Web Services It’s About Standards, Not Infinite Choices Barry Walsh.

Web ServicesWeb Services

It’s About Standards, Not Infinite Choices

Barry Walsh

EDUCAUSE/NACUBO Business Forum 2002

ThanksThanks To many, but especially these four valued colleagues

Carl Jacobsen, U Del

Bob Kvavik, U Minn

Ed Lightfoot, UW

Mark Olson, NACUBO

Steve Relyea, UCSD


Today’s OverviewToday’s Overview

Emerging Technology – Web Services

Standards…who needs them???

Intra-institutional systems implications

Q & A



Some of the following slides on Web Services borrow from the remarkable work in the current EDUCAUSE Review article on Web Services by Carl Jacobsen, University of Delaware, and are used with the express permission of the author and EDUCAUSE.


DefinitionsDefinitions

Web Services refers to an architecture that facilitates the interoperation of software through common protocols. IDC predicts that Web Services, which is still in its infancy, will grow from a $1.6 billion market in 2004 to $34 billion by 2007.

Now we know why the big boys are singing from the same hymnal


Web serviceWeb service

Definition: A Web service is a software application identified by a URI/URL, whose interfaces and binding are capable of being defined, described and discovered by XML artifacts and supports direct interactions with other software applications using XML based messages via internet-based protocols

Web Services Architecture RequirementsW3C Working Draft 29 April 2002

http://www.w3.org/TR/2002/WD-wsa-reqs-20020429



“Web services are a new breed of Web application. They are self-contained, self-describing, modular applications that can be published, located, and invoked across the Web. Web services perform functions, which can be anything from simple requests to complicated business processes… Once a Web service is deployed, other applications (and other Web services) can discover and invoke the deployed service.”

“A Web Services Primer” quoted by Venu Vasudevan Senior Researcher, Motorola Labswww.xml.com - from IBM tutorial

http://www.xml.com/



“The promise of Web services lies in its ability to resolve the differences among shared, networked applications. Applications from different vendors, of various vintages, written in different languages, running on disparate platforms, easily communicate and cooperate, resolving their differences to act in concert.”

Carl Jacobsen, University of Delaware

EDUCAUSE Review March/April 2002


What’s What’s NOTNOT a Web Service? a Web Service?

Standard web applications

Wrappered front ends to legacy systems

Unless they have the WS attributes


Web Services: THE ACRONYMSWeb Services: THE ACRONYMS

XML

SOAP

UDDI

WSDL



XML – like HTML, XML is a “markup language” and the “x” stands for “extensible”

While HTML uses text tags to describe how the contents of a document will appear (tags for bold, header, underline, etc), XML uses text tags to describe how a document will be used (tags for invoice number, item number, price, grading format, etc.)

HTML is used to describe how a document will be displayed on a browser; XML describes how a document can be processed by a program, or application or system.



SOAP – stands for “Simple Object Access Protocol” and is just a messaging standard or protocol to allow Internet applications to communicate.

SOAP allows process control to be passed between two networked applications

It is not a language, nor a component, but a communications protocol that defines rules for disparate systems to interact.



UDDI – is the “white pages” and the “yellow pages” of Web Services.

Stands for “Universal Description Discovery and Integration” and is a Web directory that allows applications to announce its availability and services to other applications.

Web services registered in a UDDI directory may be “discovered” by other Web applications hunting for specific services, goods or partners.



WSDL – Web Services Description Language is an XML format used to describe the capabilities and interoperability required of a Web Service

WSDL provides an abstract definition of the communication details/rules between two applications, how a Web service will work with another application.


Application Services

ApplicationService D

ApplicationService C

ApplicationService B

ApplicationService A

Web Services Architecture Layers

Shared Utilities

Security, auditing and assessment of third party performance, billing and payments

Service Management UtilitiesProvisioning, monitoring, ensuring quality of service, synchronization, conflict resolution

Resource Knowledge Management UtilitiesDirectories, brokers, registries, repositories, data transformation

Transport Management UtilitiesMessage queuing, filtering, metering, monitoring, routing, resource orchestration

Service Grid

Standards and Protocols

Software StandardsWSDL (Web Services Description Language)UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery and Integration)XML (eXtensible Markup Language

Communication ProtocolsSOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol)HTTP (HyperText Transoprt Protocol)TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol

Web

Services

Implementing the traditional way Implementing the traditional way vs. using Web Services: vs. using Web Services:

Point of Comparison Traditional Upgrade Solution

Web Services Solution

Cost to enter High Moderate

Cost to maintain Very High Low

Cost to upgrade Very High Low

Total Cost of Ownership Very High Moderate

Return On Investment Low Very High

Expertise Required Very High High

Ease of Implementation Very Low High

Timeframes High Moderate

Success Rate Moderate Very High

http://www.webservicesarchitect.com/content/articles/apshankar02.asp?m49


Web Services offers advantages

Capitalize on existing investments: Portability: A Web Services solution is not only

portable across platforms, it also facilitates cross technology integration.

