The University of Wolverhampton needed a database system available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year across several different computer networks in different locations. The common communications link was a standard 64KB leased line which would have to cope with substantial traffic. They had a very limited budget and needed a solution a.s.a.p.

This database needed to allow computer users to access help information and to log requests for assistance or faults which would be entered automatically into a database. For high priority and emergency calls support people had to be immediately notified of the problem.

Because the help information is subject to frequent updates and the requirement to log calls was from many networks joined by a narrow bandwidth, CBS designed an Internet solution.

Visual Basic 6.0 was used to build a call logging application running on the client PC which captured users requests for assistance and also incorporated an integrated web browser application to access help information stored on a Microsoft NT 4.0 server.

The web browser used was Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0. The server is running Internet Information Server 4.0 with the database solution using Microsoft Visual FoxPro and the West Wind Connection third party add-on.

The web based help information is regularly updated with users seeing the changes immediately without the overhead of installing new software. The call database logging is extremely fast due to the compiled Visual Basic application running on the client and the legendary Visual FoxPro database engine running on the server.

Email notification of high priority calls is automatically produced using the West Wind Connection together with Microsoft Exchange 5.5.

The solution was developed, tested and deployed within 6 weeks, within budget and on time.