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The new features in CheckMAX-E2 represent an entirely new architecture and
foundation for managing the Deferred Presentment enterprise.
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 Transaction Entry |
CheckMAX-E2 utilizes an online, transaction processing database to provide up-to-the-moment information for all users at all remote branch locations. Updates are available to all locations without delay. Customers can conduct transactions at multiple branch locations subject to all business rules and with instant transaction visibility.
Customer identification documents, disclosures and check images may be scanned into the centralized database for immediate retrieval by any authorized user or auditor.
Nightly polling and replication updates are eliminated in the CheckMAX-E2 system.
CheckMAX-E2 employs an "n-tiered" architecture which separates functional
components of the application according to task. N-tiered architectures replaces
aging "client-server" technologies which have long been the source
of many maintenance and performance difficulties. The CheckMAX-E2 application
may operate on many different servers acting as one computing platform. The
architecture of the CheckMAX-E2 application provides for scalable performance
and fault-tolerance.
 n-Tier Diagram |
All optional, third-party, communications services are initiated from servers
at
the central site. In addition, the repository of all the controlling software
components
is maintained at the central site location, reducing the burden of maintaining
version
control at remote branches.
The CheckMAX-E2 database is maintained at the location of the central computing
center. In your environment this may mean that the database is located at
your corporate
offices, a separate computing center, an Application Service Provider (ASP),
or at
a CMAX operated facility. A centralized, real-time database provides immediate
visibility
of all transaction and table maintenance activities throughout your organization.
Database backup and tuning activities are completed without intervention from
the
remote branch offices.
SQL database technology
provides CheckMAX-E2 with a high-performance, scalable platform for providing
data services. SQL database software provides excellent platform independence
with support for Microsoft, Linux, and other UNIX systems.
The CheckMAX-E2 application is designed to scale to the limits of SQL database
technology supporting multiple CPUs and clustered database servers.
Thin-client deployment reduces the version control and configuration management
burden caused by a large number of remote branch operations. The CheckMAX-E2
application requires only the thin-client executables and cache to be resident
on the client computer and a robust communications link to the central system.
All changes and updates to the CheckMAX-E2 application are installed on the
central site system and are immediately available at all remote branches.
The client software is easily installed from the CMAX web site for your authorized users.
Separate reporting servers control the production of all printed reports and
forms
within the CheckMAX-E2 system. CheckMAX-E2 utilizes the popular Crystal Reports
reporting technology for all printing tasks (with the exception of check printing)
including the production of financial disclosure documents. The CheckMAX-E2
reporting server has a dedicated connection to the database server for retrieving
information for printed reports. Once the information has been retrieved from
the database, the reporting server renders an Adobe Acrobat Portable Document
Format (PDF) file to pass back to the requesting user. Once again, CMAX has
employed scalable technology to support the high demands of print production.
The application server in the CheckMAX-E2 environment acts as the master control
agent
within the application. The application server directs requests for data to
the database
server, requests for printed materials to the reporting server and so on.
Once the
information has been processed by the appropriate server, the application
server
sends the information back to the requesting client station. The application
server
supports multiple CPUs and clustering, allowing the application to continue
in the
event of failure of one of the application servers.
Third-party interfaces to credit bureaus, electronic funds transfer services
(EFT),
and risk assessment services are all initiated from the central site. Remote
branches
are no longer responsible for initiating their own dial-up or internet-based
link
to access these types of services. In this way, a high-bandwidth connection
to third-party
service providers may be cost effectively shared between many remote locations.
The CheckMAX-E2 Application Server is a multithreaded server (written in Java) that includes session management, authentication, load balancing, HTTP capabilities, encryption, database access, text search capabilities, fail-over, JDBC database connectivity, security, e-mail integration, and version support. The CheckMAX-E2 environment will function in an online, real time mode, over the internet, an intranet or vpn connection.
Additional features of the CheckMAX-E2 Application Server:
Security
CheckMAX-E2 offers different levels of access to data. Branch personnel may be presented with only their applicable menu options based on group and user security levels.
Overrides to critical business rules may require successively higher security levels and produce an audit trail to ensure accountability.
Scalability and Load Balancing
CheckMAX-E2 offers multi-tiered load balancing across multiple machines, multiple processes, and multiple threads. Because of its multi-threaded architecture, the CheckMAX-E2 Application Server scales very well on a single machine when additional processors are added. To scale beyond a single machine, CheckMAX-E2 provides advanced load balancing software. In addition, CheckMAX-E2 can be used with existing third-party hardware or software load balancing solutions.
Reliability and Recoverability
CheckMAX-E2 Servers can be clustered. These clusters provide fail-over and automatic restart features to make the cluster highly fault resistant. A CheckMAX-E2 cluster can be configured so that there is no single point of failure. If any component in the system does fail, monitoring software detects the failure and automatically restarts that component.
