We are wanting to put our member directory on our website, but we need more functionality than is provided by the hosted Raiser's Edge solution. Has anyone else done this and how did you handle data replication between your RE database and your website?

Hello, Did you ever figure out a solution for your web site? I work at a community college in FL and we're looking at launching an online community. I feel as though I need to go with what RE offers so that data integration will be easy but services like alumni.com seem superior for higher ed. What do you recommend?

We're still trying to figure all that out now. I researched the modules NetDirectory and NetCommunity. NetDirectory didn't provide the total functionality we wanted (and doesn't integrate with the database) as it serves as a Directory only. NetCommunity has a lot going for it but was totally cost-prohibitive for us. I'm not familiar with alumni.com. Our org is not technically a higher ed institution, so we sort of fall into a gray area. What's your opinion on alumni.com? I do think you can look beyond the RE tools, but it will probably prove to be a different technical prospect. I've posted this question in the Database Administrator forum under SQL server, if you want to look at what some other people have said. I hope this helps--let me know if I can help further.

I am not sure if this is exsactly what you are looking for, but we are participating in an online community with the Universty of Victoria project. Have a peek here: http://www.olcnetwork.net/nait/details.html  and let me know if this is what you are getting at. I'm still pretty new in this position (3 days), but as I understand it, this community is tied in somehow with our RE system. Man, my learning curve goes straight up... Cheers Peter Gulka Records Administrator - NAIT Alumni & Development Office Trailer 3 - 11762 106 St Edmonton AB T5G 2R1 email: [Email Removed] ph: (780) 471-7827 fax: (780) 471-8400

Thanks for the update. But do you know who programmed this online community and how? That's the bigger issue. What language did they use to query the database and write back to the API? Perl? Could we see some examples of the code? Are the servers in the same data center? If not, how do you handle communication between the servers?

It turns out I was misinformed. The OLC we use is not connected to Raiser's Edge. We generate a CSV of some of the personal info for a grad, and upload it to the site. Grads login in to the site, and that personal information is used to verify who they are. They then create an account and away they go. It works pretty well, but as far as information updates go, it behooves the OLC members themselves to keep the information current, so I am not sure if this is actually what you are looking for. Peter Gulka Records Administrator - NAIT Alumni & Development Office Edmonton AB Canada email: [Email Removed] ph: (780) 471-7827 fax: (780) 471-8400