This chapter begins by explaining how National Real Estate Clearinghouse (NREC) uses Siebel Remote, illustrating the hardware architecture, and outlining the tasks to set up the Siebel Remote server. Next, the chapter outlines and briefly describes the tasks to set up a new Siebel Remote User. Then the chapter describes the process for synchronizing a mobile Web client.

NREC is using Siebel Remote so that its employees can connect to a Siebel Server with their laptop computers and exchange updated data and files. This process is known as synchronization. This chapter uses Chris Strong, a real estate agent with NREC, to detail the Siebel Remote scenario. Chris Strong is a mobile user.

Siebel Remote supports mobile computing by allowing field personnel to share current information with virtual teams of other mobile and connected users across the organization.

Typically, the mobile Web client is a laptop computer used by a field sales or service representative. A mobile Web client can download a portion of the Siebel database and the Siebel File System to a laptop. Users can access their data locally, without being connected directly to the Database Server, Siebel Server, or File System.

As Chris Strong enters and updates information in the local database on the laptop, Siebel Remote Client software tracks the changes as synchronization transactions. Subsequently, when Chris connects to the Siebel Remote server through a dial-up networking connection, these transactions are uploaded from the mobile Web client to the server during synchronization. In a similar manner, transactions occurring on the server that are applicable to Chris are tracked. During synchronization, these transactions are downloaded from the server to the laptop.

Figure 44 illustrates the main elements of the Siebel Remote architecture.

Figure 44.  Siebel Remote Hardware Architecture