Warehouse has long had the ability to move data between databases, including the popular Oracle choices that HP is pushing through a steep discount through the end of October (See related story in this issue). But Forklift provides the graphical interface that simplifies creating the Warehouse scripts that move data between sources.
When the product completes its beta cycle this fall, Forklift will let HP 3000 DBAs open one or more IMAGE schemas and Oracle databases from a PC across a network, then see data sources, targets, relationships and flows of data represented graphically. Graphical representations of IMAGE databases aren't new, but a tool that uses a graphic interface to map data onto targets like Oracle has been a rare thing.
Once Taurus (415.961.1323 x100) developed the Forklift GUI tool, it created an easy way to capture the power inside Warehouse: objects. These objects consist of two or more related tables or datasets, which Forklift can operate on as a group. Magic Mapper, the cutting edge of Forklift, shows data mappings from source to target -- mappings that can be adjusted or created simply by drawing an arrow between an IMAGE dataset and an Oracle table.
Once the relationships and objects are created, Warehouse executes the script that Forklift creates from the graphical mapping. Taurus officials say that Forklift will allow HP 3000 sites to convert IMAGE data to an SQL database for use in decision support applications or data warehouses, all of which can be hosted directly on HP 3000s. The tool also can define business relationships between data by creating objects, that can then be acted on as units.
Forklift, which runs on Windows 95, NT and 3.1 platforms, extracts, transforms and moves data between TurboIMAGE, Allbase, Oracle and CODASYL DBMS databases. (That last one is popular in the Digital environment). Information arrives as native data, intact and accurate. DBAs are responsible for the referential integrity during the movement, but that's usually the case with such tools.
Perhaps most importantly, the Forklift/Warehouse combination will let HP 3000 sites extend their data into completely relational databases on tactical server platforms. Instead of being forced off the HP 3000 because a reporting or decision support application isn't available, companies can use their IMAGE data to perform those tactical, non-mission critical tasks on low-cost platforms such as Windows NT servers. In the meantime, they can continue to keep their HP 3000 in service as the ultra-reliable transaction processsor it's always been.
Moving the data involves mapping datasets accurately, a process that seems less daunting when utilizing a GUI-based tool.
"It's easier to dive into a product and get your feet wet if you've got a graphical interface," said Dave Elward, creator of Forklift and Warehouse. The scripts, flows and objects from Warehouse regarding databases were available before Forklift, but the GUI-based tool makes writing the scripts automatic, he said.
Elward said that during the mapping process, fields can be completely different data types. For example, an IMAGE Z field could be an Oracle CHAR field, he said. Warehouse scripts generated by Forklift can be enhanced to do date manipulation, a useful tool in dealing with Year 2000 issues.
Moving hundreds of datasets into an Oracle database can be done in less than a day, according to one customer's account. Chris Schneider, project manager for the West Valley-Mission Community College District in Saratoga, Calif., moved 600 IMAGE datasets into an Oracle database on the first day.
The moves that customers like the college execute can land on plaforms not explicitly supported by Warehouse -- non-HP systems such as a Alpha-based NT server, for example. "You point it to the right schema and it creates a script in 30 seconds," Schneider said. "It was very quick and easy." The college district was out of horsepower on its HP 3000, and needed to push new applications out to lower-cost NT servers that used the IMAGE data from the HP 3000.
Warehouse ran the Forklift-generated scripts to move the data from IMAGE through SQL*Net, a component included with Oracle, to place the information on a Digital Alpha NT server. The process also works to transfer the data to any other SQL platform that's served by SQL*Net.
Forklift and Warehouse are priced in nine tiers according to the size of the HP 3000. The GUI Forklift component costs $700 for a Tier 3 HP 3000, the Series 918/928 tier, while a Series 959/100 tier costs $1,100. Warehouse, which is required to make use of Forklift, costs $7,000 for a Tier 3 and $11,000 for a Series 959/100 tier.