Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) Share, integrate, and automate information flow within the educational environment. Jeff Nuckolls - Jeff Nuckolls - Technology Specialist Microsoft – Education Group Gary Hammond - Gary Hammond - Application Analysts University of Cincinnati

Agenda What is EAI? The Education Environment and Common Integration Scenarios The Benefits of EAI Microsoft.NET as an EAI Platform and Solution EAI at the University of Cincinnati Resources

What Is Enterprise Application Integration? Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) offers comprehensive capabilities for integrating applications and data resources both within and between educational organizations for efficient productivity and accountability.

The “Ideal” Environment ConnectedIntegrated Empowered Empowered IT that supports the success of teaching, learning, and day-to-day operations within the educational community

The Reality ( If you’re lucky) Human Resources Learning Mgmt System Student Information Systems Library System Accounting System

Enterprise Application Integration We hear you saying… Higher Education - Key Concerns Need to make strategic decisions, faster Systems and processes not integrated together well enough to provide seamless and secure exchange of information Not getting maximum value out of current technology investments Find technologies and services that will unify disparate campus environments Enable students, staff and faculty to access information and services through Web-based capabilities Facilitate information exchange from legacy campus systems to newer campus systems

Enterprise Application Integration We hear you saying… Higher Education - Key Needs Develop an enterprise portal and e-services for faculty, staff and students Improve staff, faculty and student productivity Lower administrative costs Improve decision support processes through better and easier access to relevant data Streamline information sharing between disparate school systems Prevent overspending on infrastructure technology initiatives Ensure secure data exchange

School Imperatives Proven Flexible Quick to generate benefits Empowering to faculty and staff To build and maintain value, an educational institution needs a solution that is:

Enterprise Application Integration at the University of Cincinnati Gary W. Hammond Application Analyst University of Cincinnati

About the University of Cincinnati State-supported university located in southwest Ohio One of only 88 institutions classified as a Research I University by the Carnegie Commission Total enrollment, for the academic year, of 33,085 4 Campuses – A main academic campus – A medical campus – A branch campus in suburban Blue Ash – A rural branch campus in Clermont County just east of Cincinnati

Our Mission Establish the technical capability to facilitate the integration of the University’s and its partners’ applications through the use of accepted industry standards

Road Blocks and Challenges Multiple platforms – OS/390 (moving to Z/OS), Windows, Linux Multiple Disparate Data Repositories – VSAM, ADABAS, MS SQL, DB2 Multiple Languages – Cobol, Natural, VB, Java Limited Staff and No Experience with Application Integration

Our EAI Solution Our design calls for BizTalk/Host Integration Server hub which acts as a control center accepting “messages”, translating them and directing them to their proper destination. The solution is being architected so that it is industrial strength and fault tolerant.

The Pilot Project Replace the current background process used to interface the student PIN change application with the web farm’s database so that the changed PIN takes effect universally as soon as it is entered.

UniverSISOne Stop Site ADABAS SQL Database Using nightly FTP and Batch jobs the SQL Database is synchronized Using EntireX Broker to call a Natural program, the ADABAS database is synchronized Entire X Broker PIN Change Process “The Before” Green-screen One Stop PIN Update Web One Stop PIN Update

UniverSIS One Stop site ADABAS SQL Database EAI HUB Real-time updates PIN Change Process “The Now” Green-screen One Stop PIN Update Web One Stop PIN Update

The Big Players Technologies Used Microsoft BizTalk Server – Integration of Enterprise Applications and Data – Automation of Business Processes – Reliable Messaging Microsoft Host Integration Server – Application, Data, and Network Integration with Host-based systems IBM WebSphere MQ / Microsoft MSMQ – Cross-platform middleware product that enables applications to communicate asynchronously and reliably through the use of messages XML / Web services – Technologies used to allow applications running on any platform or device to communicate through the use of open standards and protocols

System Availability BizTalk Server provides high availability by allowing all the servers within a group to access a single database server running on the SAN. If one of the servers in the group fails, the others can inherit its load and continue to process from the database server. For full-time availability, we are using Microsoft Cluster Services (MSCS), which ensures that a server is always available in the event of a hardware or software failure.

Current projects for the EAI Team – Accounting Code Validation – A Single University Identity Management System – Mapping Flat Files into XML for SEVIS – CAS (Course Applicability System) & DARWIN – Exposing UniverSIS (Student System) using Web Services

Summary & Final Thoughts Get the best people you can to work on EAI – there is a lot to learn Start small – EAI will grow quickly once you prove it will work Expect things to change – this is a rapidly evolving technology Count on your software vendor – we certainly would have struggled more without Microsoft’s guidance

Summary of Key Microsoft Education EAI Solution Benefits Enable Improved Information Access and Sharing Easily Integrate Applications Rapidly Automate Departmental and/or Enterprise Processes Leverage your existing investments in technology, skills, and resources

Resources To Locate a Partner Who Works With Microsoft Integration Solutions: Microsoft Certified Providers Directory For additional information on Microsoft Solutions for Education Microsoft Resources for Education For Technical Information About Microsoft Integration Solutions: Technical Resources for BizTalk Server Many TechNet Courses Are Available, Including: Course 2379: Developing and Deploying Microsoft Biztalk Server 2000 Solutions Course 2379: Developing and Deploying Microsoft Biztalk Server 2000 Solutions Course 2420: Designing B2B Trading Partner Integration Solutions Course 2420: Designing B2B Trading Partner Integration Solutions For Information on Integrated Applications: BizTalk Server Web Site Host Integration Server Web Site For Training and Certification Questions: Microsoft Training & Certification default.asp default.asp

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