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Data Warehousing and Data Mining

notes 6.9 portal architecture

It should be apparent that portals are really web-enabled application. Given that reality, it might
be a good idea to discuss the architecture and components of portals. The following components
comprise portal architecture (Figure 6.5).

1. Web clients
2. Web servers
3. Database servers
4. Back-end applications
5. Application servers

figure 6.5: portal architecture and components

Web clients

The Web client is a PC or any device that runs a web browser and is capable of displaying
HTML and graphics. The web browser makes requests to the web server and processes the
files the web server returns. Rather than exchanging message, the web client exchanges entire
files. Unfortunately, the process is insufficient and resource intensive. Still, with the web as our
preferred common application platform, these drawbacks are also inevitable.
Today, web browsers need not run on PCs. They can also run wireless devices such as personal
digital assistants (PDAs) and cellular phones.

Web servers

Web servers, at their core, are file servers. Like traditional file servers, they respond to requests
from web clients, then send requested file. Web servers are required with portals because the
information coming from the application server must be converted into HTML and pumped
down to the web browser using HTTP, HTML, graphics, and multimedia files (audio, video and
animation) have been traditionally stored on web servers.

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