System Architecture

Niche’s system architecture provides the power and flexibility that drives all RMS application functionality.

Niche’s n-tier system architecture provides significant advantages over traditional one- and two-tier systems, including comprehensive access control, flexible server configuration, ready interfacing, and reduced network traffic. N-tier architecture provides a flexible and reusable application. By breaking the application into tiers, Niche developers need only modify or add a layer, rather than rewriting the entire application as technology changes. The system currently includes:

• Smart Client desktop software (GUI)
• Web application server
• Automated client software updater
• Niche Data Server middleware (NDS)
• Back-end relational database management system (RDBMS)
• External system interfaces
• Mobile databases for disconnected use

Niche Smart Client. User interface software that communicates with the NDS middleware. It uses edit checks and rules specified in locally cached metadata to provide feedback during data entry. By avoiding a round trip to the server for simple data validation, response time improves, and WAN and server load decrease.

Web application server. Integrates with a web server to provide a server-based web interface to the system. It communicates with NDS as if it were a client application and generates the appropriate HTML for web browser and PDA users.

Automated client software updater. Updates and manages all client installations from a local or central file server, so that the client software only needs to be installed once on each workstation. A single system administrator can distribute a new software release and update thousands of workstations in minutes.

Niche Data Server (NDS). Responds to client requests by running database queries (against local or external systems), processing results, and returning them to the client. NDS enforces all access restrictions, edit checks, and complex business rules, ensuring data security and integrity. Because multiple database transactions resulting from a single client request travel only between NDS and the database, WAN traffic is reduced.

Back-end database. For Niche RMS, this can be any recent SQL-compliant relational database. The NDS makes the system independent of the database selected. Niche recommends Microsoft SQL Server 2000 for most installations.

External system interfaces exchange data with external systems, for example, CAD systems, and national or regional databases. The Niche Data Server includes tools to make external system interfaces more functional and simpler to develop.

Scalability. Niche RMS can be installed in configurations ranging from a single lowcost server for a 50-officer agency to a server farm with a dozen or more enterprise servers for a 25,000 officer agency.

The Niche RMS data model uses NDS object-oriented (OO) features to unify entity treatment. For example, both organizations and persons inherit data and procedural methods from a common base entity, gperson. This means there is no need to distinguish between charged persons and charged organizations, simplifying the data model and unifying charge-related operations. This unified approach is used throughout the RMS data model. The data model is based on widely-used national and international data standards, including UCR/NIBRS. This assures uniformity across the database and assures compatibility with other justice systems.

Hardware requirements, including servers, specify standard off-the-shelf machines. For most installations, Niche recommends Intel-based workstations and servers. We encourage customers to purchase hardware from their regular suppliers both for economy, and for fast, local, aftersales service.

Software updates are sent to customers as they are released, providing new functionality, new technology and standards, and accommodating new hardware, operating systems, and database versions. Automated client software updating makes the process of keeping the client installations up-to-date quick and painless, no matter how many desktop or mobile workstations are being supported.

Security & Access Control

Users’ access to data depends on the data domains they are authorized for, and what their roles are within a domain.

Domain-based access control controls what data a group of users can view or modify, allowing you to manage how information will be shared among multiple agencies. In a multi-jurisdictional system, domains are often set up at agency, division, and regional levels.

For handling sensitive or confidential investigations, such as a region-wide gang file, you can create special domains. Agencies conducting a joint investigation can create a special domain and limit access to those involved in the case. Internal affairs and public complaints can be securely managed in this way.

Role-based access control (RBAC) allows you to assign roles within a domain, based on user job functions and the need-toknow principle. For example, a supervisor would have access to more and different data than a patrol officer. RBAC also determines access to individual fields within those entities and to RMS operations.

Technology Options

Barcodes. The Niche RMS client application contains a flexible barcode handling facility. Barcodes can be printed for windows that represent uniquely identifiable objects, such as persons, occurrences, and property. Using a local address label printer, a user can print a barcode label for the object represented by the current window. The corresponding search windows automatically retrieve the record for the barcoded object when the barcode is scanned. The Niche RMS system comes with the ability to read all common barcode symbologies (depends on the scanner) and to print Code 3 of 9. Printing of other symbologies (e.g., Interleave 2/5) can be configured as required. Barcodes can also be added to customized reports as required.

A simple example for property:

• A property item arrives and an officer records the property details in a property record. When the record is complete, the officer presses a key to print a barcode label that uniquely identifies the property item, and then fastens the barcode to the item.
• When the barcoded property item is checked out of stores, the officer opens the property search window and scans the barcode to check the item out.
• When a barcoded item is returned, the officer opens the property search, scans all the returned items, multi-selects the resulting rows in the search, and uses the context menu to check them all in.

Card readers. Niche RMS is designed to read data from the magnetic stripe found on credit cards, drivers’ licenses, etc., and from smart cards. A search window can retrieve a unique identifier (e.g., driver’s license number) from the card and launch a search for it. If the record is not found, the user can create a new record that will be filled in automatically with data from the card. The card reader functionality is built in a modular way to allow different types of card readers and cards to be supported without affecting any application-level code.

Electronic signatures. Niche RMS incorporates a flexible signature facility that can be configured to allow any document – any defined set of data fields and free-form narratives – to be signed in a number of ways. Niche RMS support three types of electronic signatures:

• Username/password or smart card/password pair.
• Using a signature tablet to capture a signature image. This method is used to allow witnesses or other people who have no credentials on the system to sign documents.
• Using an officer’s notebook. When no signature tablet is available, the system can display a CRC (cyclic redundancy check) computed from the document to be signed. The officer writes the CRC value into his notebook, or other permanent log, and has the signer sign beside the CRC value. For validation purposes, the CRC can be re-calculated and compared to the value next to the physical signature.

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