Scalable LIVE!® – Architecture
Logical Architecture
There are two elements to the Scalable LIVE! environment:
- Scalable LIVE! platform
- Scalable LIVE! applications
Through defined APIs, the Scalable LIVE! platform supports the base services required for rapid development of Scalable LIVE! applications
- Role Based Security
- Schema extensibility
- Discovery
- Integration
- Control
- User Interface
- Workflow
- Reporting
LIVE! Applications built to the LIVE! API’s can be dynamically deployed to the platform, and via the security capabilities enabled for only those users that need them.
The picture above shows the LIVE! instance, which is monitored and managed by multiple management servers, designed to look for any infrastructure problems and automatically correct them.
Physical Architecture
The Scalable LIVE! platform supports ITAM applications that manage and control the business of buying, managing and operating IT infrastructure. To be effective these applications interact with the systems and services within a company’s network. Scalable LIVE! has been designed to allow a the next generation of cloud-based ITAM applications to do this in a secure and controlled way.
Within the LIVE! architecture the assets of an organization are discovered, inventoried, controlled and integrated with, by an onsite component of LIVE! known as the PAD (Proxy, Adapter and Discovery – see below)
Dynamically Extensible
A key goal in the product’s design is the ability for the data model and application functionality to be easily modified to meet the needs of an ITAM application developer or customers
Written in Java, both the platform and deployed applications are extensible via OSGi. – OSGi allows development of application components that can be can be remotely installed, started, stopped, updated and uninstalled without requiring a reboot. OSGi enables Scalable and its Partners to provide feature updates to its clients without disruption to any running services. This LIVE! facility works much like the Windows installer model; applications can be dynamically installed, upgraded and removed without disruption to the rest of the environment.
The User Interface can be changed easily, requiring no programming and allowing dashboards, views and general workflow to be created to match user needs. Dashboard widgets support customizable drill down with a web 2.0 user experience.
The data schema can be extended by end-users to support new fields or whole new classes of data unique to their environment, and automatically exposed through the UI as though they were a core aspect of the product. All user or application initiated changes automatically survive upgrades to the core platform.
Proxy Adapter Discovery (PAD)
The PAD is an extension of the LIVE! server that is deployed on customers premises. It is downloaded and installed manually by the customer’s LIVE! Administrator. The PAD can be installed on any Windows machine in the environment. Resource requirements are minimal as it really only serves as the LIVE! proxy behind the firewall. The PAD maintains a highly secure connection to the LIVE! instance (more details available here) and proxies any onsite requests required by the LIVE! instance, e.g. an SNMP scan, SSH commands, WMI interaction or a data import. It must have direct network access to any of the IT assets the customer wishes LIVE! to manage or integrate with. The PAD’s modular structure, in tandem with the dynamic update facilities of the platform itself, permits non-disruptive extension to address new requirements for discovery, control or integration; new discovery, control and integration capabilities can be added and deployed, by authorized administrators, in minutes rather than days. The PAD has been designed to work across the internet; it has been designed to work with standard ports and accepted security technologies, to work through proxy servers and to tolerate unreliable or slow connections.
