The Need

The retail chain needs to process sales results on a per-product and per-time-of-day basis.  Results need to be available fifteen minutes after every business hour to enable middle-of-the-day changes to in-store marketing strategy, pricing, or product placement.

The Challenge

Hourly sales results need to be analyzed in less than fifteen minutes.  Multiprocessing is essential to provide the speed and reduce the output delay.  However, dedicating CPUs to multiprocessing would leave them dramatically under utilized for most of each hour and completely unutilized overnight.

The ReFrame Active Service Grid Solution

Applications developed for the ReFrame Application Service Grid can scale dynamically.   ReFrame's message-based architecture, frame-based operation and zero-configuration networking make distributing and scaling simple.   Dynamic Scaling adds processing power when needed and leaves the CPUs available otherwise.

ReFrame enables development of an algorithm that uses CPU load and other parameters to define when to hand off frames to other CPUs.  This same algorithm can return those CPUs to the availability pool when the work load no longer requires them.

ReFrame's ability to enable Dynamic Scaling allows multiple applications to share a pool of available CPU power.  Participating applications run faster, results that drive the business come sooner.  CPU resources are shared which raises utilization levels and lowers both capital and operating costs.

Accommodate Change - Fast, Easy, Safe

As this retail chain both adds stores and increases same store sales, processing power can scale by adding computers to the dynamically scaled ReFrame Application Service Grid.

As new information needs arise, the applications written for the ReFrame Application Service Grid can be modified and new ones added.

ReFrame enables you to quickly, easily, and safely accommodate the changing size and shape of your business.