Broker Server

From PlantX.net

The Broker Server is an added service that extends the power and performance of PlantX.net. A Broker Server can dramatically improve PlantX.net performance when dealing with very slow network connections or a large number of users on the same Internet connection. The Broker Server is highly recommended for offices with 4 or more users or slower connections like ISDN.

• Speeds access to your inventory data
• Reduces Internet congestion
• Acts as traditional network storage server
• Nightly off-site backups to our server!
• Includes five additional concurrent users
• Monthly fee includes the hardware and maintenance

Speed! Speed! Speed! Instead of forming a connection from each computer in the office over the slower Internet connection, the office computers contact the Broker Server which caches the inventory data kept on the main server. Once a user in the office has loaded the inventory for the first time, the Broker Server keeps a copy and serves to the other office systems. Any subsequent requests for similar information is satisfied by the Broker Server at local area network speeds! That is to say between 100 to 200 times faster!

Reduces Internet Congestion Most requests from common information, like the material, catalog, inventory and orders are kept locally where they can be accessed by others within the office. Anytime the Broker Server can answer a query, it means less traffic on the office connection. Broker Servers also use the same Persistent Caching feature employed to speed up each computer, whereby data is recorded to the local disk to also supplement performance.

Acts as traditional network storage server As the Broker Server is a complete Linux server connected to your local network, it contains a hard disk that can be used to store the word processing documents, spreadsheets and other files shared in your network. Even though it is running Linux, it appears to any Windows box as an available networked computer. We use Linux exclusively for our servers as it has proven to be much more efficient, stable and secure, and many of our customers have commented on an increased network performance after installing a Broker Server.

Nightly off-site backups Any files stored on the Broker Server can optionally be backed up nightly to our servers. More than just a file backup, it efficiently creates an entire snapshot of the storage each evening. How often do you perform your backups? How often do you take them off-site to avoid theft or fire? The Broker Server can be configured to solve these common problems.

Includes five additional concurrent users The basic PlantX.net membership includes access for three concurrent users, which basically means that you are limited to three users regularly connected to the server. The Broker Server provides you with five additional concurrent connections for a total of eight. Since the Broker Server effectively reduces the demand on our servers and your Internet connection, we can easily support more connections to your office. The Broker Server is cost effective if you need four or more users or you have a slower connection.

Equipment is included! There is no extra equipment to buy or maintain. We take care of that for you. Should the equipment fail, we will replace it. Needless to say, with this policy we use highly reliable equipment!

Secure The Broker Server resides in your office and is connected behind your firewall, secure from the Internet. File backups are done through a secure, encrypted "tunnel" to our main server.

The best of both worlds!
Adding a Broker Server to your network gives you all of the benefits that a locally installed application has to offer. When you combine that with a hosted website, real-time updates, trade partner collaboration, live software updates, and nightly backups, you get the best of both worlds!

How it works

The Broker Server consists of a small network device that is connected to your network just like any other computer. When users in the office connect to PlantX.net they have the option of connecting to the Broker Server instead of going direct to the PlantX.net server. Connecting to the Broker Server improves performance by brokering data requests. If the broker already has the data that it needs, it does not need to venture out over the Internet. Instead it returns the data it currently has. Avoiding the round trip over the Internet speeds up server requests magnitudes faster and reduces the traffic on your broadband connection by as much as 50%!

Network without Broker Server

Without the Broker Server, each PC must maintain a connection over the Internet to the PlantX.net servers. Every request made must be handled separately and traverse the slower Internet connection.

Network with Broker Server

By contrast, only the Broker Server maintains a connection to the PlantX.net servers. Requests made by the PC's are sent over the Local Area Network (LAN) to the Broker. If the Broker has the requested data, it is returned immediately and the slower trip over the Internet is avoided. If the Broker does not have the data, it forwards the request to the main PlantX.net server. Effectively, once any user in the office loads the inventory from the main server, all subsequent requests are handled by the Broker and never go out over the Internet.