Introduction to TIBCO Spotfire

TIBCO (The Information Bus Company) Software is an American based company that implements integration, analytics, and event-processing software for firms to use On-premises or as part of cloud computing environments. The software controls information, decisions, processes, and applications for customers.

“TIBCO Spotfire is a quick, secure, Intelligence to…delight with compelling activities cure, governed, enterprise-class analytics program with built-in data wrangling that gives AI-driven, visual, geo, and streaming analytics. Spotfire supports you with numerous tools and techniques”.

Introduction to the TIBCO Spotfire Environment

The Spotfire environment is installed and configured to enable users to analyze their data in the Spotfire clients.

The Spotfire Server is the primary part of the Spotfire environment, to which all Spotfire clients join. Multiple connections are installed and attached to Spotfire Server. The Spotfire Web Player service and Spotfire Automation Services are installed on nodes to enable the usage of Spotfire web clients and the running of Spotfire Automation Services jobs. The server is connected to a Spotfire database that contains a user directory and stores reports and configuration files.

• Spotfire Server introduction:  Spotfire Server, a Tomcat web application that runs on Windows and Linux operating systems, is the administrative center of any Spotfire environment.
• Spotfire database introduction: Spotfire Server requires access to a Spotfire database.
• Nodes and services introduction: Install nodes in the environment to enable the use of Spotfire web clients and Spotfire Automation Services.
• Spotfire client’s introduction:  Spotfire end users connect to Spotfire Server using either an installed client or a web client.
• Environment communication introduction:   All back-end communication in a Spotfire environment is secured by HTTPS/TLS, complying with current security standards and industry best practices.
• Authentication and user directory introduction:  Installed clients, as well as web clients, connect to the Spotfire Server. When users of either client log in to a Spotfire Server, two things happen before they get access: authentication and authorization.
• Users and group’s introduction:  All Spotfire users are registered in the Spotfire database, where they are organized in groups.
• Licenses and preferences introduction: Licenses determine which features a group of users should have access to, and preferences set the default behavior of the Spotfire clients.
• Deployment introduction: To deploy Spotfire software, the administrator places software packages in a deployment area on Spotfire Server, and assigns the deployment area to particular groups.
• Spotfire library introduction: The Spotfire database contains the Spotfire library. The library is accessible to Spotfire Analyst, and web clients through the Spotfire Server, allowing users to easily share and reuse their work.
• Routing introduction: Spotfire provides routing capabilities within the environment.
• Data sources introduction: The Spotfire environment provides several ways for clients to connect to data. The most common ones are: opening a local file, connecting through the information services function of Spotfire Server, or using a Spotfire connector. Users can combine data from multiple sources in a single Spotfire analysis.
• Logging introduction: Configurable logs for the Spotfire Server, the nodes, and the service instances, the Action Logs and System Monitoring feature helps administrators keep an eye on the health of their Spotfire environment.
• Administration interface introduction: The Spotfire Server start page provides access to most administrative tasks and diagnostic information on your Spotfire environment.
• Example Scenario: This is an example scenario of what happens in the Spotfire environment when a user opens an analysis in a web client.

Spotfire Server introduction: Spotfire Server, a Tomcat web application that runs on Windows and Linux operating systems, is the administrative center of any Spotfire environment.

Spotfire clients, enables users to access their data, create visualizations. Spotfire Server performs:

• Authenticates and authorizes Spotfire users.
• Provides access to analyses and data stored in the Spotfire library.
• Provides access to external data sources, including Oracle and SQL Server databases and most JDBC sources, through information links.
• Makes sure that analyses are loaded with updated data according to schedules that are defined by the administrator.
• Provides storage (in the Spotfire database) for configurations, preferences, analyses, and so on.
• Manages the traffic through the Spotfire environment to optimize performance, and in accordance with rules that are defined by the administrator.
• Distributes software updates throughout the implementation.
• Monitors the health and activities of the Spotfire environment and provides diagnostic information both in the server interface and through downloadable logs.

Spotfire database introduction: Spotfire Server requires access to a Spotfire database. The Spotfire database stores the information that Spotfire Server needs to control the Spotfire environment, including users, groups, licenses, preferences, shared analyses, and system configuration data.

