Hosting the codebase on an AppServer has the following advantages:
If the codebase can reside on the same AppServer that hosts the business logic, administrative tasks are simplified.
If the AppServer hosting the business logic already has security (such as user IDs and passwords), placing the codebase on that AppServer protects the codebase with the same security, at little or no additional cost.
But, hosting the codebase on an AppServer has the disadvantage that it adds additional load to the AppServer. You might need to configure an additional AppServer instance to handle the additional load of hosting the codebase and to avoid performance degradation.
If application components reside on an AppServer, downloads can use the HTTP, HTTPS, or any of the four variations of AppServer protocol. The URL you enter in the Application Assembler's Codebase Locator window tells WebClient which protocol to use for codebase downloads. To choose among these protocols, consider the following:
Using the HTTP or HTTPS protocol with an AppServer requires using the AIA.
The HTTPS protocol encrypts downloads over the Internet, which increases security.
The HTTP protocol does not encrypt downloads, but is faster than HTTPS.
The AppServer protocols do not use the AIA.
The AppServerS and AppServerDCS protocols use SSL tunneling to encrypt downloads over an intranet, which increases security.
The AppServer and AppServerDC protocols do not encrypt downloads, but are faster than their SSL-based counterparts.
For more information on URLs and communication protocols, see OpenEdge Application Server: Developing AppServer Applications.
If the codebase can reside on the same AppServer that hosts the business logic, administrative tasks are simplified.