specific components will be used for maximum precision (if available), and users can search for documents by language. For instance, users can search for all documents containing "x-ray" that are written in English.
Security integration
The search feature of Site Server integrates tightly with native Microsoft Windows NT operating system and Exchange Security, so that users will only see the result summaries for documents that they have correct access to. This unique feature prevents unauthorized users from even knowing that a restricted document exists. This feature can be used with Windows NT filesystems, IIS Seb server, and Exchange mail servers.
Distributed indexing and replicated query servers
In order to reduce backbone traffic, particularly across low-speed WAN lines, sites want to put indexing servers close to where the data is, and query servers close to where the users are. As sites get larger, they need to deal with more and more documents in different locations, and with users in many different geographical locations. For these reasons, they need to scale the search system across multiple servers. The search feature of Site Server allows large sites to create multiple crawling and index servers, and separate them from the search servers (which can also be replicated for scalability). The search feature of Site Server catalogs are automatically propagated from the index servers to the appropriate search servers.
Incremental indexing
This conserves network bandwidth by only downloading and indexing documents that have changed. In order to keep search catalogs up-to-date yet also conserve bandwidth (especially peak usage hour bandwidth), administrators can use incremental crawls. These crawls check for incremental updates to previously crawled content, and typically complete three to four times faster and uses a fraction of the bandwidth of a full crawl.
Robust, fault-tolerant crawling
A common source of failure for search engines is the filters that are used to open specific file types (for instance, Microsoft Word documents). These filters, often supplied by third parties, can sometimes hang when presented with unusual or corrupt files. The search feature of Site Server runs these filters in separate processes, so that these individual faults will not halt the overall service.
Membership Directory
The Membership Directory is the central repository of user data for Microsoft Site Server, including personalization profiles, internet security information, and address book information.
Customers may also choose to store security credentials in the Membership Directory. This is the typical arrangement for Internet sites. For most intranet sites, however, the Membership Directory is used for storing user profiles only, with the Microsoft Windows NT Server operating system directory database holding the security credentials. The Membership Directory stores both persistent data, which is retained indefinitely, and dynamic data, which is never written to disk but lives in memory while it is current
The Membership Directory is based on Microsoft SQL Server(tm) for extremely high scalability, and implements the LDAP version 3.0 interface standard for interoperability.
Security
Membership extends Windows NT security to provide flexible and scalable user authentication and access control for internet sites. Sites can use standard Windows NT ACLs for access control, and take advantage of a richer set of authorization mechanisms and a more scalable user directory. Membership authentication allows sites control access content using a range of mechanisms based on their business needs:
Active Channel Server
Builds and manages Channel Definition Format (CDF) files and delivers information to users through channels.
Active Channel Agents
Gathers content items from a specified source and places them into a channel. Content can be gathered from file directories, databases, Knowledge Briefs, commerce databases, and Index and Search Server catalogs. Agents can be customized by Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition to gather content from additional sources.
Active Channel Multicaster
Conserves bandwidth by using IP multicast to deliver content.
Knowledge Manager
A Web-based application, Knowledge Manager takes advantage of the rich infrastructure provided by Search, Personalization and Membership, and Push to deliver a solution for managing organizational knowledge. With Knowledge Manager, users can:
Personalization and membership
A rich and scalable set of tools and services to create personalized Web pages and direct mailings, and manage membership and security on a Web site.
Direct Mailer
Sends personalized or automated messages to any number of users. Allows sites to select recipients based on online behavior and user profile. Allows sites to schedule mailings on a regular basis. Creates messages in several formats for both compatibility and richness: plain text, MIME encoded text, or rich Mail HTML (MHTML) for users with HTML-capable mail clients.
Rule Manager
Tool that makes it easy to create and manage rules to personalize Web pages or e-mail messages. Rules define what content to display (or other action to take) based on the specific user visiting and other current conditions. Authors can specify very simple personalizations, such as greeting a user by name, by adding the user name attribute to the template. Authors can also specify sophisticated sets of condition tests, content retrieval parameters, and output formatting. For example, a site can deliver a special promotion only for premier members from Texas who visit on Tuesday, a different one for non-members from Washington, and so on. Tests and parameters can be based on user information (personalization) and/or system variables such as date or time (automation). Rules for a given section can be combined into rule sets and organized by priority.
