ebXML Architecture

1
ebXML Architecture

• Anne Thomas Manes
• Sun Microsystems
• atm_at_sun.com

OReilly Conference on Java, March 29, 2001
2
Disclaimer
The ebXML specifications are not complete. The
details articulated in this presentation are
subject to change. The final specifications will
be compete in May 2001.
3
Agenda

• What is ebXML?
• Architecture Overview
• Architecture Details
• SOAP and UDDI
• Roadmap
• How to get involved

4
What is ebXML

• ebXML Electronic Business XML
• Global Standard for electronic business
• ebXML enables anyone, anywhere to do business
  with anyone else over the Internet
• Specifically designed to support SME
• Complementary to existing B2B initiatives
• (UDDI, RosettaNet, TradeXchange, etc.)
• An end-to-end B2B XML Framework

5
Sponsored by
UN/CEFACT (United Nations Center For Trade
Facilitation And Electronic Business)
(Organization for the Advancement of Structured
Information Standards)
Hundreds of participants from all over the
world Businesses, governments, academia,
institutions
6
ebXML Vision

• A global electronic market place where
  enterprises of any size, anywhere can
• Find each other electronically
• And conduct business
• Using XML messages
• According to standard business process sequences
• With clear business semantics
• According to standard or mutually agreed trading
  partner protocol agreements
• Using off the shelf purchased business
  applications

7
B2B Collaboration

• B2B collaboration requires more than just an XML
  protocol and a service registry
• You have to deal with
• Business semantics
• Negotiating terms and conditions
• Interoperability
• Security and Privacy
• Reliability
• ebXML provides concrete specifications to enable
  dynamic B2B collaborations

8
B2B Collaboration Process
Partner Discovery
Process Evolution
Electronic Business Collaboration
Partner Sign-Up
Process Management
Electronic Plug-in
Process Execution
9
ebXML Specifications
Business Process,Core Components
ProcessReengineering
CollaborationProtocol Profile
Electronic Business Collaboration
CollaborationProtocol Agreement
BusinessProcess Management
Business ServiceInterface
Message Service,Business ServiceInterface
10
ebXML Architecture
Core/IndustryComponents
BusinessDocuments
BusinessProcess
XML based XMI, Specification Schema, Document
Schemas
Design Time
Register Discover
Registries/Repositories
CollaborationProtocolProfile
CollaborationProtocolProfile
CP Agreement
BusinessServiceInterface
BusinessServiceInterface
Transport
Package
Runtime
BusinessServices/Apps
BusinessServices/Apps
11
Usage Example
Company X
Request ebXML specifications
1
2
ebXML specifications detail
ebXML Repository
Register scenarios and implementation
details Register company business profile
ebXML Software
4
ebXML BO Library
5
Confirm profile and scenarios accepted
3
ebXML BP Model
Specifications
Build local system implementation
Profiles
7
12
Query about Company X
Accept CPA
9
Scenarios
DO BUSINESS!
Company Xs Profile
Submit CPA
6
8
INDUSTRY INPUT
Request Company Xs Scenario
11
Company Xs Scenario
10
ebXML Software
ebXML BO Library
Company Y
ebXML BP Model
12
Company Profile

• Collaboration Protocol Profile
• Defined using ebXML Specification Schema
• Concrete specification of your ebusiness
  offerings
• Business scenarios you support
• Service interfaces you implement
• Document formats exchanged
• Technical requirements/options (protocols,
  security, reliability)
• Composed of
• Business process models
• Information models
• Context rules

13
Business Scenarios

• Often defined by Industry Groups
• Standard business scenarios remove the need for
  prior agreements among trading partners
• Business Process Model
• Interactions between parties
• Sequencing of interactions
• Documents exchanged in each interaction
• Information Model
• Document definition
• Context definition
• Context rules

14
Core Components

• Reusable low-level data structures
• e.g., party, address, phone, date, currency
• Context-sensitive
• Single, consistent lexicon
• Used to define business process and information
  models
• Facilitates interoperability between disparate
  systems

15
Context Affects Process

• Industry Sector
• Product
• Business process
• Geo-political region
• Official constraints
• Legislative
• Standards
• Good practice
• Contractual

16
Business Process
Business Process
...
Create Long Term Contract
BusinessProcess
BusinessProcess
Collaboration
Forecast Component
Requirements
Transaction
Send Planning Document
Transaction
Supplier
Customer
Place Order
Collaboration
Ship Materials
Arrange Payment
17
ebXML Specification Schema
Business Process
Process Composition
Business Collaboration
Partner Types
Choreography
Transition
Guard
Request Document
Business Transaction
Roles
Response Document
Business Transaction Execution Patterns
18
BP and Info Modeling Architecture
Patterns
Patterns
InformationModeling
Business Process Modeling
Content
Content
Methodology
Methodology
Info-Metamodel
BP-Metamodel
Info-model
BP-model
Model-XML Rules
Model-XML Rules
Conversion to XML
Conversion to XML
XML BP-DTD
XML Info-DTD
XML BP-doc
XML Info-doc
Registry
19
Conversion of UML Models to XML

