Distributed Processing with AcuConnect

With AcuConnect in a distributed processing environment, users or programs on client machines can launch applications on server machines, whether those servers are part of a local area network, wide area network, or global Internet. While some portions of your application continue to run on the client (for example, the user interface and some interactive programs), the resource-intensive portion runs where it is most efficient . . . on the server.

Should users decide to run their programs on server1 one day and server2 the next, they can do so without any changes to the application code. They can even run the application locally if they choose, or "daisy chain" applications together on multiple servers.

With server programs written accordingly, AcuConnect can also provide users access to indexed file data. If the data are on the same remote server as AcuConnect, no special software is required to access the data from a local client. If the data are on a separate data server, AcuConnect works in tandem with our remote file server, AcuServer®, to provide seamless data access. AcuConnect can also work with Acu4GL®, our COBOL-to-RDBMS bridge, to provide seamless access to relational data wherever it resides.

By enabling you to distribute processing between the client and server, AcuConnect helps you leverage your computing resources to the fullest in a true distributed processing environment. For example, with AcuConnect, you can take advantage of the power of your server machines while using inexpensive client machines. AcuConnect

• Improves application performance by offloading major processing tasks to the server.
• Decreases network traffic, especially for I/O-intensive applications.
• Lengthens the life of older computing equipment; users of slower, older technology can use newer server. components for the majority of their processing.
• Lets you take advantage of existing resources, including the Internet.

You can also use AcuConnect to execute remote COBOL objects from client applications developed in C, C++, Java, .NET, Delphi, or Visual Basic. These applications run on the client and use the C, .NET, or Java API contained in our COBOL Virtual Machine (CVM) to interact with the COBOL object on the server. As instructed by a configuration file on the client, AcuConnect executes the COBOL object remotely and shares data with the client application through the CVM on the client. See Executing Non-COBOL Programs on the Client for information on how to execute remote COBOL objects.