Overview of BellHawk Architecture

BellHawk uses a SQL Server database running on a Windows Server based computer. This is computer is typically a Windows 2003 or 2008 server. The database server can be SQL Server 2005 or 2008 Standard or Express edition. The server computer will have IIS web services enabled if access over the Internet is to be supported.

Many BellHawk components access the BellHawk database through the BellHawk Core, which consists of a large number of Transact SQL stored procedures plus views and triggers. These are distributed as part of the BellHawk database.

BellHawk supports three user interfaces:

1. An Access/VBA thick client that runs on a Windows XP-Pro or later Windows PC. The thick client interacts with the BellHawk database over the facility LAN, mainly through the BellHawk Core, but does do some direct access to the BellHawk database. Through this client users can:

   a. Enter transactional data by scanning with a barcode scanner attached to the PC
   b. Print barcoded picking and traveler sheets as well as print status reports
   c. View inventory and production status information
   d. Setup data items in the BellHawk using data entry forms.

2. A web browser based client  that runs on any mobile computer, PC, Mac or Linux platform that supports recent versions of browsers such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari or Mozilla. Communication takes place using HTML web protocols over the Internet or an organization's Intranet. The browser communicates with an IIS based website called WebHawk^® that is written as an ASP.Net application. Through this client, users can enter transactional data by scanning with a barcode scanner and view inventory status information.

3. A mobile computer client that enables data collection to be performed in environments with communications dead zones and electrical interference from industrial processes. This software runs on Windows Mobile devices. Each unit has its own local SQL database which is stored on a non-volatile memory card.

   Whenever the mobile computer comes within communications range of the server then the data in the local database is automatically synchronized with the latest data updates on the main BellHawk database through the BellHawk Store and Forward (BSAF) Wireless Server. Users can then do all their scanning and other data entry using the data in the local database for immediate point-of-action data validation irrespective of whether they are within communications range or not. As transactional data is recorded it is stored in the local database and then securely forwarded once the device is within communications range of the Wireless Server.

   The code in the mobile devices is written in VB.Net and runs on Windows Mobile 5 or 6 based devices or on selected Windows CE devices.

Printing barcode labels is performed using the BellHawk TAG interface. This takes data from the BellHawk database and formats it for printing on a Barcode printer. It does this through an interface to the Seagull Scientific BarTender Enterprise software. Currently automated barcode label printing can only be initiated through the Access/VBA thick client.

Many of the interfaces to the BellHawk database use the BellHawk Object Relations Manager (BORM). The BORM automatically generates the SQL code to access data objects within the BellHawk database and also performs the same function for external ODBC-accessible databases, such as ERP and accounting databases, to which BellHawk is linked. The BORM also does extensive data checking to prevent reading or writing bad data.

Automated data exchange interfaces to ERP, CRM and Accounting systems are typically implemented using the Bell-Connector interface. This uses the capabilities of the BORM to implement automated data transfer interfaces. Basically Bell-Connector monitors the databases of both systems to which it is connected and then automatically moves the data between them, doing appropriate data translations in the process.

The Bell-Connector .Net SDK interface is used for implementing interfaces to process control and test equipment that need to read and write data objects in the BellHawk database. This includes reading recipes and writing test and process control data as part of the traceability record maintained by BellHawk.

DEX is an ODBC interface to BellHawk that enables systems integrators to write code to read and write data objects in the BellHawk database. Its primary purpose is to isolate interface developers from changes that may occur in the underlying BellHawk tables from release to release.

DEXEL is used to import and export BellHawk objects in the format of Excel spreadsheets. It can also support the import and export of data in the form of comma delimited files.  DEXEL is used to import setup data into BellHawk and also to exchange data with older legacy systems that do not support ODBC or message-based interfaces.

The BellHawk Web Services Interface ( currently under development) uses the Windows Communication Foundation in combination with the capabilities of the BORM to enable BellHawk to exchange data with external systems, over the Internet, using SOAP/XML based packets. This interface can be tailored to enable BellHawk to automatically exchange data with “Cloud” based ERP, accounting and CRM systems.