The Sentra STAR module provides a number of options for monitoring the STAR (SWIFT and TELEX Automated Routing) product by Software Integrators.
Based on the proven and successful Sentra architecture, the STAR module lets you probe and analyse the real-time flow of business and performance data and EMS alerts generated by the Software Integrator's STAR application.
The demonstration shows STAR service diagrams, charts, management reports and alerts executing against four separate SI data feeds.
- XML format data generated by the STAR Text Checker module. This file contains information about queues and their depths and is organised by country and Message Type (MT).
- HP NonStop EMS event log file data generated by the STAR application.
- Payment flow information.
- Sanctions filtering data.
Software Integrators designs and develops integrated message and payment solutions for banks and other financial institutions, with major clients in Europe, the USA and South Africa.
Software Integrators primary platform is the HP NonStop server and two of their key products are COPE (Complete On-line Payments Environment) and STAR (SWIFT and TELEX Automated Routing).
www.software-integrators.co.uk
The STAR Extraction Process
The Sentra for STAR product is equipped with two optimised extraction clients, the statistics collector process and the EMS event log process.
(1) The Statistics Collector Process
This Statistics Collector file contains information about the number of messages processed by the STAR application and it stores the data by message type, by queue name and by country in XML format. Separate totals are maintained for inbound and outbound transactions. There will be one extraction client installed for every statistics collector log file that needs to be tracked.
As queue information is updated in the statistics log file, the information is retrieved by the extraction client and relayed to a co-operative Sentra extraction process on the Windows server.
This Sentra extraction layer is a generic application that can process any XML file. Prior to the extraction layer being deployed, the associated XML schema definition or XSD file is pre-processed by Sentra and the field names and associated attributes listed in the file are retrieved. This information is then used to automatically create the SQL database tables required to store the XML data and also to derive the application processing required to parse the original XML file.
(2) The EMS event log process
The EMS extraction process will retrieve nominated STAR EMS events from one or more EMS collectors. The standard tokens such as timestamp, node, subject and manager will be extracted along with tokens specific to the STAR application such as queue name.
This information will be stored in the Sentra SQL database and can be processed by the reporting or rules engines.
PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliance is provided by the native facilities of the Microsoft SQL Server product which is the database manager for the Sentra environment as well as encryption and/or blanking of field values by Sentra.
Data can be encrypted and compressed if required, as it is relayed from the HP NonStop platform.
The real-time POS visuals and data presented to the user are based on the authorisation level of that user as set-up in Sentra. Further modifications can be automatically applied to data stored in the SQL database such as X’ing out (or blanking out) card numbers, e.g. XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-2207.
Sentra includes a multi-tier security model for users whereby groups are configured to access one or more functions within the product and then users are allocated to one or more Sentra groups. So for example, a user might only gain access to the MI reports group or the POS querying group or both. If they are allocated to a group, they may still be restricted from using certain functions such as restricted query access on the POS querying screen.
Though users may gain a secured level of access to the Sentra product, they of course will not be able to access the MS SQL database directly.
In order for ITL to install Sentra at one of the UK’s largest banks, strict security directives needed to be adhered to and a separate document relating to security considerations is part of the Sentra product evaluation delivery.
Hardware Requirements :
The Sentra software has been developed on an IBM-compatible PC. For optimum performance, it is recommended that the minimum specification of your hardware is as follows:
Sentra Server
- 1 Server running Windows 2000/2003 and Microsoft SQL Server, with a minimum specification of:
- Pentium 3 GHz Processor, Local Bus Technology utilising PCI (Pentium II or better recommended)
- 512 Mb On-Board RAM (1 Gb recommended) - depends on data collection volumes
- SCSI interface (SCSI2 Ultra-Wide recommended)
- 10 GB Single Drive for operating system and SQL Server software
- 40 GB Single Drive for the SQL server database (Raid Array recommended)
- Graphics resolution 1024 x 768 recommended
- A 17" or larger colour monitor is also recommended.
Client Workstation
Any standard desktop PC should be sufficient. A standard web browser is required for the Sentra Web Console.
Software Requirements :
Sentra Server
- Microsoft Windows NT/2000/2003 and relevant Service Packs
- TCP/IP protocol stack
NOTE: The Sentra database is compatible with the following variants of Microsoft SQL Server :
- Microsoft SQL Server 2000/2005 Standard Edition
- Microsoft SQL Server 2000/2005 Enterprise Edition
- Microsoft SQL Express 2005 With Advanced Services*
* edition supports databases with a maximum size of 4Gb. Users who anticipate large database storage requirements should consider installing the Enterprise edition of Microsoft SQL Server, or contact Insider Technologies for advice.