MLM Software Primer

The Art and Science of Choosing MLM Software Solutions



By Ian Cordell, IDSTC
© 2006

One MLM Software approach of leading MLM Software Solutions providers is a web application, designed and implemented in an N-Tier architecture, and programmed with the latest SQL Server 2000, ASP, and .NET technologies.


The Application Service Provider Model
(Howstuffworks.com)

The ASP model has evolved because it offers some significant advantages over traditional approaches. Here are some of the most important advantages:

 

Especially for small businesses and startups, the biggest advantage is low cost of entry and, in most cases, an extremely short setup time.

The ASP model, as with any outsourcing arrangement, eliminates head count. IT professionals (ie. Computer Programmers, Network Administrators, DBAs, etc) tend to be very expensive and very specialized, so this is frequently advantageous.

The ASP model also eliminates specialized IT infrastructure for the application as well as supporting applications. For example, if the application you want to use requires an MS-SQL database, you would have to support both the application and the database.

The ASP model can shift Internet bandwidth to the ASP, who provides it at lower cost.

 

One thing that led to the growth of ASPs is the high cost of specialized software. As the costs grow, it becomes nearly impossible for a small business to afford to purchase the software, so the ASP makes using the software possible.

 

Another important factor leading to the development of ASPs has been the growing complexity of software and software upgrades. Distributing huge, complex applications to the end user has become extremely expensive from a customer service standpoint, and upgrades make the problem worse.  In a large company where there may be thousands of desktops, distributing software (even something as simple as a new release of Microsoft Word) can cost millions of dollars. The ASP model eliminates these headaches.

 

What is a Web Application?
(Cyberonyx.net / TheGreatMultitude.com)

 

Organizations always struggle to keep up with the latest technology. Hardware and software doesn't come cheap. Many companies use equipment and software that is two or three generations behind state-of-the-art systems and are virtually impossible to update or modify and deliver. The answer to this problem is the increasing availability and use of web-based applications. Instead of using software installed on a specific user's computer, your company utilizes free, openly available, web browsers to access specialized programs through the Internet.

 

Web-based functionality is achieved when built on the foundations of web-server technology. Such applications can be accessed from anywhere in the world at any time. And these applications are completely cross-platform. All data and input by the user utilizing the application is used to update a database or document that is then made available by the system to global users in real time.

 

Web applications dramatically reduce development and deployment costs. When creating these applications in an open architecture environment, development time is reduced by limiting the time needed to "wrap" the package up. Debugging is easier in initial development because changes are immediately in operation. No building of setup programs. Bug fixes, modifications, and additions to web-based applications are instantaneous and do not require multiple application rollouts or versions.

 

Sending data over the internet via a secure SSL connection is far safer than traditional security measures. If users currently keep their data on a computer at the office, thieves, vandals, or viruses could corrupt the data or steal the computer, fire or hardware failure could destroy the computer, unauthorized personnel might access the system, backup tapes could be left in non-secure environments, etc. Security experts agree that web-based applications result in a more secure solution than most traditional stand-alone or file server based systems.

 

The advantages of web-based applications are clear. There is no need to purchase the latest hardware and software upgrades, deployment issues are eliminated, applications may be accessed remotely allowing employees to work on the data from any computer that has Internet access. And when struggling to exchange data between computers in your office, web applications solve this problem easily, and more importantly, quickly and inexpensively.

 

What is ASP.NET? 
(DirectionsOnMicrosoft.com)

 

ASP.NET is the .NET Framework-based platform for developing Web applications that are hosted on Microsoft's Internet Information Server (IIS) and use Internet protocols such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP).

 

The primary mission of ASP.NET is to significantly lower the barrier to the development of Web applications. It accomplishes this mission in much the same way that Visual Basic lowered the barrier to Windows programming: by implementing an "event-driven" programming model in which developers add controls to a form and write code to handle the events (e.g., the entry of data in a text box or the clicking of a button) associated with these controls. It also makes it easier for developers to build services that exchange data in XML by allowing developers to build on the XML support exposed by the .NET Framework class libraries.

 

By using the .NET Framework for ASP.NET, Microsoft provides developers with the benefits of the Common Language Runtime (CLR) and class libraries. ASP.NET uses the CLR to compile code and manage its execution, creating Web applications that run faster and behave better. Relatedly, ASP.NET uses the .NET Framework classes to make it easier for developers to incorporate XML-formatted data into Web applications, and to add code to handle exceptions, create UI elements, and provide other programmatic functionality.

 

ASP.NET plays an important part in Microsoft's overall .NET vision. Over the next decade, Microsoft believes that the PC will be augmented by many other types of devices that can access the Internet, from handheld devices to mobile phones to home entertainment devices (such as gaming machines and TV set-top boxes). So-called smart clients running on these devices will take advantage of their considerable processing power to perform device-specific tasks-for example, using speech recognition in an automotive PC.