Integration with other Site Server features
Expand the richness and depth of your usage analysis from integration with Personalization, Commerce Server, Ad Server, and Search. Learn which products attract the most shoppers or which ad campaigns generate the most interest. Create user lists based on user's online behavior to produce targeted e-mail promotions or communications using the Direct Mailer. Improve your search service by identifying common searches and measuring their success. Lastly, improve the effectiveness of your targeted Web content by monitoring top business rules and typical content displayed for each of your rules.
Performance
Significant improvements in log file import, usage reporting, and site mapping performance help you more dependably get analysis results to your end users when they need them. You can expect improvements up to four times for imports, two times for report generation, and 10 times for site mapping.
Tracking visits through a Web farm
Achieve greater accuracy in counting user visits. For large sites distributed or replicated across multiple servers, analyzing user activity one log at a time results in 1) overstating the number of visits and 2) incomplete visit profiles. During import, multiple log files can be merged together to unify visits that span log files. The import process can also process out-of-sequence log files eliminating any pre-processing.
Remote Reporting
Empower your managers, marketers, sales force, and content developers to view and/or run their own usage and content reports remotely using a browser. Users have access to the full set of 65 standard reports plus any custom reports previously generated as well as the ability to create their own custom reports. They also have the flexibility to define date ranges, sites, countries, content authors and topics, advertisers and many other filtering criteria to achieve the level of desired detail in their reports.
Visualization of usage data
Visually learn how traffic flows through your site and what sections of your site most interest your visitors. Use this insight to either run detailed usage reports for additional information or take immediate action to reposition content or simplify navigation to improve user experience. Site Server Analysis uses the Hyperbolic View, an innovative site mapping technique, to show the content and structure of your site. Usage data can then be animated over this map by time period or visit.
Integration with other Microsoft BackOffice servers-Proxy Server & NetShow
Understand how employees use the Internet by analyzing Microsoft Proxy Server log files. Support is also available for Netscape proxy server. For sites using Microsoft NetShow(tm) server, get a comprehensive understanding of usage patterns on your media server including most requested and longest viewed/listened to files.
Auto detection of log files
Eliminates need to know the type of server log file. Analysis auto detects over 25 log file formats including those from Microsoft, Netscape, and Apache.
Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 is a scalable, reliable, flexible and high-performance relational database management system for Microsoft Windows NT Server-based systems. Designed to meet the requirements of Enterprise client/server computing and the Internet, SQL Server 6.5 is tightly integrated with the Microsoft BackOffice family of servers to enable organizations to improve decision making and streamline business processes. Because of its unmatched ease of use and integration, Microsoft SQL Server lowers the overall cost of distributed computing.
Microsoft SQL Server, Enterprise Edition 6.5 is a high-performance database management system designed specifically for the largest, highly available Microsoft Windows NT operating system applications. It extends the capabilities of SQL Server by providing higher levels of scalability, performance, built-in high-availability, and a comprehensive platform for deploying distributed, mission-critical database applications.
As businesses streamline processes and decentralize decision-making, they increasingly depend on technology to bring users and information together. To that end, enterprise-class organizations are turning to distributed computing as the bridge between data and informed business decisions. Performance and reliability become an even greater factor as today's transactional processing systems grow in size and number of users.
Microsoft SQL Server, Enterprise Edition 6.5 was engineered with this environment in mind. Microsoft SQL Server, Enterprise Edition extends the tradition of excellence in Microsoft SQL Server, providing a higher level of scalability and availability. Optimized for the Windows NT Enterprise Edition operating system, Microsoft SQL Server, Enterprise Edition is designed to meet the needs of enterprise OLTP, data warehouse and Internet applications. In addition to the features provided in the standard version of Microsoft SQL Server, the Enterprise Edition of SQL Server supports high-end symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) servers with additional memory, providing customers with better performance and scalability. To meet the availability and 7-day by 24-hour requirements of mission-critical applications, Microsoft SQL Server, Enterprise Edition also supports high-availability 2-node clusters.
