TOAST¶
This page gives an overview of TOAST, describing its current status, where and how it's developed and deployed, and who is responsible for maintaining it.
Please note that TOAST stands for Trusts Online Application SysTem
Service Description¶
TOAST provides a scoring and application system for graduate funding, allowing departments to identify candidates and funders to assess their potential and select those more suitable.
Secondly it provides a portal for Gates Trust to manage scholars; please note this is not intended as a long term function.
Service Status¶
TOAST is currently live.
Currently there is no planned roadmap for the future of this service; however, the service is integral to the graduate funding process and each year there are normally some tweaks made to the business logic.
Contact¶
Technical queries and support should be directed to uis-cloud@lists.cam.ac.uk and will be directed to Martin Hunt, who is the member of the team who works on the service.
Environments and Clients¶
TOAST has two components:
- A web client used by departments to score and assess applicants in the system
- A windows forms application used by admin staff to set the system up and to run various reports
Web¶
Authentication is global and partially governed through Raven. Raven protected sections are under the URL Raven/. TOAST has a database with approved users. Environment is decided by URL as listed below.
The TOAST web app is currently deployed to the following web environments:
| Name | URL | IIS Servers |
|---|---|---|
| Production | https://toast.admin.cam.ac.uk/ | Dreamer/Executive |
| Staging | https://uattoast.admin.cam.ac.uk/ | Dreamer/Executive |
| Funding Management Project Development | https://uatfmptoast.admin.cam.ac.uk/ | Dreamer/Executive |
| Development | localhost | localhost |
Windows Forms App¶
The application is run over the network on the US File Server. This is secured by file permissions, by the need to be run on a University machine belonging to a University Windows Domain, and by pass through Windows login to the database server. Access to environment is determined by which folder the excutable is run from. The application is started by running the MISD.Toast.FormsApp.exe executable.
TOAST windows forms apps are currently deployed to the following environments (this assumes the Z
drive is mapped to \\blue.cam.ac.uk\group as per standard university build):
| Name | Folder |
|---|---|
| Production | Z:\J Share\Applications\DotNet\Trusts\Live |
| Staging | Z:\J Share\Applications\DotNet\Trusts\Dev |
| Funding Management Project Development | Z:\J Share\Applications\DotNet\Trusts\UAT_FMP |
Source code¶
The source code for the TOAST can be found at the following URL:
https://dev.azure.com/meh37/TOAST
The code is spread over the following repositories:
| Repository | Description |
|---|---|
| BEL | Holds business objects |
| BPL | Holds business processes; knits together BEL and DAL |
| Components | Holds any bespoke components; mostly deprecated and superseded by NuGet |
| DAL | Data access routines, for example a library to communicate by SQL server |
| Documentation | A library that can hold documentation |
| EDMSTestingApp | A testing application for EDMS (Electronic Document Management System) - this is a bespoke library that accesses data related to applicants |
| FormsApp | Holds code for the windows forms application |
| packages | Holds the NuGet packages for the project |
| SQL | Holds SQL change scripts |
| SQLDatabase (Deprecated) | Deprecated library that holds SQL change scripts - use SQL instead |
| Temp | Some temporary data used in testing |
| Toast | Holds source code for the website |
| ToastDatabase (Deprecated) | Deprecated - was for Redgate SQL product that was dropped |
| UnitTests | Unit tests around TOAST |
Technologies used¶
The following gives an overview of the technologies TOAST is built on.
| Category | Language | Framework(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Database Server | MS SQL | SQL Server 2019 |
| Web Code | VB.NET | 4.6.1 |
| Client Code | VB.NET | 4.6.1 |
Operations¶
How and where TOAST is deployed¶
Web¶
It is important to note that this application does not use docker, rather it is directly installed on the server.
| Server | OS | IIS version |
|---|---|---|
| Dreamer | Windows Server 2012 R2 | 8.0 |
| Executive | Windows Server 2012 R2 | 8.0 |
The websites are set up locally on the E drive on those machines. To keep files in sync a DFS share has been set up between the two servers that can be accessed here:
\\internal\support\IIS_Data
Deploying a new release¶
Web deployment is done through Visual Studio. Profiles have been set up to copy the web files and can be deployed through a right click publish. UIS Windows Server Team are responsible for monitoring the userlying machines.
Admin app deployment is done through copying files to the file server location.
Service Management and tech lead¶
The service owner for TOAST is TBA
The service manager for TOAST is TBA
The tech lead for TOAST is Martin Hunt
NOTE: The system is currently developed and maintained by a single developer; this is a known risk that needs addressing. Effectively at present all roles are being filled by Martin Hunt.