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ANN: ReportBuilder 7.0 Server Edition Released

edited August 2002 in General
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.

Comments

  • edited August 2002
    > 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
  • edited August 2002
    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
  • edited August 2002

    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.

















    Best regards,

    Nard Moseley
    Digital Metaphors
    www.digital-metaphors.com
  • edited August 2002

    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. :)



    Best regards,

    Nard Moseley
    Digital Metaphors
    www.digital-metaphors.com
  • edited August 2002
    > Thanks for the feedback. :)
    Thanks for listening.

    regards,
    Martin
This discussion has been closed.