 

ASP Net architecture for MLM Software design

 

What is SQL Server 2000?
(Microsoft.com)

 

Today's competitive business environment requires enterprise applications and databases that can accumulate information gathered by business systems, support a rapidly increasing number of concurrent users, and efficiently process and analyze massive amounts of data in increasingly complex ways. SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition (64-bit) provides a scalable data platform with tools to help companies intelligently analyze large data quantities and make informed decisions.

 

SQL Server 2000 (64-bit) takes advantage of advanced memory addressing capabilities for essential resources such as buffer pools, caches, and sort heaps, reducing the need to perform multiple I/O operations to bring data in and out of memory from disk. Greater processing capacity without the penalties of I/O latency opens the door to new levels of application scalability.

 

On 32-bit systems, complex queries that analyze extremely large amounts of data would be broken down into smaller data sets that fit into the 4-gigabyte (GB) memory space, with excess data temporarily stored onto disk. With SQL Server 2000 (64-bit), you have more space to process an entire query without breaking down the data into smaller sets. This increase in system memory is crucial to fast, efficient, and sustained application performance.

 

The major benefits of 64-bit computing for commercial and business applications revolve around 64-bit addressing of large-scale data sets accessed by database management systems. 32-bit systems in the market today can address only 4 GB of data in memory. SQL Server 2000 (64-bit), can address hundreds of gigabytes. By eliminating the need to move a portion of your working data to disk in order to make room in memory for new data, query response times are accelerated. This provides unprecedented system responsiveness for mission-critical enterprise applications.

 

The Transaction Processing Council (TPC) measures transaction processing and database performance in terms of the number of transactions a given system can perform per unit of time. According to their latest benchmark results, SQL Server 2000 (64-bit) received the highest mark ever achieved on a single system. This latest benchmark makes SQL Server 2000 the leader in performance and price/performance on all processor combinations starting from single processor servers.

 

What is N-Tier? 
(Intel.com)

 

High-volume e-Business transactions are putting new pressures on the corporate computing environment. Functionality and stability are no longer sufficient to provide a competitive advantage. Businesses must be able to deploy and adapt applications quickly to address rising workloads and changing business requirements. Data and applications must be integrated across the enterprise to improve efficiency, and the highest levels of performance and availability must be maintained to support business-critical processes.

 

Infrastructure analysts at the META Group have outlined a strategy that can help IT organizations meet these demands. The strategy is built around the N-tier architecture, which partitions systems and software to enable a more flexible, building block approach to infrastructure design and growth. By taking advantage of the N-tier architecture, businesses can design, deploy and integrate e-Business applications more quickly and cost-effectively.

 

According to META Group analysts, the infrastructure demands of e-Business require that IT organizations become proficient at designing and implementing the N-tier architecture. This architecture makes a significant departure from the more traditional 2-tier pattern, in which core applications and data are typically hosted on a monolithic system, which is accessed by a variety of "thick" clients.

 

An N-tier design partitions application functionality into three independent layers, enabling easier integration with core business systems and other e-Business applications:

 

Layer 1: Presentation Logic - Typically hosted on front-end Web servers

Layer 2: Business Logic - Hosted on mid-tier application or general-purpose servers

Layer 3: Database Management - Hosted on back-end database servers

 

In effect, an independent application layer is added to the traditional 2-tier architecture. This additional layer has the effect of decoupling business logic from presentation and database functions, both physically and in the software architecture. The ramifications for software development and maintenance are particularly compelling. Customized code can be replaced with standardized APIs to interface business logic with presentation code and database access protocols. When properly implemented, the hardware and software for each of the three layers can be scaled and upgraded independently. This partitioning also makes it easier to integrate new applications into the environment. Application code no longer has to be re-created when a new user interface is added, or when a transaction is linked with another application in the e-Business matrix.

 

The N-tier architecture offers today's best solution to the unique pressures e-Business places on corporate computing infrastructures. By partitioning systems and applications into front-end, middle tier and back-end layers, the N-tier architecture supports a more standardized, building block approach to application design. Hardware and software for presentation, application and database functions can be scaled independently, and integrated more easily into complex e-Business environments.

 

N-Tier Diagram for MLM Software Design

 

Ian Cordell is President of IDSTC, www.idstc.com, one of the leading MLM Software developers of MLM software technology solutions for the MLM, Network Marketing, Direct Selling and Party Plan industries. The company offers an extensive array of MLM software solutions including MLM Software genealogical downline management, MLM Software back office solutions, MLM Software communication solutions, MLM Software replicating website solutions, etc.



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