Chapter 13 Working with MobiLink

Introduction

When to work with MobiLink?

You define an ILM with the MobiLink extended model definition (XEM) when MobiLink is one of the components of your overall data replication and synchronization process.

PowerDesigner is delivered with support for MobiLink version 9.0 and 10.0 that allow the display of additional or modified tabs in some of the property sheets of the ILM objects.

Understand the global process

The Consolidated Database contains the central copy of all information in the synchronization system.

The MobiLink Synchronization Server manages the synchronization process and provides the interface between all MobiLink clients and the Consolidated Database Server. The synchronization can be one-way (download) or bi-directional (download and upload).

The Remote Database is the database on the client side. It can be a Sybase AS Anywhere or an UltraLite database. A client can be a PC, a laptop, a pocket PC, a hand-held device, etc.

PowerDesigner represents a MobiLink synchronization in the following Information Liquidity Model diagram:

It is a logical view of the synchronization. The connectivity, database server, network, and MobiLink client are not represented in the diagram.

You can have any number of consolidated databases, MobiLink servers or remote databases.

You can also combine MobiLink and Replication Server within a global data replication and synchronization process to replicate data from one site to another site then from a consolidated database to a mobile device, as shown in the following illustration:

For more information on how to work with Replication Server in PowerDesigner, see chapter Working with Replication Server.

You define:

The consolidated database structure using the consolidated database PDM
The remote database structure using the remote database PDM
The synchronization definition using the MobiLink server replication process
The synchronization definition within the MobiLink replication process property sheet that allows you to designate the location of the primary data, publications, articles, subscriptions and synchronization scripts.