This is the third of several posts that discuss communication between the Client Tool and the EPA Host System. The first post described the basics of communication between the Client Tool and EPA Host System. The second post covered initial synchronization which takes place the first time the Client Tool is opened after installation.
In this post, the basics of synchronization will be discussed. These basics include the two types of data which can be synchronized, the more common form of synchronization, and when synchronization takes place.
Synchronization takes place in order to ensure that the Client Tool and the EPA Host System are in sync. There are two types of data which can be out of sync. The first data are what might be called submitted data. Submitted data are the data which are submitted to the EPA Host System from the Client Tool. The origin of the data is through data submissions from affected sources, and the data includes monitoring plan, QA test and certification, and emissions data. The second data are what might be called meta data. Meta data assist the operation of the Client Tool, and the source of the meta data is the EPA. A good example of this type of data would be what is called submission access data or the data which allows sources to submit emissions data during the reporting month.
There is only one way in which the Client Tool and the EPA Host System will ever not be in sync for the submitted data. That way is if there is more than one Client Tool which submits the same data for a particular configuration to the EPA Host System. In other words, if there is only one Client Tool which submits monitoring plan, QA and certification, and emissions data for a particular configuration, the Client Tool will never be out of sync with regard to submitted data for that configuration.
There is one additional qualification. The multiple Client Tool scenario can only be out of sync with regard to the first type of data if the multiple Client Tools use separate databases. If the Client Tools share a database, the submitted data will always been in sync for all Client Tools which access the data in the common database.
The more likely scenario for many sources will be that the meta data is out of sync. For example, if a user has not opened the Client Tool for several weeks, the user might find that when the user opens the Client Tool at the beginning of the reporting period that the submission access data are out of sync. During the synchronization, the Client Tool will automatically retrieve the submission access data which will allow the user to submit emissions data during the reporting period.
Synchronization automatically takes place when certain actions are taken by the user. These actions are logging in to the EPA Host System, retrieving data through the Retrieve Module, and submitting data through the Submit Module. Prior to an evaluation through the Evaluate Module, the user is given the option to synchronize the user's data, but the user is not required to synchronize. At any of these times, the Client Tool performs a synchronization with the EPA Host System to determine if any of the data which are associated with that user have changed on the EPA Host System. If there are differences in the meta data between the EPA Host System and the Client Tool, the Client Tool retrieves the updated meta data. The Client Tool will remain in sync until there are any further meta data changes on the EPA Host System.
The next post on communication will cover the synchronization of submitted data.
In this post, the basics of synchronization will be discussed. These basics include the two types of data which can be synchronized, the more common form of synchronization, and when synchronization takes place.
Synchronization takes place in order to ensure that the Client Tool and the EPA Host System are in sync. There are two types of data which can be out of sync. The first data are what might be called submitted data. Submitted data are the data which are submitted to the EPA Host System from the Client Tool. The origin of the data is through data submissions from affected sources, and the data includes monitoring plan, QA test and certification, and emissions data. The second data are what might be called meta data. Meta data assist the operation of the Client Tool, and the source of the meta data is the EPA. A good example of this type of data would be what is called submission access data or the data which allows sources to submit emissions data during the reporting month.
There is only one way in which the Client Tool and the EPA Host System will ever not be in sync for the submitted data. That way is if there is more than one Client Tool which submits the same data for a particular configuration to the EPA Host System. In other words, if there is only one Client Tool which submits monitoring plan, QA and certification, and emissions data for a particular configuration, the Client Tool will never be out of sync with regard to submitted data for that configuration.
There is one additional qualification. The multiple Client Tool scenario can only be out of sync with regard to the first type of data if the multiple Client Tools use separate databases. If the Client Tools share a database, the submitted data will always been in sync for all Client Tools which access the data in the common database.
The more likely scenario for many sources will be that the meta data is out of sync. For example, if a user has not opened the Client Tool for several weeks, the user might find that when the user opens the Client Tool at the beginning of the reporting period that the submission access data are out of sync. During the synchronization, the Client Tool will automatically retrieve the submission access data which will allow the user to submit emissions data during the reporting period.
Synchronization automatically takes place when certain actions are taken by the user. These actions are logging in to the EPA Host System, retrieving data through the Retrieve Module, and submitting data through the Submit Module. Prior to an evaluation through the Evaluate Module, the user is given the option to synchronize the user's data, but the user is not required to synchronize. At any of these times, the Client Tool performs a synchronization with the EPA Host System to determine if any of the data which are associated with that user have changed on the EPA Host System. If there are differences in the meta data between the EPA Host System and the Client Tool, the Client Tool retrieves the updated meta data. The Client Tool will remain in sync until there are any further meta data changes on the EPA Host System.
The next post on communication will cover the synchronization of submitted data.
Labels: Communication
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