Nodes and services introduction: Install nodes in the environment to enable the use of Spotfire web clients and Spotfire Automation Services. With Spotfire Server installed, the installed Spotfire client, called Spotfire Analyst, can be used. To enable the use of Spotfire web clients and Spotfire Automation Services, one or more nodes must also be configured, preferably on dedicated computers.

Spotfire client’s introduction: Spotfire end users connect to Spotfire Server using either an installed client or a web client. Spotfire Analyst, a fully-featured client for working with data sources and creating complex analyses, are installed on a user’s local computer.

Environment communication introduction: All back-end communication in a Spotfire environment is secured by HTTPS/TLS, complying with current security standards and industry best practices. Spotfire Servers listen to incoming traffic from installed clients and web clients on one HTTP or HTTPS port, the front-end communication port.Spotfire Servers listen to traffic from services on the nodes on another HTTPS port, the back-end communication port.

Authentication and user directory introduction:  When users of client log in to a Spotfire Server, two things happen before they get access: authentication and authorization. Authentication is the process of validating the identity of a user. Once it is validated, the user is authorized in the user directory. Authorizing users determines what their access rights are within the Spotfire environment.

Users and group’s introduction: All Spotfire users are registered in the Spotfire database, where they are organized in groups. The authentication of your Spotfire environment determines how users are added to the database.  If Spotfire implementation is configured for authentication towards the Spotfire database, the administrator adds and administers user accounts directly in the database by using Spotfire Server and the Administration Manager tool. Administration Manager is accessed from Spotfire Analyst. Licenses and preferences introduction: Licenses determine which features a group of users should have access to, and preferences set the default behavior of the Spotfire clients. Licenses determine which features and functionality are available to Spotfire users. License data is stored in the Spotfire database.

Deployment introduction: To deploy Spotfire software, the administrator places software packages in a deployment area on Spotfire Server. Deployments are used:

• To set up a new Spotfire environment.
• To install a product upgrade, extension, or hotfix provided by Spotfire.
• To install a custom tool or extension.

Spotfire library introduction: The Spotfire database contains the Spotfire library. The library is accessible to Spotfire Analyst, and web clients through the Spotfire Server, allowing users to easily share and reuse their work. The library stores Spotfire analyses, Spotfire data files, custom Spotfire data functions, information links, shared connections created with Spotfire connectors, and visualization color schemes.

Routing introduction: Spotfire provides routing capabilities within the environment. A cluster of Spotfire Servers in an environment can be fronted by a load balancer to distribute the traffic to the servers.

By default, any Spotfire Server in a cluster can send requests from clients to any Web Player service instance. Likewise, any Web Player service instance can access any Spotfire Server for library data or to execute information links.

Data sources introduction: The Spotfire environment provides ways for clients to connect to data. They are: opening a local file, connecting through the information services function of Spotfire Server, or using a Spotfire connector. Users can combine data from multiple sources in a single Spotfire analysis. The data sources available are Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, Teradata, Sybase, SAS/Share, MySQL, DB2, and custom JDBC source types.

Logging introduction: Configuring the Spotfire Server, the nodes, and the service instances, the Action Logs and System Monitoring feature helps administrators keep an eye on the health of their Spotfire environment. The action logs collect information about system events that are sent through a web service from Spotfire Analyst, Spotfire Automation Services, and the Spotfire Web Player service to the Spotfire Server.

Administration interface introduction: The Spotfire Server start page provides access to most administrative tasks and diagnostic information on your Spotfire environment.

In Analytics you can create new analyses, and view and edit analyses that are in the Spotfire library.

Example scenario

• The Spotfire web client user receives an email with a link to an analysis that contains interesting information.
• When the link is opened, an ordinary http (or https) connection is set up from the browser to Spotfire Server. The environment is configured for username and password authentication.

TIBCO Spotfire Overview:

Benefits:

• Smart Visual Data Discovery.
• Immersive Data Wrangling.
• Data Wrangling.
• Action on Insights.
• Proven Scalability.

Capabilities:

• Data Access Made Easy.
• Collaboration.
• Solution Templates & Accelerators.
• Big Data Analytics and RESOURCES.

To know more information about Tibco Spotfire Setup and how it’s going to work we will see in Next blog.

Enroll for TIBCO Spotfire Training Course