ANN: ReportBuilder 7.0 Server Edition Released

digitalmetaphors

Are you ready to get those reports into your web browser?

Then you're ready for the new ReportBuilder Server Edition!

Leverage the power of N-tier, XML, XHTML, SOAP, JavaScript, Windows Sockets,
Windows Services, and the various web deployment options of Delphi without
feeling the pain inherent in mastering these technologies.

Protect your investment in your current code base by publishing existing
reports to the web with minimal configuration changes.

And get it all done fast, fast, fast with the new ReportBuilder Server
Edition.


The new Server Edition includes:

* Server Edition components (we did these so you wouldn't have to)

* Enterprise Edition (the best reporting development environment for
Delphi)

* Server Deployment License (deploy a server-based application to a single
CPU PC)

* Server Development License (deploy a server-based application to a
single CPU PC for purposes of testing and development)


Pricing

ReportBuilder Server Edition 7.0 $999
Server Deployment License (1 CPU) $249

If you purchased ReportBuilder Enterprise 6.03 on or after November 14,
2001, you can upgrade to Server Edition for $799.


Ordering

The Server Edition is available for purchase at:

https://www.digital-metaphors.com/secure/orderform.html

For more information, contact us at: sales@digital-metaphors.com.

If you are upgrading, please include serial number, contact name, and
address.

rbuser

> Are you ready to get those reports into your web browser?
Not really I would be likely to pay for an upgrade of 6.03 enterprise
(bug-fixes, new features etc.) being compatible with Delphi 5 however. Just
out of luck or ???

regards,
Martin

rbuser

Few questions,

Does RB Enterprise V7 support D5? I may upgrade to D7 but D6 offered nothing
of interest to me and so I am staying D5 for the moment.

Does RB Server edition V7 support D5?

I purchased RB enterprise on 10th July 2001, what upgrade price for RB V7
enterprise applies to me? I see there is a large break between 6.02 and
prior and 6.03 in the upgrade pricing. I'm not sure what version I bought
into, but making large price differences for minor version changes seems odd
to me.

Why is there no discount offered to upgrade to server edition? As it
includes enterprise surely only part of the cost is for the new sever
functionality, however looking at the pricing page on the web site shows I
pay the same as a new user. This requires a rethink, as your existing
customers will become a direct source of income by selling server licences
on your behalf you need to throw them an incentive to get onboard. They are
the people with existing customers who may love to have their reports
online, and they are in a position with their experience of the product to
get to market quicker and thus open the server licence revenue stream.

Regards

Simon Callcott

nardmoseley

Thanks for your interest in RB Server!

1. Does RB Enterprise V7 support D5?

We currently have D6 available and will be releasing D7 compatibility
shortly after we receive the D7 CD from Borland.

D5 will be researched. There is functionality specific to D6 that we are
utilizing. We will have to research what the effort it to port back to
D5. Until we determine the effort required, we cannot promise anything,
except that we will try.

2. Why is there no discount offered to upgrade to server edition?

First to clarify. There is a one time upgrade offer to customers who
purchased recently.

For the answer to your question please see the article below.

-----------------------------------------------------------
R B S E R V E R E D I T I O N I N F O
-----------------------------------------------------------

The Server Edition currently sells for US $999.00. It is the server
software that you are purchasing. At present we have decided to include
an RB Enterprise license with the server software as a bonus. A single
cpu deployment license is also included. Additional cpu deployment
licenses can be purchased for $249.00.

On the order page of our web site you will notice that there is no
upgrade path to RB Server. Therefore if you purchase RB Enterprise today
and then decide to deploy a server 6 months from now, you will need to
purchase the server software for $999.00.

RB Server is a stand alone product in its own right. The Server installs
into a separate RBServer directory and contains its own Developers
Guide, online help, Demos, Tutorials, and Lib. The Server components are
installed to a separate RBServer tab of the Delphi component palette.

The Server is more than worth the $999.00. We are currently working on
creating a trial or demo and once it is available you will be able to
see this for yourself. For now, please refer to the information below.


