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Technical Note 2: Siebel Architecture Overview

Technical Note #2 Siebel Architecture Overview
Last Modified: January 18, 2005
Version 1: For latest version see www.siebelonmicrosoft.com
Area: Siebel Architecture
Siebel Releases: Version 7.x
Windows Releases N/A
SQL Server Releases N/A

Contents
Introduction .............................................................................................................................1
Siebel Environment .................................................................................................................1
Client Types............................................................................................................................2
Siebel Enterprise Server – SWSE ...........................................................................................3
Siebel Enterprise Server – Gateway Server.............................................................................3
Siebel Server ..........................................................................................................................4
Server Components ................................................................................................................4
Siebel Database......................................................................................................................4

Introduction
This Technical Note is meant to provide an overview of the Siebel Architecture. A high level
understanding of the architecture is fundamental to understanding the more detailed and specific
articles you will find on the Technical Champs Website.

Siebel Environment
The following diagram illustrates a Siebel 7 deployment for large implementations showing
multiple servers within the Siebel Enterprise. These servers are usually either load balanced or
clustered for high availability. This Technical Note will identify the components of the Siebel 7
architecture and their purpose.
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Server Web Wireless Mobile Handheld Dedicated

Manager GUI Client Client Web Client Client Web Client

Wireless Gateway
Server Mobile SQL
DB CE

Web Servers with SWSE

Gateway Name
Server

Siebel Gateway
Resonate Central Dispatch

Server
Siebel Enterprise Server Manager
cmd line
Siebel Servers interface

EAI &
Data
Loading
Siebel file
SQL Server Database
System

Figure 1: Siebel 7 Large Deployment Diagram

Client Types
Siebel provides five client types. The three major client types are Siebel Web Client, Siebel
Mobile Client, and Siebel Dedicated Web Client. The other two, Siebel Wireless and Siebel
Handheld are specialized client types for specific applications.
Siebel Web Client
Siebel Web Client uses Microsoft Internet Explorer running on the business user’s personal
computer. The web client connects to the Siebel Servers through web servers using the standard
web protocols HTTP and optionally SSL. The client end user PC must be connected to a local
area network to access Siebel information. The web client is easy to maintain because it does not
require any special Siebel specific software or add-ins. The web client is also not affected by
Siebel upgrades or modifications.
Siebel Mobile Client and Dedicated Client
These two clients both have additional software installed on the end users computer and they do
not need to be online to access Siebel data. The additional software includes Microsoft Data
Access Components (MDAC) as well as additional Siebel software. These clients must also
connect to the network where the main Siebel database resides in order to synchronize changes
in the database.
There are two deployment modes for Siebel Clients that determine the type and level of
interactivity provided by the client. High Interactivity is usually for employees and provides a
richer environment for users. This mode also has more stringent browser requirements and puts
more demand on the end users PC. However it has a smaller impact on network performance
and bandwidth because only changed data is passed over the network as the user goes through
menu options and request data. Standard Interactivity mode in contrast requires a full page
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refresh for each change in screen data and uses more network bandwidth. In summary, for
standard interactivity, the screen layout and underlying data are retrieved together in one HTML
request whereas the screen layout and underlying data are retrieved separately for High
Interactivity mode.
Siebel Wireless Client
Siebel Wireless Client requires all the same infrastructure that the Siebel Web Client requires with
the addition of a Siebel Wireless Gateway Server which translates standard HTTP protocol traffic
to Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) The actual hardware receiving the WAP data is usually a
browser equipped mobile phone or PDA.
Siebel Handheld Client
The Siebel Handheld client is very similar to the Web and Mobile Web Client but its functionality
is limited. It provides a small subset of views and accommodates smaller screen sizes and uses
less memory.

