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  • 1.  Architecture Comparison: Maximo Desktop vs. Work Centers

    Posted Thu September 17, 2020 12:27 PM
    A recent presentation by Cohesive Solutions included this diagram:



    It looks like Work Centers takes a less direct path to the UI Framework/Maximo DB than Maximo Desktop/Classic does.

    I'm sure there is a good reason for doing this, but as a novice, I'm inclined to ask:

    Why would Work Centers be designed this way?

    Thanks.
    #Maximo
    #AssetandFacilitiesManagement


  • 2.  RE: Architecture Comparison: Maximo Desktop vs. Work Centers

    IBM Champion
    Posted Fri September 18, 2020 02:13 AM
    Hi User1971,

    First of all,  it is high time you update your name. We see a lot of good question from you.

    This is a micro-service architecture. All the latest enterprise applications are moving towards this kind of architecture and Maximo too is moving towards it.
    This kind of architecture gives the flexibility of using all together a different technology to build an application. Thus, Work Center is built on Google Polymer and Web Components( basically Javascript, CSS and HTML). REST-API plays an important part in enabling this kind of architecture.
    Moving forward all the future products related to Maximo will be based on similar architecture. In-fact, you can split the current Maximo deployment into separate services and do a selective deployment. Maximo-UI will be one service, Maximo work Center, Maximo MIF will be one service, Maximo Cron task will be one and Maximo reports one other. Maximo has become flexible and has been enabled to achieve this architecture. 
    Future of Maximo product suite is changing and we are moving towards better microservices architecture in MAS 8.1 product suite.

    Thanks,
    Biplab

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    Biplab Choudhury
    Maximo Consultant
    Tata Consultancy Services
    Melbourne
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Architecture Comparison: Maximo Desktop vs. Work Centers

    Posted Fri September 18, 2020 08:44 AM
    Edited by System Test Wed March 22, 2023 11:51 AM

    That diagram is confusing IMO. The Maximo Object Framework (going to refer to as MBO, or Maximo Business Object beyond this) as they have labeled it should really be in-between the UI Framework & Maximo Database. They avoided the arrow going from the MBO to the UI framework which is important. MBOs don't really interact with the UI framework and the REST API does NOT utilize the legacy UI framework but at a glance it would look like it did. Whether you use classic UI or not, the MBO layer is always utilized and this is the layer interacting with the database primarily. 

    The biggest reason to me behind this is becoming more stateless. Classic Maximo is a stateful application, meaning your session and everything you do in that session is tied to a specific JVM. As you are creating or modifying a record, those MBO(s) are stored in memory in that JVM. They've enhanced the REST API to really support this type of scenario where you can still have the benefits (such as filtered lookup values, immediate validation of the values, etc.) without actually needing to keep those MBOs in memory. Especially if your REST API was hosted in its own cluster, one of those JVMs could have handled your requests previously and go down and you wouldn't experience a disruption. 

    Another reason is to develop a more modern interface. Most web developers utilize front end frameworks like React, Angular, or Vue to build web applications today. Trying to utilize those frameworks with the classic Maximo framework wouldn't be impossible, but would be a lot of work and you wouldn't be really taking advantage of those frameworks. As Biplap mentions this is currently Google Polymer today, but is being switched over to React.


    Another reason why I like this is, and probably wasn't part of their decision point, is it really helps force a move of most of the logic that exists at the UI level before back into the MBO layer (or at least in processing classes on the object structures). There are many scenarios where something through the MIF functioned differently than something in the UI because the UI bean classes had additional logic in them. By utilizing the REST API for the new UI it should reduce the amount of times this occurs because you'll be able to write your integration using the same APIs as the work centers. 



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    Steven Shull
    Director of Development
    Projetech Inc
    Cincinnati OH
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Architecture Comparison: Maximo Desktop vs. Work Centers

    Posted Mon September 21, 2020 11:16 AM
    Does anyone know if/when Control Desk is supported for this 7612 release ?

    Ruud

    Sent from my iPhone


    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Architecture Comparison: Maximo Desktop vs. Work Centers

    Posted Mon September 21, 2020 11:23 AM
    Control Desk does not have a release compatible with Maximo 7.6.1.2 yet. There is a Control Desk 7.6.1.2 release (which is currently the latest release of Control Desk), but it runs on the TPAE framework 7.6.1.1 and is thus not compatible with Maximo 7.6.1.2 (which runs on TPAE 7.6.1.2). 

    As to when it will be supported, I do not know. Based on previous releases, I expect it to take about a year between the Maximo release and a supporting Control Desk release. So my guess would be August 2021, but it's purely a guess.

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    Steven Shull
    Director of Development
    Projetech Inc
    Cincinnati OH
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Architecture Comparison: Maximo Desktop vs. Work Centers

    IBM TechXchange Speaker
    Posted Mon September 21, 2020 11:28 AM
    Hi Ruud,

    The planned, late December 2020, 7.6.1.3 release of ICD will be based on the TPAE 7.6.1.2 release.

    This is subject to change.

    Regards,

    Paul.

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    Paul Watkins
    Solutions Architect
    IBM
    Warwick
    (44755) 441-5450
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    Original Message