OUR CORE TECHNOLOGY

We believe our technology is sympathetic to the natural dynamics of data and offers all users freedom in information, without the constraints of artificially imposed structures. The Openkast Native XML Engine is an essential element in specialist systems for sharing information and managing legacy data

Openkast is not an extension or overlay to another relational or SQL based product.

Openkast was designed to embrace the following features and deliver benefit as a result:

• Data Complexity and ExtensibilityXML allows for the description of data elements in many ways. This facilitates the Openkast approach to integrating disparate data sets and describing data independently of the application. Openkast is flat by organisation and so avoids the costly need for normalisation of complex datasets as required by conventional databases. This improves our ability to demonstrate the integrated data in a shorter time span at a smaller cost. This improves confidence on project delivery.
• EfficiencyXML can bloat data very rapidly adding to the lifecycle ownership cost, the cost of managing the data and bandwidth needed to move the data around. Openkast delivers the XML tagged content, the content index and the structural index in less space than the original data.
• PerformanceXML is often seen as a performance problem when searching and managing data. Openkast allows users to search data by its content, by its structure and both in complexity and combination. Its data sizing efficiency allows more data to be stored within the main working memory of the system aiding the sub second search performance enjoyed in most occasions. The Openkast Engine is so efficient that it can run on a small, extreme portable product running reduced factor operating systems such as Win XE embedded, through multiple engines on a single cpu running multiple virtual machines to across an enterprise on many systems on many CPU's. The Openkast Engine runs in only 4 mbytes and each engine manages over 1000 times that in data terms.
• SecurityCompartmentalisation and tagging form the heart of the Openkast route to managing access to data without resorting to the conventional weaker solutions using metadata or single content indexes. When combined with other security products Openkast can deliver a highly secure information environment.

SCALE

Openkast does not have many moving parts. It is a small, stripped for purpose data management product for XML described data.

The Engine has a SOAP interface with a concise set of instructions to access databases, add data, edit data, delete data, manage DTD's, perform queries and return results.

Multiple engine instances can be run on a single host server. Data may be compartmenalised across several engine instances across several host servers. Each engine only knows about its own data and is unaware of the existence of any other engine or its data under management. Instances are identified by the server IP address and port on which they are configured to service application requests.

Arrays of engines can be deployed across an enterprise search resource. Performance can be scaled predictably with very large sets of complex records.

SECURITY

Openkast does not address the challenges of strong user authentication and authorisation. This is provided by commercially available secure operating systems such as WinST, Trusted Solaris or Secure Linux.

Openkast offers a means of integrating security options within the data itself by segmenting data into different compartments running on separate machines and networks as well as tagging data "in line" avoiding the use of metadata tables and over arching indexes which can pose their own security issues.

Compartmenalised data held across multiple engine instances and servers can also be configured with other state of the art multi level secure platforms and XML firewalls to enhance the managed security environment.

MANAGEMENT

The engines and user management are currently managed by operating systems, engine level utilities and applications software.

A Management Layer is currently under development to allow engines to be configured and users approved as well as providing capability to "hot switch" back ups and systems.