Adventures in Systems Integration
3rd Party EDMS Integration with Banner
Paul Drobny
Divisional Manager of Systems Technology
Student Affairs, UC Davis
3/23/2016
In this Session:
From Concept : Design to Delivery and Beyond
Basics of EDMS Unstructured Data
Using Contractor Integrator Services
Supporting Distributed Customers in the Campus Data Center
The Importance of Project Communications
Minimizing Dependence Matrix Effects on Users
Treating 2 Enterprise Systems as One
Tight vs. Loose Integration – What works?
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The Back Story
Goal : Extend Banner ERP Software with
Unstructured Data
Buy Sungard’s ERP Extender (tightly integrated)?
Buy a ‘better’ 3rd Party tool
Provide the difference in the fit/gap results locally?
Can Microsoft Co-exist with Oracle?
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EDMS Basics
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Photos of Documents in Tiff format
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Docs stored in Microsoft Directories
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MetaData stores pointers to docs, not photos
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Search feature supported by MetaData attributes
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Distributed scanning, centralized storage
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Workflow enables office “routing” and status
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Rich Security environment for docs, everything
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Microsoft-centric solutions
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Automatic Document Retentioning
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As Delivered
SQL Server Production Instance Only
Scanners in Registrar, Fin Aid & Admissions
EDMS core in UC Davis Data Center “The DC”
Dedicated Microsoft Domain
Integrated to Banner via Text File Extraction
One “DataStore” with 230 Attributes in Metadata DB
Heterogeneous Microsoft environments
3rd Party Support Contractor in Detroit
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As Administered
3 Dept Agreement + Central Support
Purchasing, Licensing, Hardware Equally Shared
Staff in Dept + Data Center
Ante into funding pot (by 3, DC T & M)
Rotating staff (about .5 FTE Total)
30% Manager from Student Affairs
Staff in Data Center (1 Architect, .5 Admin)
Single Master (Mistress?) Securities Admin
Shared Admin Responsibilities (Microsoft Model)
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Issue #1Test Instance
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Firewalls
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Subnet Proximity
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‘Neighbors’ on your subnet
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Search features supported by MetaData attributes
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Microsoft Domain Controllers
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Prod is Test
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DC Architecture
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DC Change #1
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First Changes
Duplicate Hardware for Stage/Test Instance
Remove SISDocs from Riff Raff channel (first)
Move Adjacent to SIS – same subnet
Protect behind firewalls of SIS
Dedicated Microsoft Domain
Duplicate Firewalls and Domain Controllers
Proliferation of Microsoft Boxes
Service Level Agreements Multiply
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Issue #2 MetaData
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Document Storage Dependent on Indexing
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SIS : System of Record protected by Stewardship
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Shuffle text files via FTP then run Upload
o
Move 220 Attributes for Admissions
o
Move difference data, or all data?
o
Oracle SIS, SQL Server SISDocs
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Issue #3 Heterogeneous
Departmental Environments
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One has Microsoft Domain, Exchange Services
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One uses Obsolete OS – Win 2k, No Domain
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Different Integrations, Fileservices
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Problems present differently in all environments
o
Email Client “corrupts” Tiff files?
o
Upgrades take 4 months with current staffing
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Solutions #2
Dump SQL Server in favor of Oracle
MetaData Instances on SIS
Homogenize OS support with Terminal Services
Subnet Control Remains in Department
Speed Upgrades by Solving Problems Once
Require Secure Scan Stations – DC Exposure
Eliminate Some Hardware, Add Some More!?!
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Next Iteration – “SIS/Docs”
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DC Change #1
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Problem : Performance
Strange Application Error Escalation
License Management an Issue
Application dependence Datastore to Datastore
Meta Loads of Huge Data Sets
MetaData on a Diet?
System of Record – Autofill & Real Time Indexes
Business Springs from the SIS
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Problems of Other Sorts
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SIS uses Token Access
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How Many Places is a User Managed?
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Microsoft Centric Apps Easily Integrate with Like
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Vendor Blues
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Remote Support, but what do you Pay For?
Help w/o Onsight Familiarity?