Many of these performance and reliability gains are achieved through the close integration with the Enterprise Edition of Windows NT Server. And, as part of the Microsoft BackOffice(tm), Enterprise Edition family, Microsoft SQL Server, Enterprise Edition 6.5works with the other Microsoft BackOffice server products for superior, integrated client/server and Web-based applications.
Support for larger SMP servers
Microsoft SQL Server is architected to deliver excellent scalability on SMP servers from a variety of system vendors. The standard version is optimized for use on up to four-processor SMP servers. Enterprise Edition is designed and licensed for use on a new class of more-than-four-processor SMP servers for superior scalability.
Cluster-ready for high availability
Microsoft SQL Server, Enterprise Edition also delivers built-in support for Microsoft Cluster Server, formerly known by the code name "Wolfpack." In a high-availability cluster configuration, Microsoft SQL Server delivers 100 percent protection against hardware faults for mission-critical applications. To simplify the management of a high-availability cluster, Microsoft SQL Server, Enterprise Edition provides easy-to-use graphical tools for setting up and configuring the two-node cluster.
Support for additional memory
Complete support for Windows NT Server 4GB RAM tuning (4GT), allows Microsoft SQL Server to take advantage of additional memory. Making use of 4GT allows Microsoft SQL Server to address up to 3 GB of real memory, providing increased performance for applications such as data warehousing. This feature is available for Microsoft SQL Server, Enterprise Edition only on 32-bit Intel architecture servers. Very large memory (VLM) support for Digital's 64-bit Alpha Servers will be delivered in a future release of Microsoft SQL Server, Enterprise Edition.
Natural language interface
Enables the retrieval of information from SQL Server, Enterprise Edition using English, rather than a formal query language, such as SQL. An application using Microsoft English Query accepts English commands, statements, and questions as input and determines their meaning. It then writes and executes a database query in SQL Server and formats the answer.
A platform for building reliable, distributed applications
In addition, Microsoft SQL Server, Enterprise Edition, in conjunction with Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition, is a complete platform for reliable, large-scale, distributed database applications, utilizing the Microsoft Transaction Server and Microsoft Message Queue Server software. Microsoft Transaction Server is component-based middleware for building scalable, manageable distributed transaction applications quickly. Microsoft Transaction Server provides simple building blocks that can reliably and efficiently execute complex transactions across widespread distributed networks, including integrated support for Web-based applications. Microsoft Message Queue Server is store-and-forward middleware that ensures delivery of messages between applications running on multiple machines across a network. Microsoft Message Queue Server is an ideal environment for building large-scale distributed applications that encompass mobile systems or communicate across occasionally unreliable networks.
Specifications
Networking Options
The following networks are supported using native protocols:
Clients supported:
2. Reference Tools
This chapter aims to describe the software areas covered by off-the-shelf products that should be interfaced in the long-run. The products and applications covering areas of the MOSAIC architecture have already been described in the WP1600 - Technical Note on Application Reuse. Now we should try to interface these applications in order to present the advantages of a unique MOSAIC architecture.
2.1 Reference tools for the MOSAIC components
| MOSAIC Network Component | Reference Tool |
| Network Infrastructure, Inter-Operability Gateway and Distributed Database |
ATM ADSL |
| Cultural On-Line Browser | Cultural On-Line Browser |
| Metadatabase Search Engine&Agent |
CIMI Client CIMI Server |
| Multilingual Inter-Operability |
Planned: (CIMI Client) (CIMI Server) |
| CSC Component | Reference Tool |
| Basic Services |
Telepay Watermarking HTML-Editor |
| Thematic Forum |
NNTP-Editor AltavistaForum Netforum |
| Publishing Team |
Telepay IEAK Flashpix Lightscape Macromedia Flash2 Macromedia Shockwave VRML-Editor HTML-Editor Dynamic HTML-Editor Kudo Image Publisher |
|
Tools Internet Search&Retrieval Tool
Authoring Tool Applications & Market Products |
VR Exhibitor CIMI Client CIMI Server IMDAS DigitalBox Highway SGML-Editor NetForum AltavistForum Macromedia Flash 2 Macromedia Shockwave VRML-Editor ASP HTML-Editor Dynamic HTML-Editor Adobe Photoshop Adobe Premier Equilibrium deBabelizer MultiGenII GameGen Alias Softimage CosmoStudio Oxygen ClarusEon Macromedia Director |
| Infrastructures |
VIP Tourist Tutor Crystal-Eyes Barcographics 808S |
| Promotion & Advertising | --- |
| CSC Organisation | --- |
2.2 Software interfaces for existing areas
The following matrix enlists the off-the-shelf products that could be interfaced with one another to provide a comprehensive component service.
