PMOD Audit Trail Network License > System Organization

The PMOD ATL version requires a dedicated client-server setup.

Server

At the heart of the setup is a computer system which acts as a protected server ("server"). It

▪runs the PMOD license server,

▪authenticates the users,

▪maintains the user properties,

▪hosts the databases containing the data,

▪writes the audit trail information into a database.

To prevent unauthorized access and ensure data security, the server should be located in a protected server room ("data center"), and only allow the administrator login.

Clients

The actual data analysis is performed on client machines which have a PMOD software installed. Note that no local PMOD configuration is required.

A user starts PMOD on a client with a script which includes the server address information. Hereby, a sign-on procedure is performed which checks the authorization of the user. If he is known to the PMOD server he can log in and his dedicated configuration is retrieved from the server before he can start working. Thereafter, he can load images from the databases for which he has been authorized. He can process the images and save the results, but he cannot delete objects from the database unless he is authorized. He may add text comments to database objects for clarification purposes. All information logging the user's work is immediately sent to the server and recorded in the audit trail. The user is allowed to change the applications setting in his profiles, which is updated centrally.

The administrator can open the PMOD configuration while working on a client, using the central administration password. Thereafter, he can adjust the system configuration as well as the user configurations and save the changes to the server.

Client-Server Communication

The client-server communication employs PMOD's proprietary transaction server communication protocol using configurable IP ports. The communication can optionally be encrypted and/or compressed. Encryption is recommended for communication across public infrastructure. As it slows communication down, is may not be necessary for communication within an institution. Compression on the other hand can speed up data transmission across slow network connections.