Beyond SOA: Context-Aware Composite Services
Ali Arsanjani, PhD IBM Global Business Services
[email protected]
Abstract: Context Aware Services are the next generation of the Service Computing Paradigm. In this Industry report we explore a case study of creating contextaware services for the telecommunications industry. The SOA paradigm is a logical means of building and exposing context aware services in the form of composite applications. Context-Aware Services can be exemplified by the ability of a pre-programed cellphone to detect your current location, collate this with a time of day, city and events such as lunch or dinner along with the preferences of cuisine. It can then inform you as you are walking down a street that your favorite Chinese cuisine can be found using the following directions. A Service-oriented Architecture (SOA) is usually context-free. The addition of relevant context-based information about user profiles, rules pertaining to an industry (such as telco) domain allows the integration of domain-specific languages into the SOA paradigm by defining a set of production rules that the context will use to determine the course of action(s) to take as events are coming in (e.g., through the Business Mobility Platform described in this paper). The notion of context-aware services builds on Grammar-oriented Object Design (GOOD) [1] and the notion of executable business domain languages [2]. In the telecommunications domain, network convergence caused by the migration of service providers from discrete SS7 and IP network based topologies to a unified converged network based on the IP Multimedia Subsystem specification (ratified by the 3GPP-- Third Generation Partnership Project) has necessitated the development of frameworks that support context aware composite services in order to provide more value to their subscribers, both wired and wireless. The project cited here involves the design and implementation of IBM Business Mobility Framework which supports the paradigm of contextaware services in an industrial context. The concept of a context aware composite service stems from the need to aggregate services from multiple sources to create a composite application from services in an SOA. This enhances ordinary orchestration through two elements: a) orchestration is conducted by a business domain specific language and b) rules for context and events from the context provide rules for handling those events. and discusses some of the key deployment considerations associated with the construction and operationalization of these services in the service provider domain by using real world implemented examples. Finally, this submission extracts and articulates some of the common deployment patterns distilled from the learning
IEEE International Conference on Services Computing (SCC'06) 0-7695-2670-5/06 $20.00 © 2006
Sri Ramanathan IBM Global Business Services
[email protected] associated with the specification and construction of these services. The Services provider network architecture landscape is typified by the existence of multiple underlying redundant networks, to support and roll out new services. As a case in point, carriers spend billions of dollars supporting an SS7 network for voice services and a separate IP network to provide data services. Threats to their core business, in the form of cable providers and third parties, who provide Voice Over IP (VOIP) and data services over existing analog and digital cable bearer channels, are forcing carriers to find new ways to optimize costs in their existing networks. To address these issues and to permit a unified architecture based on a converged network platform to deliver next generation 'subscriber-aware' IP communications services using voice, video, messaging, presence, and other real-time capabilities, the 3rd Generation Partnership project (3GPP), the ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) and Parlay Forum have defined a services architecture called the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). The telecommunications industry has been the primary driver for the evolution of the IMS model. IMS also enables the ability of enterprises to dramatically alter the way that their enterprises communicate and collaborate with their customers, employees and business partners. From both an enterprise and a Service Provider perspective, the first generation of services that are expected to be rolled out include what are called composite services that leverage context, to expose capabilities supported by both the new and the legacy capabilities that span multiple underlying network domains. While many of these actual next generation services have not been defined as of yet, a focus on the infrastructure and methods necessary to provide the foundation which would allow thee services to be realized, is critical. This presentation describes some of the potential use case domains that could be realized by these services, considers some of the techniques that can be used to identify these services and then discusses some best practices that would help realize them. References [1] Externalzing Component Manners to Achieve a Highly Re-configurable Architectural Style, Ali Arsanjani, Hussein Zedan, James Alpigini, ISCM 2002. [2] Empowering the Business Analyst for On-demand Computing, Ali Arsanjani, IBM Systems Journal Oct 2004.
