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Advanced Revelation and the Revelation Network Products
The Revelation Network Product Suite enables Advanced Revelation
applications to run on contemporary networking platforms.
Revelation Software’s mission is to deliver a portfolio of application
development tools, deployment products and companion services that enable
developers to successfully implement robust, network-based applications.
The company’s strategy of ensuring the preservation of information
systems and application investments by its developer and user community
has enabled its customers to reuse, extend, enhance, and leverage their
investments in skills, and to successfully protect their investments in
business applications.
One implementation of this strategy is the development of the Revelation
Network Product Suite. The three products that comprise the Revelation
Network Product Suite are:
- Revelation NLM
- Revelation Windows 2000 Service (formerly called the NT Service)
- Revelation Network Performance Pack
WHO SHOULD USE THE REVELATION NETWORK PRODUCT SUITE?
Anyone running an Advanced Revelation application (version 2.03 or above)
with a Windows client (16-bit or 32-bit) should use one of the Revelation
Network Products. Which product should be used is determined by the
network on which the application is running. Applications running on a
Novell network require the Revelation NLM. Applications running on a
Microsoft NT Server require the Revelation Windows 2000 Service.
Applications running on any other network that supports “byte range
locking” should use the Network Performance Pack.
WHY THE REVELATION NETWORK PRODUCTS SHOULD BE USED
Advanced Revelation was developed specifically for the DOS platform. The
development of Windows led to changes in the way that concurrent access to
files was handled. Rather than require the re-engineering of the thousands
of deployed Advanced Revelation applications, Revelation developed the
suite of add-on products that enable those applications to run on the
contemporary client architecture without interruption.
IMPROVED PERFORMANCE WITH THE NLM AND WINDOWS 2000 SERVICE
Novell Netware and Microsoft NT Server use a “semaphore” service for
locking that consists of setting lock flags in memory. This method support
many more users than the standard “byte-range” method, and is optimised
for heavy network traffic. The Revelation NLM was created
specifically to take advantage of the native Novell services. The Windows
2000 Service is a 32-bit implementation supporting multiple processor
(SMP) written specifically for Microsoft 2000/NT Server.
VIRTUALLY ELIMINATE GROUP FORMAT ERRORS
Prior to the release of the Revelation NLM and Windows 2000 Service, all
networked workstations shared the responsibility of file updates, user
coordination activities, and file maintenance functions. This access
method required all workstations to lock segments of the files, known as
“groups” or “frames.” To access information stored in a file, a
workstation locks the group in which the data resides, finds the frame in
which the record exists, and reads the frame(s) that contain the record.
The workstation extracts the record to be processed, inserts the changes
and rewrites the frame(s) to disk at the appropriate offset; then
resequences all frame headers to compensate for changes to the file.
During this process, if the file required resizes (expansion or reduction
to optimise performance), the workstation loops through the file, reading
the appropriate frames and rewriting the affected frames and headers to
disk. The Revelation NLM and Windows 2000 Service provide a central
clearinghouse for all locks on the server, and can physically access the
files, protecting them from accidental damage (network, workstation, or
user errors) of the files.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information on the Revelation Network Products Suite, please see
the Knowledge Base section of our web site at http://www.revelationsoftware.com.au.
We have a white paper that discusses how to determine which network
product to use to optimise your application’s performance, a Network
Product Support matrix, as well as other documentation and technical
notes. You may also contact us at +61 2 8003 4199 to receive
information via fax or mail.
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