HoudiniESQ, What makes it tick
The Techno Mumbo Jumbo
HoudiniESQ can be deployed as a traditional On-premise Enterprise product, a On-premise local desktop product, SaaS Multi-tenant and SaaS Single-tenant. Regardless of how you deploy HoudiniESQ, you only update or install it to a single location. Web access to your data from anywhere is what it does best. HoudiniESQ can store its data in a traditional database or as an embedded database. HoudiniESQ is 100% turn key and has zero dependencies on the underlying OS. The following is why.
Client
The HoudiniESQ client is 100% Adobe Flash which runs in the ubiquitous Flash Player. The client runs in just about any browser that will support the Flash Player. Safari, Opera, FireFox, IE, Chrome, Camino, SeaMonkey, Flock, Shiira, and Opera to name just a few.
Mobile
HoudiniESQ mobile is 100% HTML5 and JavaScript and can be run on the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry (via Opera Browser).
Server
HoudiniESQ server components are written in 100% Java. This is basically why HoudiniESQ server can be run on just about any OS. Linux, CentOS, Solaris, OSX, and Windows.
One of the key dependencies on the server side of things besides Java is Apache Tomcat. HoudiniESQ can actually run on any Servlet container such as JBoss and Websphere but we chose Apache Tomcat because of its adherence to standards, ease of deployment and configuration.
The core elements that make up the HoudiniESQ server side are HoudiniBSX, HoudiniEM2, HoudiniIRIS and HoudiniDESC and make up the HoudiniSOA framework (Service Orientated Architecture).
HoudiniBSX™ is a abstract reflection tier that allows resources such as flat files, databases, web pages, RSS feeds, audio, video, xml and data streams to be consumed by the Houdini client over the internet as if they were local resources.
Data transmission LOGICBit ENIGMa768™ is a realtime on the wire 768bit iso-symmetric block cipher using 3*256bit blocks and 256 uniquely generated rotating keys per block per request. With each 256bit block dependent on the successful decryption of the previous block (iso-symmetric) and given the number of block/key permutations 'man-in-the-middle' attacks are virtually eliminated altogether. This is Military Grade Encryption requiring a Federal Munitions license to export HoudiniESQ outside of US borders. ENIGMa768 is no longer distributed with HoudiniESQ On-premise or used in our data centers but instead a 256bit Block cipher is used in its place called Blowfish. HoudiniESQ uses the public domain Blowfish cipher for securing communications between the client and the server. The HoudiniESQ implementation offers greater security as each request and response is keyed and individually encrypted and is distinct. . Blowfish is a keyed, 256bit symmetric block cipher, designed in 1993 by Bruce Schneier and is included in a large number of cipher tools and encryption products today. Blowfish provides strong encryption. Blowfish’s security has been extensively tested and proven. As a public domain cipher, Blowfish has been subject to a significant amount of cryptanalysis, and the Blowfish cipher has never been broken. Blowfish is also one of the fastest block ciphers in public use today.
HoudiniEM2™ is an enterprise class Mashup server that allows disparate resources to be combined to enhance the user experience and provide more intelligent data analysis by mashing data from these different resources into a single logical view.
HoudiniIRIS™ is what indexes and manages your data, documents, email and attachments. Information Repository and Indexing Server.
HoudiniDESC™ is a client side API we developed for the rapid development of rich internet applications (RIAs). Basically this is what we use to develop the client application that runs in your browser and is responsible for the unique desktop like experience. Our API can be accessed via the following: Java, Swing, JavaScript, .NET, Adobe Flex, Adobe AIR and HTML5 currently in the works.
Database
Currently HoudiniESQ Elite can store its data in 13 popular databases. MS SQL, DB2, Firebird, Sysbase, Cloudscape, Ingres, Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Informix and even Excel. For HoudiniESQ Elite the default is MS SQL.
The Difference
Houdini is an enterprise class client server product. Unlike many products that sport the Enterprise moniker, HoudiniESQ is TRUE client server architecture. There are multiple tiers designed for maximum scalability. The image below illustrates one of many configurations (HoudiniESQ Practice On-premise) as viewed from 10,000 feet.
Many products are simply a thick client or web pages that connect to a database. That is NOT enterprise class software. Products such as Time Matters desktop version, Amicus etc all claim and say they are Enterprise products but technically they are nothing of the sort. They are thick clients (a product you install on every machine) that connects to a database, nothing more. This is one of the many reasons these products do not scale. Access to your data over the web with these sort of products require expensive 3rd party products and licensing such a CITRIX servers, additional hardware and the user experience is just awful.
Many SaaS and Cloud venders offer nothing more than a webpage that connects to a MySQL database. Although this approach is scalable it means all the business logic is in those webpages. Not good practice and not scalable Enterprise Architecture.
None of this exist with HoudiniESQ. HoudiniESQ is True Enterprise Class Architecture.
Several software processes that make up Houdini BSX, the core components of ESQ, are protected by provisional patents. Houdini ESQ has a provisional design patent on UI components.
Comments
ploogman (unauthenticated)
Nov 22, 2011
which database is used by on-premises Mac version installer? Thanks