| Product | Should be interfaced with: |
| 1. CIMI Server | MDAS |
| 2. CIMI Server/Client | Telepay |
| 3. Cultural On-Line Browser (COB) | Telepay |
| 4. IMDAS | Tourist Tutor |
| 5. IMDAS | Virtual Exhibitor |
| 6. IMDAS | Watermarking |
| 7. Virtual Exhibitor | Telepay |
| 8. Virtual Exhibitor | Watermarking |
| 9. VRML-Editor | Watermarking |
1. CIMI Server - IMDAS
With IMDAS the cultural institutions create electronic archives of their collections. This archive material could be made available to the public by connecting IMDAS and CIMI. The interface will provide for the museums the possibility to put their data into the CIMI database making it this way accessible for all the users querying for data in CIMI standard. This interface is under development right now.
2. CIMI Server/Client - Telepay
If the end-user querying the CIMI database wants to download certain images from the database or wants to process these images he/she has to pay for this service. For these cases interfacing MOSAIC CIMI with Telepay would provide a comprehensive paying system.
3. Cultural On-Line Browser - Telepay
The Cultural On-Line Browser also provides a range of services that should be charged to some degree to the user (information and image download, electronic sales). An interface with Telepay in this area would be very useful.
4. IMDAS - Tourist Tutor
The basic information on the exhibits stored in the IMDAS database should also be available from the tourist tutor guiding the visitor through the museum (cultural heritage site). Therefore an interconnection between the two systems should be installed.
5. IMDAS - Virtual Exhibitor
The museum using IMDAS for the archiving of exhibits might also want to design a virtual exhibition out of its archived material. An interface with the Virtual Exhibitor tool would allow to directly transfer the catalog data on the exhibits to the Virtual Exhibitor. The user (museum) could then immediately create an individual virtual exhibition.
6. IMDAS - Watermarking
IMDAS also processes pictures for its database. These pictures once published in a public virtual exhibition or on the internet (museums homepage) have to be protected from copyright misuse. A watermarking function interfaced with the picture processing of IMDAS would fulfill this demand.
7. Virtual Exhibitor - Telepay
An end-user or museum that wants to download or add an image belonging to another virtual exhibition should get the possibility to buy the image (or the right to use the image in its publication, virtual exhibition). Telepay would again serve here as a quickly means of charging.
8. Virtual Exhibitor - Watermarking
The exhibits shown in the virtual exhibition should, of course, be protected from copyright misuse by a watermarking function (printing of the show, show module).
9. VRML Editor - Watermarking
The virtual reality editor should have an interface with the watermarking tool this way protecting the new publications.
2.3 Software Areas covered by new tools for MOSAIC
Electronic presentation and management of cultural heritage is still an open field with many new developments to be made in the future. Virtual archaeology is just one example of how computers and simulation software might influence our perception of art and the huge possibilities arising from applying information technology in the areas of cultural heritage. In the following some new areas for software solutions in the cultural heritage field are described.
Individual Tour Planning
People's interest in cultural heritage, museums exhibitions, are usually quite different. Museums often present a variety of diverse objects or topics related to certain time periods and places. Especially the permanent collections are in most cases composed of very different exhibits. How can a museum now satisfy the individual demands of its visitors? One possibility is the electronic registration of the individual visitor profile before the visitor enters the exhibit. The visitor should get the opportunity to define his interest profile according to certain definitions of the subject catalog (eg. Renaissance, amphora, Expressionism etc.). The computer will then create for him or she an individual exhibition catalog indicating where the objects of interest are to be found and also providing further explanations. The visitor will this way receive an individual tour plan tailored for his/her taste. The create of individual tour plans might as well be based on other personal indicators like available time or inclination to buy and promote.
