Audit Trail

Audit Trail

Based on Wikipedia, an audit trail (also called audit log) is a security-relevant chronological record, set of records, and/or destination and source of records that provide documentary evidence of the sequence of activities that have affected at any time a specific operation, procedure, or event. Audit records typically result from activities such as financial transactions scientific research and health care data transactions, or communications by individual people, systems, accounts, or other entities.

With fccFrameWork an audit trail entry contains all relevant information to understand who and when changed what attribute with what function. These entries are helpful in problem resolution situations.

fccFrameWork provides audit trail entries for:

• a logfile from the initial installation
• any update during an online session
• a logfile for each batch job.

Authentication

Authentication Methods

Authentication grants access to fccFrameWork. Application access (what functions a user is granted to) are part of the Menu System.

The following authentication rules can be configured:

• configurable password rules (minimum password length, character occurrences like lower, upper, numbers, special characters)
• maximum login retries
• password expiration
• password storage (plain, hex, encrypted)
• automated logoff after a configurable time of inactivity
• random password generator (aligned to the respective password rules)
• two-factor authentication (security token via SMS).

All authentication rules provide top-down inheritance, i.e. rules defined on an administrator level cannot be downgraded on an user account level.

Communication

Communication

fccFrameWork includes electronic communication handlers for:

• E-Mail (IMAP Handler)
  send and receive E-Mails, e.g. for receiving job requests via E-Mail
• SMS (SMS Handler)
  send SMS, e.g. for two-factor authentication.

While the IMAP handler is generic, the SMS Handler is dependent on a provider's API specification. Per default DOLPHIN Systems eCALL is supported, other providers on request.

Data Storage

Data Storage Model

fccFrameWork supports different Data Storage Model types:

• COBOL file system (as delivered with the COBOL development platform of your choice)
• FairCom c-treeRTG COBOL Edition 
• all SQL databases supporting ESQL (e.g. Oracle, DB2, SQL-Server, PostGreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB)

The Data Storage Model is defined on a Company level and each entity within a Company can run a different type (Hybrid Data Storage Model). Switching an entity's Data Storage Model type is a one-step online operation including data migration.

Jobs

Job Control

Built-in Job Control System

• recurring job managed by a job scheduler
• one-time jobs triggered manually or via E-Mail

Menu

Menu

fccFrameWork provides a flexible Menu System configurable on a per user or role level:

• roles allow easy management for users requiring the same functions
• an additional access layer allows assignment of access rights per function
  • read: user can read but not change or create
  • write: user can read and write (change)
  • create: user can read, write, and create.

Multi-Language

Multi-Language

fccFrameWork supports translation utilities for all client-facing elements like screens, reports, and online help.

Per default, fccFrameWork is deployed in English and German.

There are two processes for a translation:

• manually enter translations
• use a Translation Engine which translates all language relevant elements in one run.
  Currently the DeepL Pro engine is supported, other engines on request.
  

Multi-Tenancy

Multi-Tenancy

fccFrameWork is designed to support multi-tenancy on a site level. The following rules apply for multi-tenancy:

• a site shares configuration and execution and supports multiple Companies (tenants)
• Company data is always separated; all entities (files, database tables) of a Company are physically separated from other Companies' entities
• Entities can be defined as inherited between Companies within a site, i.e. one Company (slave) runs a managed copy of an Entity of another company (master). Managed copy means, that master and slave can by synchronized (unidirectional synchronization).
  Typically used for entities like code tables.

Customers are free on how to configure fccFrameWork sites. To separate development, staging, and production, customers can either run a single-site by using different companies or multi-site environments:

• single tenant (one company per site), e.g. production site
• multi-tenancy (multiple companies per site), e.g. development, test, integration, and production in one site
• a mixture of the above, e.g. one single tenant site for production, a second multi-tenant site for development, test, and integration.

Online Help

Online Help

fccFrameWork Online Help is organized in books (e.g. installation manual, users guide), chapters and sub-chapters within a book, and articles within a chapter. Articles are elements to be viewed.

Users can search thru all the books they have granted access to find the topic of interest or they can read forward and reverse throughout an entire book.

fccFrameWork Online Help is the unique source for user related documentation. Articles maintained in Online Help can be converted into a PDF document. The other way aound, existing manuals can be marked (define start and end of sections and articles) and then uploaded into Online Help.

Usage

Usage Metering

In order to understand hosting and licensing costs both for past and the current periode (month), fccFrameWork is metering usage data. Relevant usage data can be:

• fccFrameWork licenses
• login / logout (named or concurrent users)
• 3^rd-party service providers usage (e.g. SMS provider for two-factor authentication)
• and others.

The administrator can define the services and the related usage models to be metered.