Making Data Liquid

BridgeWare: Bridging the Gap Between TurboIMAGE and the RDBMS

Review by John Burke

BridgeWare, a product of Taurus Software and Quest Software (marketed by Taurus and Quest), seamlessly performs two easy to describe but extremely complex tasks.

First, BridgeWare is an Extraction, Transformation and Loading Tool (ETL) that simplifies the task of moving data between databases and files on MPE, Windows, Unix and Linux systems with a powerful scripting language and built-in functions for data conversion.

Second, BridgeWare is also a data synchronization tool. It can capture changes in any supported database on any supported platform and then replicate those changes to other databases on other systems either in real-time or at scheduled intervals.

This makes BridgeWare the ultimate data migration tool. Normally, I do not submit a vendor’s advertising tag line for a TestDrive headline — but in this case, “making data liquid,” describes so well what BridgeWare does that I couldn’t avoid it. Where most migration tools have only been in production for months — if that — Warehouse, the core Taurus technology behind BridgeWare, dates from 1994. The Netbase engine from Quest, the technology behind real-time data movement from TurboIMAGE databases, has been around even longer. This history means that BridgeWare is the granddaddy of all products that are moving TurboIMAGE data to and from an RDBMS. BridgeWare knows how to move data to and from TurboIMAGE databases because it has been doing it for many years.

In a situation where TurboIMAGE is not involved, or where the real-time movement off TurboIMAGE is not required, Taurus Software sells a product called DataBridger. DataBridger is BridgeWare without Quest’s TurboIMAGE Change Detect module. For this Test Drive, even though I will not be using the Change Detect Module, I refer to the product as BridgeWare.

Features

BridgeWare consists of a Warehouse server and client module for both the source and target platforms and the BridgeWare Studio GUI Workbench running on a Windows system. BridgeWare Studio allows for the automation of the process of creating the scripts that control the actual data movement and conversion, but also gives you the flexibility to easily customize the movement and conversion process to specific customer requirements. For example, how you handle various conversions, such as date items, is limited only by your imagination. The scripting language that describes all transfers and conversions has numerous built-in functions for manipulating data.

Among the things you can do with BridgeWare include:

• Support a Web Server environment on another system with TurboIMAGE data

• Build a data warehouse and update it on a scheduled basis

• Access and move archived historical MPE data as needed

• Migrate data to new or ported applications on other systems in a staged fashion

• Synchronize data across platforms for running old and new applications in parallel during testing

• Synchronize data across platforms running applications you intend to keep on MPE that require data transfer to and from other systems

System Requirements and Supported Environment

The Warehouse server and client portions of BridgeWare are supported on the MPE, Windows, Unix, and Linux platforms. BridgeWare supports many database types, including TurboIMAGE, DB2, Oracle, SQL Server and ODBC-compliant databases as well as file types such as KSAM, flat and delimited.

Installation

I installed the Warehouse server and client software on both an HP 3000 running MPE/iX 6.5 and on a Windows 2000 Professional system. The BridgeWare Studio GUI was installed on the same Windows 2000 Professional system. In a production environment, BridgeWare Studio would normally be installed on a Windows machine separate from either the source or target systems. Note, however, BridgeWare Studio does not require a dedicated platform.

Installation went smoothly and only required a few minutes. For security reasons you need to create an authorization file for each server (default is NO access), but this is all documented in the manuals. In my case I allowed any user on the PC with BridgeWare Studio installed (specified either by name or IP address) to connect to the server on the HP e3000, but no one else. The security module is very easy to set up, but also very powerful.

Documentation

Printed documentation consists of a 36-page Warehouse Tutorial, a 114-page Warehouse User Guide, and a 369-page Warehouse Reference Manual. While extremely complete, the material is somewhat dated since some program names and procedures have changed with newer releases of Warehouse. Having the manuals available, as DOC, PDF or HTML files in addition to the printed manuals would help their usability.

The Warehouse Tutorial is excellent and should be carefully followed as part of the installation. All three manuals are chock full of examples, a real plus in my estimation.

The BridgeWare Studio documentation, while again very complete, is only available online in Windows Help format, which may or may not be an issue depending upon your preferences. I am old-school, and prefer something more substantial. I found it difficult to follow the steps in the online tutorial while simultaneously applying them to my test case. I ended up printing out the tutorial so I could make notes as I went along. The documentation does, however, cover everything you need to process reasonably complex data movements.

The BridgeWare documentation is generally excellent. However, I would recommend purchasing the on-site training, even if you plan just to do bulk data moves — but especially if you are planning to use the IMAGE Change Detect Process for real-time data movement.

In a TestDrive situation I always try to figure everything out myself, relying as little as possible on handholding from the vendor, because this really tests the usability of the product and its documentation. In a real life situation, with invaluable data to protect and with all the complexities that real data can present, it is best to get formal training.