This concept might also be extended into other areas like, for instance, holiday tour planning. Here the tourist agency provides the client with the information on the special cultural heritage he/she is interested in. The client indicates the area/country he/she intends to visit and his cultural preferences. The tourist agent should then be able to present to the client a map-like document showing where to find cultural heritage sites of interest (COB). Furthermore there should be the possibility to find related documents to each cultural point of interest, depicting administrative data but also content data (art objects exhibited there, current exhibition, permanent collections, etc.).
These software modules would dramatically increase the visibility of cultural heritage and would also substantially facilitate and accelerate scientific research. Interconnections would become apparent and a unique interwoven picture of cultural fields would be possible for the first time.
Moreover, the individual tour planner will correspond to the current tendency of individualization in our society. It will give the visitor the feeling that his wishes and interests are especially cared for, it will save time and in the long run this application will also induce more people to actually visit cultural heritage places.
This application could either run on the museum's intranet, on the MOSAIC partners intranet or on the public internet (possible interface with COB). The list of services which the application will provide should vary according to the area of usage. The output with the highest rate of in-depth information will, of course, be offered by the museum's intranet tour planner.
Multilingual Translator/Thesaurus for Cultural Heritage
Multilingual translation and understanding is a crucial factor in a European network of cultural heritage. MOSAIC should therefore provide access or interfaces to translation programs. The very best solution, of course, would be a multilingual translation service specified in the field of cultural heritage. This service would allow any MOSAIC partner or content provider to create translations of his data multiplying this way to a great extent the number of users. The Multilingual Translator should also interface with the Discussion Forum or the Individual Tour application. CIMI (the Consortium for Interchange of Museum Information) will also include in the future the possibility to conduct multilingual querying.
AAT, the American Arts and Architecture Thesaurus is the most widely used thesaurus of its kind. This thesaurus has already been translated in several languages. The provision of a thesaurus function will be important within MOSAIC. This service should be included in the CSC and network service architecture in the future. The thesauruses should interface with the COB, the archiving tools and the publishing team applications.
2.4 New Software Areas covered by existing tools for MOSAIC
W3C Accessibility Validator
http://validator.w3.org/
The internet usage of disabled person should definitely be considered an important aspect in such an area like cultural heritage dissemination. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is developing common protocols for interoperability for the World Wide Web. The initiative started with a center in Europe and one in the United States. W3C is hosted by the Laboratory for Computer Science at MIT, by INRIA and Keio University with support from DARPA and the European Commission.
The ensuing text is taken from the W3C's description of its accessibility validator service. Such a service could be offered to the MOSAIC members by the MOSAIC publishing team:
The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative is pursuing accessibility of the Web through five primary areas of work: addressing accessibility issues in the technology of the Web; creating guidelines for browsers, authoring tools, and content creation; developing evaluation and validation tools for accessibility; conducting education and outreach; and tracking research and development. Depending on an individual's disability (or the circumstances in which one is browsing the Web, for instance on a device with no graphics display capability, or in a noisy environment), graphics, audio content, navigation options, or other aspects of Web design can present barriers.
Using HTML 4.0 and Cascading Style Sheets Level 2 (CSS2) as a foundation, the WAI Page Authoring Guidelines provide strategies to improve the accessibility of document structure, navigation, and alternative formating of content. Much of the guidance applies to earlier versions of HTML as well. Examples of covered topics include images and image maps, audio and video, tables, links, frames, and user-input forms. The guidelines include several suggestions for how to test accessibility of Web sites, and conclude with a brief accessibility checklist.
The W3C HTML Validation Service [http://validator.w3.org/ ] validates Web pages against the HTML 4.0 Recommendation, including checking for "alt" (alternative content) tags for images, now required under HTML 4.0. The Validation Service will be updated according to the guidelines produced by the WAI Guidelines Working Groups. [...] "The WAI Page Authoring Guidelines give a consolidated look at all the issues facing users with disabilities that designers should keep in mind when developing sites. The efforts of the WAI dovetail perfectly with our goals as an educational organization to give us quality material to pass on to our membership. We will make sure that our designers get the message," said Ann Navarro, Governing Board Member for the HTML Writers Guild, the largest international Web developers group.
The W3C Validator is an easy-to-use HTML validation service based on an SGML parser. It checks HTML documents for compliance with W3C HTML Recommendations and other HTML standards.
