What Is the LSF Architecture Guide?

The purpose of this document is to present the architecture of Infor Lawson System Foundation. The goal is to stay architectural by providing a high-level view about how the system works. The document does not discuss what customers need to do or know to use or administer Infor Lawson.

This document deals only with Infor Lawson System Foundation, not with the applications that run under Infor Lawson System Foundation. When Infor Lawson applications are mentioned in this document, it is only in the context of their intersection points with Infor Lawson System Foundation. The reason for this is that Infor Lawson System Foundation exists to support Infor Lawson applications. It acts as a buffer between Infor Lawson applications and the many services and programs that must run behind-the-scenes to provide that support. If Infor Lawson System Foundation is doing its many jobs, application users should not even be aware that it exists.

This document also does not discuss details of third-party products, such as Relational Database Management Systems (which this document refers to as "RDBMS" or "RDBMSs" when pluralized). The goal of Infor Lawson System Foundation is to let Infor Lawson applications remain unaware of the details of third-party products while giving customers the opportunity to use distinctive features of those products. As with Infor Lawson applications, Infor Lawson System Foundation serves as a buffer to third-party products. It provides an environment through which applications interface with third-party products, but to the application user, and, indeed, to the application itself, all interaction appears to be through Infor Lawson.

This document breaks Infor Lawson System Foundation into the following major components:

  • User interfaces: This is primarily Lawson Portal but other ways to gain access to Infor Lawson are also briefly discussed. User Interfaces

  • Infor Lawson Core Technology: A brief overview of Environment internals, including an overview of the Infor Lawson repository and the location of files installed by Infor Lawson. Lawson Core Technology

  • Internet Object Services (IOS): While technically a part of the environment, IOS, which specifically supports web-based components like Lawson Portal, has some unique characteristics. What Is Internet Object Services?

  • Multi-Database System: This section describes significant aspects of what Infor Lawson calls the Multi-Database System (MDBS), the interface to customer data which is stored in a third-party relational database system (RDBMS). What Is the Multi-Database System?

  • Batch and Online Transactions: Transaction processing (through batch jobs and online programs) comprises the largest chunk of what application users do. This section describes the behind-the-scenes processes that go on when a transaction occurs. Batch and Online Transaction Processing

  • Security: A high-level overview of Lawson Security's connection to the Infor Lawson system, and authentication and authorization execution cycles.

  • Infor Process Automation: A high-level overview of Infor's Business Processing Model (BPM) product, is a Landmark application that is fully compatible with the Infor Lawson system.