The Network Database Option allows FLAMES^® applications executing on one computer (a client computer) to access a FLAMES scenario database resident on another computer (the server computer). This option provides the following benefits to FLAMES users:

• Collaboration – FLAMES network database servers allow teams of users to work together while defining the entities that make up scenarios. This feature instantly makes large-scale efforts more manageable.
• Security – The hard disk drives of the server computer do not need to be mapped or mounted on the client computer. This is important when network security policy prohibits mounting or mapping disk drives of remote computers.
• Performance – Database operations usually perform more quickly when using a FLAMES network database server than when using a database that is resident on a mapped disk drive of a remote computer. Usually, the larger the dataset, the more dramatic the performance difference.

The Network Database Option includes the following:

• FLAMES network database server software that must be executed on the database server computer.
• An application that will create and manage instances of the database server software.

The database client software necessary to communicate with the scenario database server is embedded within most FLAMES applications. All such applications will be able to access a database server once the database server software is properly installed and running on a server computer.

Collaborative Editing

A key feature of the Network Database option is the ability to support collaborative editing of loaded entities. A properly configured network database server can synchronize changes made to entities between all of the clients that are currently accessing the database. As changes are made by a client, they are sent to the network database server and subsequently redistributed to all other clients.

Licensing

The Network Database Option is not available in the Trial Version of the FLAMES Engine. You must purchase a license to the Network Database Option and an unrestricted version of the FLAMES Engine to use this option.