Interactive System Architecture Deliverable January 29, 1999

1
Interactive System ArchitectureDeliverable
January 29, 1999
Support IT!
Support IT! Author Darren RushAssistance Drew
Littlefield Anthony WagnerRyan
MacFarlaneHong-Jae Kim Created January 20,
1999 Updated January 20, 1999
This presentation provides a graphical
representation of the system components and
interfaces. Clicking on a component or interface
will provide you with more detailed information,
specifications, and external links.
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Architecture
INT007 - Administrator GUI
Administrative ConsoleCOMP04
INSTRUCTIONS Click on any component to see a
description and link to more information.
INT001 Client-Server Interface
Email Support ServerCOMP02
Internet Mail ConnectorCOMP05
INT003 SMTP
Go to Architecture Diagram
3
Architecture
INT007 - Administrator GUI
Administrative ConsoleCOMP04
COMP01 - The User console allows Customer Service
Reps (CSRs) to read and reply to email messages,
and perform their primary job functions (as
listed in the requirements document). The User
console has a GUI and interfaces to the Support
IT Server to access message queue status and
message data. For more on this component click
here COMP04
INT001 Client-Server Interface
Email Support ServerCOMP02
Internet Mail ConnectorCOMP05
INT003 SMTP
Go to Architecture Diagram
4
Architecture
INT007 - Administrator GUI
Administrative ConsoleCOMP04
COMP02 - The Support IT Server is the primary
component in the system. It provides an
interface between the administrative and CSR
client applications as well as the Internet Mail
connector. The Support IT server accepts
requests from clients which connect to it, and
calls back to these clients when system events
that require synchronization occur. An example
of this type of callback is when unread messages
are added to the database, the Message Queue
Status on the clients must be updated. For more
on this component click here COMP04
INT001 Client-Server Interface
Email Support ServerCOMP02
Internet Mail ConnectorCOMP05
INT003 SMTP
Go to Architecture Diagram
5
Architecture
INT007 - Administrator GUI
Administrative ConsoleCOMP04
COMP05 - The Internet Mail Connector performs two
primary functions 1) It imports email messages
from an external POP3 server 2) It forwards
replies to an external SMTP server For more on
this component click here COMP04
INT001 Client-Server Interface
Email Support ServerCOMP02
Internet Mail ConnectorCOMP05
INT003 SMTP
Go to Architecture Diagram
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Architecture
INT007 - Administrator GUI
Administrative ConsoleCOMP04
The Internet mail system is represented here by a
network cloud. The requirements for the Support
IT system state that it should be compatible with
the Internet Mail standards SMTP and POP3. Any
standards compliant servers will be able to
interface with the Support IT server via these
interfaces and the Internet Mail Connector
(COMP05) For more on this component click
here COMP04
INT001 Client-Server Interface
Email Support ServerCOMP02
Internet Mail ConnectorCOMP05
INT003 SMTP
Go to Architecture Diagram
7
Architecture
INT007 - Administrator GUI
Administrative ConsoleCOMP04
COMP03 - The Support IT Database contains all of
the persistent data for the system. Nominally,
this includes - CSR and Admin authentication
info. - Message Data - Answer Data - System
configuration parameters - Report Data For
more on this component click here COMP04
INT001 Client-Server Interface
Email Support ServerCOMP02
Internet Mail ConnectorCOMP05
INT003 SMTP
Go to Architecture Diagram
8
Architecture
INT007 - Administrator GUI
Administrative ConsoleCOMP04
COMP04 - The Administrative Console allows an
administrator to monitor the system and perform
maintenance tasks. This component has a user
interface and connects to the Support IT Server
via INT001, the Client-Server Interface. For
more on this component click here COMP04
INT001 Client-Server Interface
Email Support ServerCOMP02
Internet Mail ConnectorCOMP05
INT003 SMTP
Go to Architecture Diagram
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Client Components
Component Notes - This architecture applies to
both the User Console COMP001, and the
Administrative Console COMP005. - The User
console will use the RTF ActiveX control to
display email messages. The RTF control allows
for Rich Text Formatting and allows the text to
be easily searched and printed. - The Support IT
ActiveX interface will be an ActiveX control in
the first versions of the program, and will be a
remote object server in a future version. By
using a control in early versions of the product,
we we be able to speed our debug cycle by
developing both the client and server components
on a single machine, eliminating the additional
issues related to operating the system in a true
networked client-server environment. Migrating
to the the networked environment is a high risk
item.
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Server Components
Click for INT001 Specification
Component Notes - The Support IT Server will
provide an ActiveX interface to the other system
components. - Database access is provided by DAO
3.5 and ODBC.
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Database Components
Click Database Schema
Click here for SMTP andPOP3 RFC Information
Component Notes - The database is implemented
using MS Access version 7.0 - The database is
accessed by the administrator using MS Access -
The database will contain Tables and Queries -
The database is intended to maintain 100,000
messages, and to be archived at regular
intervals - The database interface uses ODBC
implemented through the MS DAO (Data Access
Objects) version 3.5.
Component Notes - The System database will store
addresses for both SMTP and POP3 servers as well
as required authentication information. LIMITATIO
NS - The system will not test for handling of
large messages (gt64k) - The system will not
account for handling of attachments because of
the lack of standard attachment formatting among
mail systems.
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Interfaces
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Support IT!
Email automation tools for customer support.