The widespread adoption of Web standards and Web browser software has revolutionized access to e-business applications. Today, virtually every knowledge worker has the expertise and the tools he needs to interact with a wide range of systems, both inside and outside the firewall—unless, of course, he happens to be disconnected from the Web or the corporate LAN. For a salesperson at a customer site, a technician in the field, or your average road warrior on a plane, the inability to access network-based applications is both frustrating and ironic—because these are precisely the times when many Web applications could be used very productively.
Unfortunately, the technology to support interactive, offline access to Web applications has simply not existed until now. With the introduction of Domino Off-Line Services, a new product from Lotus Development, mobile workers can now access their work remotely. Domino Off-Line Services lets you deliver full-fidelity Web application functionality to offline users via their Web browsers. This anytime/anywhere access capability substantially enhances the value and convenience of many e-business solutions, particularly those that offer self-service or can be put to good use in the field.
Virtually any provider of Web solutions, including independent software vendors (ISVs) and application service providers (ASPs), might find a use for Domino Off-Line Services, because it provides a runtime environment in which to distribute application logic in addition to data. What better way to push updates out to customers with no administrative overhead?
How It Works
Because it makes use of the replication and security functions of the Lotus Domino Release
5.02c or higher Server architecture, Domino Off-Line Services works only with Domino as the Web server. When Domino Off-Line Services is installed on a Domino server running on an AS/400 or any other Domino platform, all properly configured Web applications that reside on that server are accessible via Web browsers, without a network connection to the server.
Disconnected users can interact with offline Domino applications just as if they were online; the experience is identical. Work flows and forms are fully functional, and applets, scripts, and agents all work the same, without requiring any modification. Full
security also remains in place. While Lotus and other vendors have offered products (Lotus Weblicator is an example) that allow users to browse static Web pages while disconnected, this ability to provide interactive, seamless access to offline applications, as well as the ability to synchronize work done offline, is unique to Domino Off-Line Services.
Virtually any Domino application can be enabled for offline use with minimal development effort. Application distribution can take place either via a URL or from a CD without the need for IT to “touch” users’ desktops. Changes to application logic and security, and even the runtime driver itself, can also be delivered to users automatically via replication, thus greatly simplifying maintenance and updates.
Enabling Applications for Offline Use
Developers and administrators can enable a new or existing Domino application for offline access with just a few steps:
1. Install the Domino Off-Line Services files on the Domino server, a matter of downloading files from the Lotus Web site or copying them from a CD.
2. Copy some design elements to the Web site using step-by-step instructions. The end result is a Web control (see Figure 1) that automates offline access for the user.
3. Specify the desired default security and synchronization parameters for offline use of the application, using a short series of straight-forward forms.
Domino Off-Line Services comes with pre-enabled application templates, which provide design elements for Web discussions, Web document libraries, and Web email applications. Forms-based configuration options let developers control a wide range of settings, such as the following:
• The components of Domino Off-Line Services can be installed (Full Text Search, Java Applets, Domino agents, etc.). To minimize download overhead, you can specify what services an application requires.
• Custom-defined tasks can be run at synchronization time.
• A maximum size for offline copies of an application can be set.Each time a user takes an application offline, the Domino Off-Line Services installer checks to see what components are already available on the desktop. Only newly required or newly revised components will be installed on subsequent downloads. Say a user takes one application offline, in the process downloading all Domino Off-Line Services components except Java applets support. If that user takes an application that uses Java applets offline in the future, the required driver will be downloaded to her desktop at that time.
The User Experience
Authorized users can install an offline version of an application simply by navigating to the right URL and clicking a button or icon. A Microsoft ActiveX control or Netscape plug-in then automatically installs the necessary software on users’ systems and downloads the application, which self-installs. Once the application is installed, Domino Off-Line Services synchronizes the associated data to the desktop. At this point, the offline instance of the application is ready for use.
As Figure 1 illustrates, “offline enabled” applications typically provide a conveniently located Web control on the Welcome page. This control initiates the install process. Where network bandwidth is a concern, you can distribute offline-enabled applications via CD. In fact, anytime a user initiates an installation, the ActiveX control or
plug-in first checks for a CD. If it finds one, the control/plug-in will install the application from that CD. Otherwise, it installs the application from the server.
Synchronizing Data
You can automatically upload the work you’ve done offline anytime you reconnect with the server. You can do this manually or on a prescheduled basis via unattended, dial-up synchronization. Multiple applications can be synchronized in the same session.
Lotus iNotes Sync Manager, the user component of Domino Off-Line Services, enables users to maintain all their offline applications themselves. With it, you can do the following:
• Launch offline-enabled Domino applications, whether you’re offline or online at the time
• Synchronize work done offline with the server-based application, while controlling all aspects of the synchronization process
• View and configure synchronization settings and other “subscription” information for all your offline-enabled applications
• Uninstall offline versions of applications from your desktop
Figure 2 shows the Lotus iNotes Sync Manager’s GUI. You may want to run Lotus iNotes Sync Manager in the background at all times so that it can perform any synchronization activities you’ve scheduled in advance.
Offline Security
All Domino access controls operate in offline applications. For example, users cannot alter data while offline that would not be accessible to them via the network. Provided your Web or intranet site uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), Domino Off-Line Services will encrypt all synchronization events between online applications and their offline counterparts.
Each user authorized to work with applications offline is assigned a Domino ID. You specify whether you want the installer to prompt a user for a preassigned ID, check the Domino Directory for a valid ID, or automatically generate IDs for new offline users. You can assign users multiple IDs for multiple offline applications. You can also allow anonymous access to applications; a help database of technical documentation to be sent to customers, for instance, might permit anonymous access, thus giving the customer the freedom to set up whatever security she wishes to enforce.
An Offline Solution Scenario
The ability to work with applications while disconnected from the network increases users’ productivity and enhances the value of applications. Mobile employees and trading partners can take corporate information on the road, enabling them to participate in business processes and make decisions based on up-to-date information, without being tied to the network. Customers can securely interact with self-service applications anytime and anywhere it’s convenient.
Here’s a scenario that illustrates the value and convenience of taking Web applications offline. Lee, a sales representative for a leading widget vendor, is paying a visit to a customer. During a face-to-face meeting, she places the customer’s next order using the sales order entry application on her laptop. There is no need for her to interrupt the flow of conversation to hook into a phone jack or sit waiting while data moves at dialup speeds. To confirm product availability and delivery dates, she checks current inventory levels, which were replicated to her desktop earlier that morning when she dialed in to get email.
During the cab ride back to her hotel, Lee updates a contact management database with information about her visit and writes an email to her boss to be sent later. Once back in her room, she dials into the company intranet to send and receive email. Without redialing, she allows Domino Off-Line Services to update the contact management database and place her customer’s order. After uploading the order, a newly revised component of the sales order entry application is automatically downloaded to Lee’s laptop.
The Big Picture
Whatever your business, Domino Off-Line Services can extend the reach of your e- collaborative infrastructure. You can obtain more information and download and evaluate the Beta 2 version of the Domino Off-Line Services deployment kit at www.lotus.com/ home.nsf/welcome/offlineservices .
Figure 1: To take an application offline, just click a Web control.
Figure 2: The Lotus iNotes Sync Manager makes it easy to work offline.
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