DP Client/Server Processing

Those of you who run active drug testing programs and process a high volume of drug tests per day will be interested in the new Client/Server option for DrugPak. Generally with all software systems, the more data there is to be processed, the slower each process works. Client/Server processing is the solution to handling large databases on PC networks.

The "client" portion of the database engine resides on each client (user workstation) computer. The other portion of the database engine resides on the network server. Instead of the user workstation searching through the entire database to find information (normal method) when performing a process, it sends a request to the server to find only the data that is needed. The software on the server responds instantly and sends the client the data to fulfill its request. This eliminates long database searches and greatly reduces processing time.

Another advantage to Client/Server is increased stability. Should a workstation lose power or lockup while in use, no DrugPak files will become corrupted. The server simply cancels the last incomplete transaction when it detects the workstation is no longer responding. This means far greater reliability for your precious data.

Like other Scanlon Associates products, you can try the client/server option for 30 days with no obligation. To learn more how client/server can benefit your DrugPak operations, call our Sales Team at 800-321-7826.

The Client/Server module includes . . .

• Software designed to be very efficient in handling large volumes of data, but without requiring expensive specialized computers
  
• The same efficiency in processing that large corporations use to process billions of records daily.
  
• The ability to increase the speed of nearly all data access functions from 50 to 500%
  
• Capabilities to reduce network "traffic" and increase the speed of other programs using the network
  
• A design to reduce the possibility of corrupted files when there is a system failure on the network (such as a loss of electric power)
  
• Availability on several platforms including peer-to-peer networks, Novell NetWare, and Windows NT/2000/XP servers
  
• A very low cost for the gain in productivity!
  

Using sample data with 3500 clients, 191,000 employees, and 6 years of test results, the following observations were made during several "typical" DrugPak operations using Client/Server versus the standard database engine.

Operation	Standard	Client/Server
Printing a result letter	10 sec	4 sec
Spooling a participant list with 17, 000 employees	2 min 15 sec	1 min 15 sec
Loading the consortium screen with 3500 clients	50 sec	7 sec
Pack and Index all data files	2 hours 3 min	39 min