Q: What kind of IT infrastructure and configuration is required to integrate ADASHI with a CAD system?
A: There are 3 requirements for ADASHI to integrate with a CAD system
1. Communication from CAD to ADASHI Server - There are a lot of technical details that can go into this, for example if the integration will be 1-way or 2-way, the type of communication that will occur between ADASHI Server and the CAD, networking concerns, etc. The most common integrations are 1-way, where the ADASHI Server simply receives dispatches and other messages from the CAD system and does not send anything back to CAD. Within that category, the 2 most common communication methods are SMTP and Folder Monitor. SMTP requires a CAD system be able to generate SMTP messages (e-mails) and direct them to the ADASHI Server. The delivery is done via the "implicit MX" rule as defined in Section 5 of the SMTP standard: http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5321#section-5. The Folder Monitor communication method means that the CAD system exports a text file for each dispatch or change and the ADASHI Server monitors a folder where these files get placed. ADASHI Server reads the files in, deletes them, and then generates the appropriate dispatch or change for the clients in the field. Other communication methods, such as direct TCP/IP communication or communications involving a 2-way integration are evaluated and designed on a case-by-case basis. Please contact our Sales team for more details.
2. Dispatch processing on ADASHI Server* - An addin must be used on the ADASHI Server to interpret the dispatch data it receives. The ADASHI Development Team would create this addin based on preliminary CAD info received from the customer early in the sales communication process. The dispatch data is received, parsed, added to the ADASHI Server database, and then sent out to clients as appropriate. Many add-ins for different CAD systems already exist and can be re-used for other customers who have the same CAD.
3. Communication to ADASHI clients* - ADASHI clients receive information from the ADASHI Server for dispatches, notes, location information, unit status information and anything else important that needs to get from CAD to a mobile data client. The ADASHI clients connect to the ADASHI Server on TCP port 12840 and maintain a constant connection. This port must be opened on the ADASHI Server's firewall. If the ADASHI Server is behind a hardware firewall, such as a router, then that same port must be forwarded to the ADASHI Server from the Internet. Clients must be configured to connect to the appropriate hostname or IP address to reach the server. Alternately, an always-on VPN connection may be used to keep ADASHI clients connected to the same network on which the ADASHI Server resides and forego the need for opening up a router's firewall and forwarding the port. This communication is also tracked by the server and a robust verification algorithm ensures that no communication can be "lost". The communication is initiated on the ADASHI client so no firewall ports need to be opened client-side unless outbound traffic is blocked.
*Additional costs may apply. Please contact our Sales Department for more details - sales@adashisystems.com
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