Once deployed, the system would present similar difficulties to developers who would need to maintain and upgrade both client and server components. Users do not need a customized client application other than an Internet browser. The Wolf system replaces all the former Visual FoxPro applications and various client components with Microsoft Internet Explorer as the web browser. The central SQL Server then replicates data to branch servers over the intranet that connects the central office, two branches in Budapest, and four other offices in four major cities. A Branch Wolf Server, Windows NT Server with SQL Server and IIS, supports each remote site.
Users view the published data with an Internet browser.
Figure 2 illustrates an overview of data replication. The Wolf system replicates data in two steps. The gateway converts the data set result to a standard SQL Server format, and passes it back to the server. SQL Server can then create new tables from the data set result. SQL Server houses the download and conversion logic.