Database Server – Service Tiers

The diagram below provides an overview of a consolidated enterprise database-hosting platform.

The tiering allows multiple applications to share and also span a smaller number of highly available infrastructures. The provides numerous benefits, such as:

• Multiple classes of application can leverage previously unattainable high availability services at a lower (shared) cost;


• More efficient use of server capacity;


• Database licensing efficiencies;


• Reduced points of administration and management;


• Fewer but better skilled database administration staff; and


• Reduced physical infrastructure based on relatively inexpensive high performance server hardware with nominal rack space and power utilisation.

The requirement for dedicated hardware for an application based on vendor contractual limitations, should be avoided. Dedicated database hardware should only be used where the database platform is not strategic, and/or there are potential reliability or performance issues identified due to poor application design.

Unified Messaging - Quick Definition

As a definition, Unified or Integrated Messaging is regarded as the single presentation, control and management of multiple media based services as a unified service from an end users perspective.

This in part is achieved through a ubiquitous, secured and managed WAN and LAN IP network infrastructure.

Key attributes such as bandwidth, latency, security, pervasiveness and quality of service ensure that not only data, but voice, video, fax and other [semi]-rich media services can be converged and delivered whatever the device or location, wired or wireless. This is a fundamental basis for a successful unified messaging architecture.

Social Computing

The term social computing refers to the creation and management of social contexts through the use of software and supporting connected technologies.

From a software perspective, this includes:
· Blogs[1];
· Email;
· Realtime communications (i.e. IM, on demand web video conferencing etc);
· Wiki’s[2];
· Collaborative filtering[3] etc.

From an Enterprise perspective, much of what occurs within an internet setting can be repeated in an enterprise context, with social and networked modifications to company intranets (portal) and native “out of the box” interoperability with other communications platforms (e.g. integrating click to call on a users “my site” portal page, calendar events published with zero touch programming in a users portal blog, or a clinical community group portal with collaborative document sharing).

Conceptually this can be represented as shown below:

The Enterprise Portal is the foundation for an enterprise users “web-presence”, including the development of mashed-up [composite] applications. This provides the foundation for enterprise content management tools, enterprise search and other collaboration tools for information workers in a dynamic enterprise wide social network.

In context to Unified Messaging, social computing helps describe the social networking intent in which unified messaging technologies, as presented in this standard, can be leveraged.

[1] is a website where entries are written in chronological order and commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. Blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; some function as personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs.
[2] A wiki is a collaborative website which can be directly edited by anyone with access to it.
[3] A method of making automatic predictions (filtering) about the interests of a user by collecting taste information from many users (collaborating). The underlying assumption of CF approach is that those who agreed in the past tend to agree again in the future.