Distinguishing among internal and external problems
When Firing a Partner Becomes Necessary
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Last Iteration DC Architecture
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DC Change #1
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Advantages
Reduced Box Count
On the Same Subnet as SIS
Run Oracle instance on SIS Hardware
Behind Firewalls Maintained for SIS
DB to DB transfer – high speed, no text
Firewalls Pass Microsoft Domain Info
Leverage SIS Token through Xeda work
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Advantages 2
Adjacent to both SIS & Xeda
Xeda Integration “automagic”
Programming within DB, not Inline Code
Troubleshooting tools familiar to Depts
SSN Encryption Oracle function used in SIS
DB Refresh Sync easier to co-ordinate
SIS Team Crossover Support
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The Next Set of Issues
Real Time DB Lookups for Indexers
How Many Primary Keys Do you Need?
Migration – Shouldn’t Hardware Match?
Update MetaData Only As Necessary
Triggers from SIS to SISDocs – DB/DB Xfer
A Word About Web Clients & Services
Virtualize the Hardware and $ave
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Source Code & Programming
“Scripts” are more prevalent than Sources
Designed with critical stubs among the toolkit options
(insert script here), stored in MetaData
Limits your ability to modify (that might be good)
It Helps to Have .Net Experience even if not
programming (for Architecture Sake)
APIs for Everything .. Program Control Calls
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A Word About Teams
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A Word About Teams
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Loose vs Tight Coupling Characteristics
Loose
Less than 10 Attributes in MetaData
Primary Key Only Maybe – Student ID?
Use ODBC to talk to Database
Use Real Time System of Record Access
Create Interfaces Between Systems
In Short Service Oriented Architecture
Tight
Configurations Similar
Depend on Same DB for Data Transfer
Developed in Same Tools
Informed Understanding of All Business Process
Dependency Matrix Managed by Vendor
Installations Easy
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The Winner : Loose
Users Benefit from Purpose Built Product
Choose DB Based on Staff Familiarity
Workflows Interface Generally Instead of Specifically
Institution Needs Integration Level Knowledge Anyway
Ultimately B to B will Use SOA Design
Manageable Issues:
Dependence Matrix
Security
User ID Management?
3/23/2016
Glossary
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ERP – Enterprise Resource Planning (Program) : Associated with management dogma of the late 80’s, the concept of Enterprise Planning alludes to overall control of
a business as a single entity, not a collection of vertical disciplines. Applied to automation in the late 90’s, the concept speaks to using computers to holistically
manage the entire enterprise as if it were a single computer program, though this is generally not the case in any modern institution, certainly not institutions in
Higher Education
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Fit/Gap or Fit/Gap Analysis : Examination of a business process to determine which parts are critical to business success, and which parts may be expendable or done
in another way. The process is used by wise institutions when defining where automated support is required, and how to communicate that activity to potential
vendors and stakeholders.
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Domain – In Microsoft parlance, this refers to a group of systems, users and their privileges to use system resources. The concept is at the center of their securities and
access controls list. It defines a hierarchical structure and system architecture designed to support a wide range of organizations from the very small to the very large.
Larger structures are hierarchal in nature. Domain Controllers are used as the authorization and authentication services so that many users can access many
resources .
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EDMS – Electronic Document Management Systems are generally an enterprise level conglomeration of automated services that organize and manipulate a large
number of photographs of paper documents. They use database applications, standardized file formats and large disk spaces as core technology.
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Metadata - The database at the center of an EDMS is referred to as metadata. This is generally a database that has millions or billions of records, but stored only a
few attributes about each document like where that document is on disk space, a primary key that allows the document to be indexed to another often legacy
database, and any other keys to help index the documents.
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SOA – Stands for Service Oriented Architecture, but conceptually is the design of large, complicated computer programs as loosely coupled services that are able to
talk to each other over the network. In this way, the data structures (entity relationship models) are passed from service to service to accomplish operations. Because
the services communicate, it makes it easy to connect and re-connect the services in different ways, to more accurately model the way your institution works. It is also
easier to make major changes when major business projects are pursued.
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Systems Architecture – The basic layout of automation, and the standards that define how modifications to that automation are made, and what infrastructure uses.
This is similar to the foundation of a house. Choosing a flexible foundation allows for the house to be modified with minimal cost to greatest benefit of the
homeowner.
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Systems Integration – When commercial software companies design new products, it is common practice to buy some pieces that represent working parts of the final
product, then make those pieces work together by adding code where functionality is missing and using all sorts of engineering tools to make the parts work together.
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Primary Key – When an entity relationship model has an attribute that is unique for each and every record in a table, the table has a primary key. Occasionally a
primary key has to be the combination of 2 or more attributes which when taken in sum constitute a primary key
3/23/2016
Questions or Comments?
• Paul Drobny
psdrobny@ucdavis.edu
3/23/2016