Scalability: Web Services are highly scalable components, supporting industry strength scalability requirements.

Multiple client access: In addition to PCs-- palmtops, PDAs, cell phones etc.

Low costs: Web Services solutions may be cheaper to develop, maintain, and upgrade.

http://www.webservicesarchitect.com/content/articles/apshankar02.asp?m49


Why is the concept of web services Why is the concept of web services important to us on campus?important to us on campus?

External services FSA EBPP Grant submission Etc.

Internal development standards


What’s the big deal about standards What’s the big deal about standards anyway?anyway?

Windows; Linux; Unix; MacOS, ES390

Java, VStudio.Net, Cold Fusion, Lizardware

HP, Sun, IBM, Intel, ??

Outlook, Lotus Notes, Groupwise

Client server, web, mainframe


Let’s look at some other standards?Let’s look at some other standards?

Electrical


What if we let the electrical engineers What if we let the electrical engineers decide what standards they wanted?decide what standards they wanted?

Voltage/Current: Highest/lowest possible?

Frequency: Highest?...motor speed? Lowest?...circuit breakers


What if the campus departments chose What if the campus departments chose the voltage?the voltage?

Physics would want 3 x 106 Volts



Math would want 3.1415926535897932 Volts



English department would want ?? Volts



Controller would want 34 or 35 Volts


So what do we actually have?So what do we actually have? (in the US) (in the US)

115 v @ 60hz

Why?

We need a standard


How do the engineers cope????How do the engineers cope????

Because it’s a standard!!!!



“Web services won’t (in and of themselves) transform business. Business transforms business… Technologies only provide new opportunities; if enterprises are unwilling or unable to change their cultures and approaches to business, then very little transformation will occur.”

Gartner Research Note:

“What Web Services Will and Won’t Do”

February 19, 2002


So What’s the Problem?So What’s the Problem?

Institutional Vision Portal based Service Delivery-one place! Larry Faulkner at UT Austin has it

Stove piping Functional Technical

Provider-Centric view of Service Delivery


Architecture Design Principles for a Architecture Design Principles for a Proposed Higher Education ApplicationProposed Higher Education Application

Design a highly functional and flexible financial information system and infrastructure by utilizing component-based design and development methodologies

Facilitate integration with existing university portals, enterprise applications and departmental systems

Select and utilize technologies that balance cost, vendor viability, support, functionality, and portability

Provide transactional document workflow and routing capabilities based on XML documents and technologies

Utilize web services to support application services and application integration.


Technical ArchitectureTechnical ArchitectureClient Desktop

Internet Explorer / Netscape / Mozilla

MS Windows, Macintosh OS/XUnix, Linux

Web Server(s)

Apache

Unix

Apache StrutsApplication Server(s)

J2EE (Websphere)

Unix

JDO log4j

Database Server(s)

Oracle

Unix

HTTP

HTTP

JDBC

IP SOAP

XML

3rd Party Systems

SOAP

JDBC

IP


Workflow ScenarioWorkflow Scenario

Workflow: aka routing and approval In the following workflow scenario, the term

‘document’ refers to any electronic transaction designed to perform or complete some business process for the institution Student requesting a drop/add approval A purchase requisition A hire event in HRMS A transfer of funds in the fiscal system A timesheet approval for student hourly Etc. Hundreds of possible txns


ScenarioScenario

Sample scenario describing workflow interaction with system:

1. ‘Document’ (transaction) is entered into the system2. Routing instructions are created based on document

type and additional input from user3. Instructions are stored in associated XML document4. System submits XML to route modules5. Route modules scan XML for specific routing

instructions and match to action request rules6. Route modules return list of action requests for this

document


Scenario (cont’d)Scenario (cont’d)

7. System activates appropriate action requests by placing them on users’ action lists---in the portal!!

8. Users view the list of documents requiring their attention

9. User can view document in originating application, and can then perform an action on the document

10. If action is performed, the XML doc is updated with this info and sent back to the routing modules, where is then routed to the next destination

11. This continues until all routing is complete.12. Every action along the way is logged for audit trail

purposes



A powerful standard emerging in the Web world Supported by all the major vendors Enables loosely coupled business processes Currently, the emphasis is on external partners such

as FSA and others Web Services model can accomplish the same

objectives inside the academy common application standards and protocols

Java or .Net Significant downstream payoffs in system support and

maintenance Encourage creation of services that can be called as

components Enables the decentralization of application development

without losing integration opportunities


Questions ?Questions ?

Barry [email protected] 855 6416


Web Services:Web Services:

Loosely coupled – “forgiving” interfaces rather than traditionally strict integration requirement of our legacy systems, including our “new” legacy systems

Self-describing and self-announcing: all specifications related to the use and behavior of a service are part of the service itself

Applications may invoke remote processes or applications as if they were a part of the invoking application

Specific technologies to: build, publish,and relate business and learning components across the network

Web Services It’s About Standards, Not Infinite Choices Barry Walsh.

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