The Electronic Updates client runs as a Windows service. It downloads data from a network source or over the internet using a secure connection (https) and updates your applications with the data as and when you specify. We'll go through each stage of the update process.
The options controlling the behaviour of Electronic Updates at each stage are described in detail in the online help that accompanies the client.
The Electronic Updates service must be run as a user with the appropriate permissions to perform each stage of the process.
Electronic Updates scans and classifies all data stored in the configured data download location, and any other data in use by configured Experian applications. This is done by calculating the MD5 hash of each data file. This process may take some time when Electronic Updates is first started.
Electronic Updates periodically polls the configured data source for the list of available data which you are licensed to use. This is downloaded in the form of metadata from the configured data source. You can specify the polling frequency and the data source.
The available data is compared to the results collected in the scan stage, to identify any datasets which have been updated.
If new data is available, the Electronic Updates client will start downloading it from the data source, according to your download settings. If Electronic Updates is being used as a replication server, it will normally be set to download all updated data.
Downloads can be scheduled for specific times, and the bandwidth used can be limited. The data will be downloaded to a single location specified in your configuration.
If required, the newly downloaded data can be installed automatically in configured Experian applications. If Electronic Updates is being used as a replication server, this will not normally occur, since the applications will typically only be configured on the replication client machines.
The first time you use Electronic Updates with existing Experian applications, their configuration files will be changed to use data in the new download location.
Data installed in Experian server applications, such as Pro Web, requires activation before it can be used by the server's clients. If required, this can be automatically carried out by Electronic Updates after installation. Non-server applications, such as Pro Plug&Go, cannot have new data activated by Electronic Updates and must be manually restarted before the new data can be used.
You can configure your Electronic Updates installations using the Configuration Editor.
Once the Electronic Updates service is running, you can monitor download and installation activity using the Electronic Updates Status Application.
