Deployment Planning Guide > Siebel Architecture Overview >

About Siebel Web Clients and Web Server Extension

This section lists the types of Siebel Web Clients.

Siebel Web Client

Siebel Web Client runs in a standard browser on the end user's client computer. ActiveX controls and JavaScript routines are downloaded to the browser automatically when it runs Siebel applications in Siebel high interactivity mode. The browser connects through a Web server to the Siebel Server, which executes business logic and accesses data from the Siebel database. Only the user interface layer of the Siebel Business Applications architecture resides on the user computer.

Other considerations about the Siebel Web Client are as follows:

• Installed software. No additional application software is required on the client. Requires only a Web browser.
• Application connection. This is a connection through a Web server to the Siebel Enterprise Server. Applications run on Siebel Server and forward pages to the client.
• Database connection. This is a connection through the Siebel Server to the remote Siebel database. No Siebel database or database client is installed on the client.

Wireless Client

Siebel Wireless is a modified Siebel Web Client that runs on a mobile device. Users can view, edit, and create records in the Siebel database through a wireless connection between a mobile device and a Web server. An Internet-enabled mobile phone, personal digital assistant or other device communicates using wireless application protocol (WAP) to a wireless gateway server. The wireless gateway server translates HTTP messages to WAP. The Siebel interface is rendered on the mobile device using wireless markup language (WML). Specific XML- and HTTP-based wireless browsers are also supported. For a list of Siebel Business Applications that support wireless access, see the Siebel Wireless Administration Guide. For a list of supported wireless browsers, see System Requirements and Supported Platforms on Siebel SupportWeb.

Siebel Mobile Web Client

Siebel Mobile Web Client includes the following:

• Installed software. Windows-based software containing Siebel applications and related services is installed on each client.
• Application connection. Applications run on each client. Applications display in a Web browser.
• Database connection. A Siebel database and Siebel File System are installed on each client. Applications access the client's local database.

  Users periodically synchronize the client's local database and Siebel File System with a remote Siebel Enterprise Server's Siebel database and Siebel File System. Users synchronize data using Siebel Remote. Siebel Remote allows users to connect directly to the remote Siebel database and Siebel File System without going through the Enterprise Web servers or Siebel Servers.

  The Mobile Web Client runs in a standard browser on the end user's client computer, such as a laptop.

Siebel Handheld Client

The Siebel Handheld Client is a streamlined version of the Siebel Mobile Web Client. It includes only the functionality required by end users' field technicians. The Siebel Handheld Client supports the same data relationships, the same configuration in Siebel Tools, and much of the same functionality as the Siebel Mobile Web Client. Siebel Handheld runs on devices that support the Windows CE operating system.

Siebel Web Server Extension (SWSE)

The Siebel Web Server Extension (SWSE) is a plug-in for third-party Web servers. It identifies requests for Siebel information coming from Web clients and flags these requests for routing to a Siebel Server. When information is sent from the Siebel Server back to the Web client, the SWSE helps complete the composition of the Web page for forwarding to the client.

The SWSE includes the Siebel load balancing module. This module provides round-robin load balancing for Application Object Managers running on Siebel Servers.

You must also install all language packs installed on Siebel Servers on your Web servers. However, you do not need to install all language packs on all Web servers. If you do not, you must provide a way to route user requests to Web servers that have the correct language support.