• Business process definitions
• XML Schema and DTD generation
• Populate classification scheme

XML Schema
XML Process Definition
Transformation Rules
XMI (MOF.DTD)
Populate Classification Scheme
20
Traditional Classification Scheme

• Taxonomies

Industry
HealthCare
Automotive
Retail
Geography
USA
Japan
Europe
Toyotaobject
Fordobject
BMWobject
Nissanobject
Chevyobject
21
Registering Your Business

• Register your business in an ebXML Registry
• Index to all information in the repository
• Rich query facility
• Store specifications in an ebXML Repository
• CPP
• Schemas
• Process models
• Core components
• Classification and categorization schemes
• Arbitrary objects and code

22
ebXML Reg/Rep

• ebXML Registry and Repository
• Registry index of things
• Repository holder of things
• Distributed model
• Nodes maintained by
• Industry groups
• Market places
• Exchanges
• Communities
• Individual companies

23
Negotiating an Agreement

• Find registry and search for partners
• Examine CPP
• Ascertain compatibility of business process and
  technical specifications
• Stipulate your rules of engagement
• Produce Collaboration Protocol Agreement
• Conditions under which two partners will conduct
  business transactions together

24
CP Agreement Formation

• Negotiate two Cooperative Protocol Profiles
• Party 1 queries and discovers Party 2
• Party 1 proposes rules of engagement
• Sends CPA to Party 2 for review and acceptance

Cooperative Protocol Profile 1
Rules of Engagement
Cooperative Partner Agreement
Cooperative Protocol Profile 2
25
Collaborative Protocol Agreement

• Agreement for business interaction between two
  parties
• Technical specifications
• Message Service requirements
• Application requirements
• References
• CPPs
• Legal terms and conditions

26
Business Service Interface

• Implements the CPA, supporting dynamic
  integration
• Not yet specified
• Hand-crafted for the moment
• Enables one Party to converse with the other
  Party using the ebXML Message Service

27
ebXML Message Service

• Reliable, secure XML messaging service
• Enforces the rules of engagement in CPA
• Transport independent
• Extends SOAP Messages with Attachments (SwA)
• Reliability framework
• Security framework
• Manifest, trace, and delivery options

28
Delivery Options

• Communications models
• Synchronous or asynchronous
• Request/response
• Fire and forget
• Multipart message delivery
• Reliability options
• Best effort
• Once and only once

29
Security

• Identification
• Authentication
• Authorization
• Privacy
• Integrity
• Non-repudiation
• Logging

30
ebXML Message Structure
Communication Protocol Envelope (HTTP, SMTP, etc.)
Message Package
SOAP Messages with Attachments MIME Envelope
Header Container
MIME Part
SOAP-ENVEnvelope
ebXML Header Information
SOAP-ENVHeader
ebMessageHeader
ebTraceHeaderList
Otheretc
ebXML Message Service Handler control data
SOAP-ENVBody
ebManifest
ebetc
Otheretc
MIME Part
Payload Container(s)
Payload
31
Summary of Components

• Registry and Repository
• Core Components
• ebXML Specification Schema
• Business Process Model
• Information Model
• CPP/CPA
• Message Service

32
SOAP and UDDI

• Obviously useful, but they dont constitute an
  end-to-end B2B framework
• No support for business models or negotiating
  business agreements
• No Quality of Service facilities
• Complementary not competitive to ebXML
• SOAP provides messaging foundation
• UDDI helps you find ebXML services
• ebXML Repository stores service specifications

33
ebXML Timetable
Sept 1999 ebXML Commissioned -- Canberra
Nov 1999 First Meeting San Jose
May 2000 Requirements document -- Brussels
Nov 2000 Message Service beta - Tokyo
Feb 2001 Technical Architecture - Vancouver
Mar 2001 All specs in review
May 2001 All specs released - Vienna
34
ebXML Summary

• Worldwide project to standardize the exchange of
  electronic business data
• XML-based infrastructure to enable consistent,
  secure, and interoperable message exchange
• Supported by hundreds of industry consortia,
  standards bodies, companies, and individuals from
  around the world

35
ebXML Changes the Future

• Out-of-the-box technical interoperability
• Unambiguous commercial interoperability
• Explicitly specified and executable business
  processes
• Service-based business process architecture
• Enable the evolution of many new business models
  and patterns

36
Resources

• ebXML Participation Mailing Lists
• Open to everyone
• http//www.ebxml.org/participate.htm
• ebXML Specifications
• http//www.ebxml.org/specdrafts/approved_specs.htm