ASPEN Line Database, Relay Database, and EDX module client programs (ASPEN programs) are MS Windows desktop thick client (also known as Fat client) applications that work with a database on a backend server (Application DB). ASPEN programs must run on a user’s desktop machine with a network connection to the database server. To interface with the Application DB, ASPEN programs utilize Windows database middleware components, which must already be installed within the Windows operating system on the user’s computer. For MS SQL DB servers, users must use the “Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server” DB middleware component provided by Microsoft. For Oracle DB servers, users must use the “Oracle OLE DB Provider for Oracle” component provided by Oracle.
The following diagram illustrates the ASPEN programs data connections and user authentication process.