The key to allowing PlanWin to work around the world and in situations with possibly limited Internet access is the ability to Replicate data between every “local” database and the central PlanWin database.

Listed are are some of the multiple ways to configure the database “network”: 

• A central or regional office could use a direct (LAN) connection to the database on a server in the office. All the users in the office could run PlanWin on their computers and access the database on their office server. 
• A regional office would use replication to synchronize its copy of the database with the central office.
• A program office or a staff person who travels could use a stand-alone computer (i.e. laptop) to allow access to the database. Replication would be used to synchronize the local database with the central office.

Replication is used to synchronize the data between all the databases in the system via a secure connection to the Internet.

When off-line, changes to be replicated are stored in a queue and are forwarded to the Central database when an Internet connection is available.

Sample Data Flow

Let’s say Marcos is a regional director working in the office with Server #2 and Julie, a program director, is user #3 working on a laptop. Marcos oversees Julie’s program.

A Trip Report is entered by Marcos after visiting Julie’s program.

1. Marcos enters his Trip Report in his regional office database and it is replicated to the Central Office database.
2. The Central Office database receives the trip report and forwards it to all other databases configured to receive this content.
3. Since Julie’s program office database is part of Marcos’ region, it will receive the trip report next time this database is replicated.

A Project’s Progress Note is entered by a Julie as she reports on a project’s status.

1. Julie enters a Project’s Progress Note on her laptop and replicates the data to the Central Office database.
2. The Central Office database receives the Progress Note and forwards it to all other databases configured to receive this content.
3. Since Marcos’ region includes this program, his database will receive this Progress Note at its next replication.

Data Visibility

Data visibility is determined by permissions assigned to each user. In order to read a specific data element two conditions must be met:
1. The data element must be in the database. For instance, Julie’s database in the example above will receive only its program’s content.
2. The user must have read or data entry permissions for this data element. Permissions can be assigned on a range of levels, typically by program. But it can also be assigned for specific projects if desired.