Full Client, WEBI, ZABO, XI 1

[BrianTyler]

Does anyone know of any documentation which explains the functional differences and the licensing issues between these products?

We currently use Full Client (5.1.7) and now need to open up queries (or query results) to the outside world.

Business Objects has changed over the past few years, and their main web site seems to be very sales orientated, and tech support is very detailed.

Thanks,

Brian

 

[skrandel]

Nothing is documented. You need to talk to your sales rep. Licensing is a very complex thing that changes quite often.

All you really need to know that is that Extranet usage generally requires a separate license.



Steve Krandel
VERITAS Software

 

[nbateman]

I'm with Brian.

And it's not even the licensing. I just want to know what different parts exist, roughly what they do, and when I need one.

The Business Objects website tells me nothing.

What does "Full client" include? What does it not have?
Infoview?
BCA?

An idiots guide to the BO product set would be a great assistance to anyone planning an implementation. The BO sales guys are really not the people I trust to tell me what I need to buy.

 

[binboy77]

Full Client(or Fat Client or Thick Client) - Software would be installed on the local PC. These include, BO Supervisor(for administration), BO Designer(for Universe creation), BO Reporter(for creating Reports). BCA(BroadCast Agent) can be configured for scheduling refresh of the Reports.

WebI(or Thin Client) - Requires an application server, web server and bo server. Reporting and publishing of reports can be done using Internet explorer(browser) but Universe design requires installation of BO Designer and administration requires installation of BO Supervisor on the local PC.

Infoview is the portal or in simple words a website provided by BO when you install WebI from where, you can access and create all the WebI reports and schedule them.



Bin

 

[nbateman]

Thanks bin.

I understand the BO reporter option installed on a "standalone" PC perhaps connecting to an Access db on the PC itself and/or an Oracle db on a remote server and/or ...;

I think I understand Infoview as something like a server based version of BO Reporter that everyone can access through a browser (is that correct?). Does it support universe design as well?

Not quite to clear on the WebI option. Any application server or a BO proprietary one? Web server like Apache? BO server runs the report to deliver through Apache to browser? Is WebI a component, a suite, "the architecture"?

Thanks again,

Nick.

 

[binboy77]

Universe design is always through the BO Designer(fat client). The reports use this Universe. Now the reports can be generated by either using the BO Reporter(fat client) or the WebI(using IE).

Infoview does not support Universe design. Its used to design WebI reports, schedule them, view them etc. It uses the web browser for all these functions.

WebI or Web Intelligence is the name given to the BO implementation of Reporting over the Web(thin client). This includes the Application Server and the Web Server which can be any one like IIS, apache, tomcat, websphere. No BO Proprietary ones.



Bin

 

[nbateman]

Thanks Bin - have a star (if only for doing BO's job for them).

Nick.