Server Edition Overview
------------------------


1. ReportBuilder Services

ReportBuilder Services is an report server hosting environment that can
be used to deploy and manage a report server application. To install
ReportBuilder Services, you simple run the included RBWinService.exe
install program. The installation program installs a windows service and
server management application that appears as a system tray icon.

ReportBuilder Services is a windows service designed to act as a host to
your report server application. This two-piece architecture isolates
your report server application in its own process, allowing it to be
started and stopped from the service. In the event of a crash, your
report server application will automatically be restarted by the
service. It will also be started each time the server machine is
rebooted.

2. Report Server component

The Report Server component implements a multi-threaded report server
that can execute reports and deliver report pages to clients. It enables
you to build a server application without writing any code. You can then
deploy the server application as a windows service using the
ReportBuilder Services application described in number one above.

The Report Server is implemented using an I/O Completion port/Worker
thread architecture and optimally manages persistent report sessions to
maximize performance and throughput. The server can optimally generate
pages on demand. Once a page is sent to the client, the client can then
cache that particular page and request additional pages upon demand by
the user.


3. Report Volume components

Report Volume components are used to register collections of reports
with the server's report catalog. The server Edition includes Report
Volume components that can dynamically generate catalog items for
collections of reports and archives that are stored in file directories,
a database table, or the report explorer databases. Without writing any
code, you can register an entire collection of reports with the server.
As you add reports to a designated file directory or database storage
medium, the report server can dynamically add and remove reports in the
catalog.

4. Windows Rich Client components

The ClientReportExplorer and ClientReport components can be used access
reports on the server by writing one line of code. The
ClientReportExplorer provides a Windows Explorer style interface for
browsing reports on the server. The ClientReport can be used to preview
and print reports residing on the server.


5. WebTier

The WebTier enables a developer to deploy reports to the web by writing
one line of code.

The web tier acts as a middle tier between web browser clients and the
report server. It enables web browser clients to request and view
reports generated by a report server application (see TrsServer).

The web tier executes within the context of a web application and
provides an extensible architecture for implementing web based
reporting. The web tier receives client requests and dispatches them to
an appropriate TrsWebContentProvider. Web content providers do the
actual work of communicating with the report server and generating
XHTML, Java Script and other appropriate content that make up the web
application's response. Several content providers are included with the
report server edition to provide a complete web reporting solution right
out of the box.

The WebTier generates a zero client (i.e XHTML/Java Script) interface
that duplicates the Report Explorer and Report Previewer interface of
found in RB. This includes support for AutoSearch (i.e. ask at runtime
parameters) and zooming.

The WebTier manages session state and caches report session activity to
optimize performance. The WebTier can cache multiple reports for a given
session, thus if a user previews report A, followed by Report B, then
decides to preview Report B again, the WebTier can simply send the cache
page, rather than regenerate the report.


6. RB ISAPI Thread Pool

The Server Edition includes a custom ISAPI Thread pool that is is
implemented using an I/O Completion port/Worker thread architecture and
optimally manages report sessions to maximize performance and
throughput. The ThreadPool is aware of report session activity and
queues request based on session. This greatly improves throughput and
performance.


7. Server Farm

The WebTier can be configured to utilize any number of report servers to
maximize scalability. This allows the web tier to scale gracefully as a
greater number of users access reports.


The Server Edition leverages the following technologies:

Multi-threaded programming, Windows Services, Windows Sockets, Windows
System Tray, COM, I/O Completion Ports/Worker Thread Pools, XML, SOAP
Services, ISAPI Thread Pools, XHTML, Java Script.

nardmoseley

Thanks for the feedback.

We will have RB 7 for D5 availble - hopefully in the next few weeks.
Right now D6 and D7 are the highest priority because they have the
highest demand. However, the feedback from you and others has informed
us that we need to keep supporting D5 for awhile longer. Therefore we
will.

rbuser

> Thanks for the feedback.
Thanks for listening.

regards,
Martin