INTRODUCTION
The name 'LEGO' is an
abbreviation of the two Danish words "leg godt", meaning "play
well". It’s our name and it’s our ideal. The LEGO Group was founded in
1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen. The company has passed from father to son and is
now owned by Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, a grandchild of the founder. It has come a
long way over the past almost 80 years - from a small carpenter’s workshop to a
modern, global enterprise that is now, in terms of sales, the world’s
third-largest manufacturer of toys.
The LEGO brick is our
most important product. This is why we are proud to have been named twice –
“Toy of the Century”. Our products have undergone extensive development over
the years – but the foundation remains the traditional LEGO brick. The brick in
its present form was launched in 1958. The interlocking principle with its
tubes makes it unique, and offers unlimited building possibilities. It's just a
matter of getting the imagination going – and letting a wealth of creative
ideas emerge through play.
LEGO is a popular line
of construction toys manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company
based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, LEGO, consists of
colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, mini figures
and various other parts. LEGO bricks can be assembled and connected in many
ways, to construct such objects as vehicles, buildings, and even working
robots. Anything constructed can then be taken apart again, and the pieces used
to make other objects. LEGO began manufacturing interlocking toy bricks in
1949. Since then a global LEGO subculture has developed, supporting movies,
games, competitions, and six themed amusement parks. As of 2013, around 560
billion LEGO parts had been produced.
Question 1 : Explain the role of the database in SAP's three-tier
system
·
SAP’s business suite is based on a flexible three-tier client-server
architecture that can easily be adapted to the new Service-Oriented
Architecture (SOA) available in the latest versions of the software.
·
In the first tier, a client interface-a browser-type graphical user
interface (GUI) running on either a laptop, desktop, or mobile device-submits
users’ requests to the application servers. The applications servers send the
processed requests to the database system-receive and process clients’ requests
to the database system-the third tier-which consists of one or more relational
databases
·
The main role of the database is as an information storage system. The
relational database contains the tables that store data on LEGO’s products,
daily operations, the supply chain, and thousands of employees.
·
Using the SAP query tool, users are able to toggle and tabulate data and
extract reports from the database.
Therefore the database’s role is also as a reports generator.
Question 2 : Explain why distributed architectures are flexible
·
A distributed architecture system is a software system in which
components located on networked computers communicate and coordinate their
actions by passing messages. The components interact with each other in order
to achieve a common goal. Data may be
stored in multiple computers, located in the same physical location; or may be
dispersed over a network of interconnected computers. A distributed database can reside on network
servers on the Internet, on corporate intranets or extranets, or on other
company networks.
·
Because they store data across multiple computers, distributed databases
can improve performance at end-user worksites by allowing transactions to be
processed on many machines, instead of being limited to one. Users from
different parts of the world may access the same data. Therefore they are more flexible in terms of
availability to users.
· They also bank on an improved performance of the machines, as data is
located near the site of greatest demand, and the database systems themselves
are parallelized, allowing load on the databases to be balanced among servers.
A high load on one module of the database won't affect other modules of the
database in a distributed database
·
They are also more flexible for purposes of expansion of the database
and transparency, as the data can be monitored on site of the specific
computers as the data is potentially stored within the departments they relate
to. There is local autonomy or site
autonomy, where a department can control the data about them (as they are the
ones familiar with it).
·
They are economically flexible and may cost less to create a network of
smaller computers with the power of a single large computer. Systems can be modified, added and removed
from the distributed database without affecting other modules (systems).
Question 3 : Identify some of the business intelligence features
included in SAP's business software suite.
- Supply Chain Management (SCM) : Supply chain monitoring and analysis as well as forecasting, planning and inventory optimization
- Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) : Enable managers to optimize development process and system.
- Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP): Include Human Capital Management (HCM) application for personnel administration and development.
Question 4 : What are the main advantages and disadvantages of
having multiple databases in a distributed architecture? Explain.
Advantages
- Multiple database contains the tables that store data on product, daily operation, supply chain and thousands of employees
- Managers can easily use the SAP query tool to obtain reports from the database because it does not require any technical skills
- Distributed architecture enables authorized personnel to have direct access to database system from the company’s various location including in Europe, North America and Asia
Disadvantages
- The additional overhead of these transactions can be a performance penalty when the total amount of data in the network is small. Users also see slower performance when accessing data that is not local
- Increased the use of database space. Every table must exist in every database. When the number of tables is very large, the amount of space used can be significant. Administrators must use database storage parameters to size tables and reduce database space consumption.
- Administrators must keep the schemas of all database synchronized and ensure that the network is configured to take optimal advantage of the distributed-database environment in term of availability and performance. Although database backups are more flexible in a distributed-database environment, multiple databases add complexity to the backup process.
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