NetDownloadThis section describes the average bandwidth consumption of these different deployment methods. This section assumes courseware only, without use of the SkillSoft Learning Assistant or any other LMS. The LMS adds a small amount of overhead in the form of additional HTML pages that are displayed and usage data passed between the course and the LMS; but the size of this data is negligible. The bulk of the network traffic associated with playing Business Skills and IT Skills Courses over the web is related to the actual content.
NetPlay
When a learner uses NetPlay, courses are played by the SkillSoft Course Player, which is a Java applet. When a course is initiated, the Player applet is copied to the browser cache and launched. The Player applet fetches the necessary files as the learner progresses through the course.
NetDownload
When a learner uses NetDownload, SkillSoft Course Player Java applet is downloaded and stored locally. This download is only performed once. Content may then be downloaded and stored locally for use while offline. When playing the course offline, no network traffic is generated, as the content is playing locally. Network traffic is only generated during the download.
Player "Prefetch" Function
When you enter a topic in a course, the Player "prefetches" the files (audio and graphics) for the remaining pages in that topic so that they are available when the user reaches those pages. More network traffic is generated when a user enters a topic as the Player fetches all upcoming files. Once the files are fetched, the Player can play the content from the local cache until the user enters the next topic.
Detailed Analysis of Files Transferred
The following table shows the files that are transferred from server to client during a play session.
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File(s)
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Description
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Size
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Notes
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InitialPlayer.cab
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Applet for IE 5.x or higher when MSVM is used
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~163 KB
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(1)(2)
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InitialPlayer.jar
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Applet for the following browsers:
Netscape 6.2 or higher
IE 5.x or higher when JRE is used
Mozilla 1.6 or higher
Mozilla Firefox 1.0 or higher
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~228 KB
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Assets1_8x6.cab
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Initial Player assets (IE)
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~33 KB
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(2)
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Assets1_8x6.jar
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Initial Player assets (NS)
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~36 KB
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.class
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Player Java class files
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~560 KB
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(3)
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JPG, GIF
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Graphics for the Player interface
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~340 KB
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(4)(2)
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HTM, GIF, JPG
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Player Help files, fetched as necessary if the user accesses Player Help
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~1.04 MB
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- Only one Player Applet file is loaded, depending on what browser is being used.
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- These components are mutually exclusive. Only one will be loaded, depending on the environment.
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- The Player applet fetches Java class files as needed from the web server The class files fetched by the Business Skills Player average ~1 KB each, and are fetched as necessary to support the various Player functions (simulations, RolePlay, assessments, etc.) The total size of all class files is ~495 KB, but not all class files may be fetched in any given session.
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- Player Assets are only loaded when using NetPlay. Player Assets are retrieved as needed as the user proceeds through the course. In a given learning session, not all Player Assets may be required. The size shown reflects total size of all Player Assets, which would be transferred if the learner proceeded through the entire course and exercised every function.
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