How is the data viewed?

ProTracSys utilizes a web server with each main server. The reason for using a web server is that the Silo software utilizes web pages as the main form of interface into the system. Thus, a user only needs a web browser installed to take advantage of the software.

Using web pages reduces the requirements placed on the users to take advantage of the system. Computers, today, have become a common tool in the work environment. Generally, computers will have a web browser installed and are equipt to send/receive emails. Thus, a common user already has the needed software already installed on his/her computer. Otherwords, ProTracSys does not require any software to be installed. The other benefit to using webpages is that it eliminates the need for software licenses per user. To access the system, all that is needed is a web browser and an address to the website.

Access to the system is still controlled by login accounts. Each user on the system can be given a unique login and password. Administrators can control each user's level of access to the system. Logins are also used with report generation. Each user has the ability to create reports and tailor them to his/her needs.

A common way to view information gathered by the system is to create a report. A user has the option to place graphs, tables, or notes within a report. The information in the report could be of the last day, week, month, year,... Reports can also show the information to the current minute, or be taken backwards in time to a previous date and time. The reports are used to display the information in a useful format.

Reports are not the only method for retrieving information. The Silo software contains search tools to help the user find more specific pieces of information. The user could search for information associated to a specific serial number or found in a certain date range. Reports and some searches allows the user to export the information to a .CSV file. The information can then be opened in a standard spreadsheet program.

If alternative options are needed to access the data, the take advantage of Open Database Connectivity (OBDC). Using OBDC allows the database to be accessed from any application, thus access is not exclusive to ProTracSys software. The end user now has the option to write custom applications, yet still use the data collection features of the Silo software.

A web server can have two different meanings. First, it could refer to computer program that is responsible for requesting/responding to HTTP clients (aka web browsers). Second, the term could be referring to the computer running the web server program. In either case a web server contains the files and contents of a web page. The server also responds to any HTTP requests made by a web browser. [Wikipedia:Web Server]

The Apache HTTP server is an open-source HTTP server for modern operating systems. The goal of the server is to provide a secure, efficient and extensible server that provides HTTP services in sync with the current HTTP standards. Apache has been the the most popular web server on the Internet since April 1996. [apache.org]

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is a communications protocol used to transfer or convey information on intranets and the World Wide Web. HTTP is a request/response protocol between a client and a server. Examples of a client is a web browser, spider, or another end-user tool. Typically, an HTTP client initiates a request by establishing a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connection to a particular port on a host (port 80 by default). [Wikipedia:HTTP]

Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is a standard software API specification for using database management systems (DBMS). ODBC is independent of programming language, database system and operating system. The goal of ODBC is to make it possible to access any data from any application, regardless of which database management system (DBMS) is handling the data. ODBC achieves this by inserting a middle layer called a database driver between an application (ex: spreadsheet) and the DBMS. [Wikipedia:ODBC]