The value added by having a Uniface application solution when converting from one database solution to another. Dave Willford – Application Architect Mark Malecek – Directory of Software Development Minnesota State Colleges & Universities Atlanta - June 7 th, 2010 Business Problem Solved Database Conversion to Oracle

Minnesota State Colleges & Universities (MnSCU)  Comprised of 32 state universities, community and technical colleges serving the higher education needs of Minnesota, USA  MnSCU serves about 260,000 students per year in credit-based courses and an additional 164,000 students in non-credit courses  3000 back office campus staff administering campus and student needs via a Uniface application - ISRS

Database Conversion to Oracle Integrated Statewide Records System (ISRS)  Home grown integrated client/server Uniface application used by MnSCU back office campus staff – Accounting (Payable, Receivable, Purchasing, etc) – Human Resources (Student and Staff) – Student Services (Admissions, Registration, Curriculum/Course, Financial Aid, Grading, etc)  2200 Uniface Components  600 COBOL Components  1500 Database Objects  At conversion time a handful of Java Web Applications  Pre-conversion: 36 Separate RDB databases, 32 of which are exactly the same in structure (one per institution).

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Database Conversion to Oracle Business Problem – Convert all ISRS application components to access an Oracle database rather than RDB  Distributed RDB databases – One per institution, – On 4 distinct VMS servers – Accessed by 2200 Uniface Components  Migrate to one consolidated Oracle database  Data type differences, other than the obvious… – CHAR -> VARCHAR – VMS DATETIME -> TIMESTAMP(6)  Current Uniface versions at project start was

Database Conversion to Oracle Conversion Plan & Some Outcomes: 1. Attend 2008 NAUUG in Detroit to ask about Uniface -> Oracle! 2. Upgrade Uniface version from to accessing RDB – Uniface 8 will play with Oracle much better (we were told) – Was an easy install and migration (assistance from Compuware for migration) – Very little application changes needed to run Uniface 8 – No massive application code changes were needed – Had technical issues with VMS Urouter & Userver images (but got good support) 3. Migrate ISRS application code to Oracle – Began real-time replication from RDB to Oracle months before – Massive Uniface application code changes were requir ed  C to VC interface type changes for String fields  Remove trigger logic used to plant a space into a null field  Added trigger logic to accommodate new database security differences – Global Uniface code changes were simple compared to the heads down changes required in the COBOL and database triggers!

Database Conversion to Oracle Resources Used for Application Convesion:  1 project technical lead (Dave)  5 in house developers for Uniface application changes  10 in house + 3 consultants for COBOL and DB trigger changes  2 data architects and 2 physical Oracle dba’s  25 BA, QA and User Support staff for testing  Time Line - Project went a little long: – Started March 2007 with POC, official project start was Oct 2007 with a proposed end of Oct 2008 – Actual end May 2009 – A lot of work done in a short time!  Conversion costs were higher than expected (COBOL and Database), Uniface cost was relatively low (unplanned issues).

Database Conversion to Oracle How is Uniface helping MnSCU?  Data access is truly hidden behind database drivers!  Version migration works!  Maximized staff productivity!  Minimal staff resources needed for maintenance!  The promise of new technologies (U9 RIA)

Thank You & Questions