Siebel Enterprise Server – SWSE

Siebel Web Server Extensions (SWSE) are installed on the Microsoft Internet Information Server.
These servers can be clustered or load balanced. Network load balancing is the preferred method
for making web servers highly available. SWSE provides multi session connectivity to the Siebel
Enterprise servers through Session Manager. The session manager sends request to the Siebel
Servers using the SISNAPI (Siebel Internet Session API) protocol. This connection is routed to
the Application Object Manager (AOM) either through Resonate Central Dispatch or through the
Name Server if Resonate is not used. Once the IP address and the port number for the Siebel
Server are established then the Session communicates directly with the AOM.

Siebel Enterprise Server – Gateway Server

The Gateway Server is a logical server that consists of the Siebel Name Server and optionally
Resonate Central Dispatch. These two components can reside on separate physical servers.
Gateway Name Server
The Gateway Name Server is a repository for configuration information about each Siebel Server.
Connectivity information is maintained for each component in the Siebel Enterprise. When Siebel
Servers or components come online or go offline the Name Server data is refreshed with the
connect strings. Clients will also use the Gateway Name server to connect to the Siebel Servers if
Resonate Central Dispatch is not implemented.
Resonate Central Dispatch
Resonate Central Dispatch is principally used to load balance and manage client connections to
the Siebel Enterprise. Central Dispatch accepts requests from client machines and routes each
request to the appropriate server running the requested component. The selection is made based
on the least loaded server. The selection criteria can be adjusted by basing the selection on CPU
load, number of user connections and network latency. Central dispatch also recognizes when a
server running a requested component is no longer available and routes the request to another
server providing the same component. Siebel users who were directed to a failed server are
logged off the system and new user requests are routed to the remaining servers providing high
availability to the business.
Resonate Central Dispatch requires two schedulers running on separate machines. If one server
fails then the secondary will take over the role. This process is independent of any operating
system implemented fault tolerance. In fact Resonate Central Dispatch will not run on a clustered
server.
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Siebel Server
The Siebel Server has one or more physical servers and is the middle tier of the enterprise
architecture. These servers run the components that provide all business logic to the clients. The
servers support both multiprocessor and multithreaded components and run in one of three
modes, e.g. Background, Batch, and Interactive. Most components can run on more than one
physical Siebel Server providing scalability and redundancy for users requesting these
components. Other functions of the Siebel Servers are to provide Mobile Client Synchronization,
connectivity to third party systems, access to the database and file system, and automatic
assignment of new accounts, opportunities, service requests, and other records.

Server Components
Components refer to the various tasks or programs that run on the Siebel server and perform the
work requested by the user.
Modes
The components run in one of three modes.
• Background mode describes components that start in the background and require no
user intervention. Background components will run until the task is manually stopped or
the server is shut down.
• Batch mode also requires no user intervention but must be started manually. Batch
mode components end when the work they perform is complete.
• Interactive mode components are started as a result of client request and remain active
for as long as the user session is active.
Types and Groups
Component type refers to the set of parameters that are configured for a component. This type
can then be assigned to different components simplifying the configuration process. Siebel comes
with many preconfigured components and allows you to modify or create your own types to come
up with defined components or simply components. Components can be combined into groups.
One or more components combined into a group make it easier to deploy the group on one or
more Siebel Servers. The component functionality can also be monitored or controlled at the
group level.
Execution
Components are either single threaded or multithreaded. Single threaded means that a
component runs within a single process on the server as is the case with EIM. Multithreaded
means that components can have multiple streams of execution within a single process as is the
case with Object Managers.

Siebel Database
The Siebel Database is the lowest tier of the Siebel Architecture. The database consists of the
SQL Server Database and the File System although the file system is not a database store. The
database includes pointers to the file system items such as literature.
File System
The Siebel File System is a server with a shared directory accessible through the network by the
Siebel Servers running the File System Manager (FSM) component. Web clients can upload and
download files to the Siebel File system through the FSM component.
SQL Server
The SQL Server Database is the core repository of the Siebel applications data. The Siebel
servers access the database directly as does the dedicated web client. Other clients access the
database through the Siebel Application Servers.