EbXML TM Technical Architecture Overview

1
EbXML TM Technical Architecture Overview

• www.ebxml.org
• Editor Duane Nickull
• Constributors All ebXML Committees, participants
• V 0.3

2
Part One

• What is ebXML?

3
ebXML

• Creating a Single Global
• Electronic Market
• A United Nations CEFACT / Oasis sponsored
  initiative

4
ebXML Mission . . .

• To provide an open XML-based infrastructure
  enabling the global use of electronic business
  information in an interoperable, secure and
  consistent manner by all parties.

5
ebXML Architecture

• Providing a view for integration of business
  processes among ad-hoc or established independent
  business partners by electronic means.
• Reducing the need for collaborative business
  partners to have individual and expensive prior
  agreement on how to integrate business processes.
• Providing a high-level business-centric view of
  distributed e-business processes.
• Supporting and representing business processes
  independent of the technical solution.
• Providing and supporting a library of common,
  standard intra-business processes
• Allowing for both business processes and enabling
  technologies to evolve independently while
  retaining long-term investments in both.
• Integrating with new and legacy systems
  throughout the enterprise
• Leveraging existing technologies and standards

6
Business Process (Meta) Model
Enables
Defines
Sends Receives
Structures
Component Library
Provides metadata for
Network Economy
Common Components
Process
Services
Technology Mapping
Provides content for
Schemata
Supports
Codes, Elements
Holds
Provides Access To
Uses
Populates
Common Technical Architecture
Distributed Repository
Registry
Holds
Security
Syntax schemata
Transport
7
ebXML Architecture

• At the heart of ebXML is a powerful system of
  Registries and Repositories
• A Repository is a storage tank for Meta data
  such as Mapping Templates, business rules,
  smart document DTDs, dictionaries, libraries
  and other core components for electronic business

Repository
Registry
8
ebXML Core Components

• Core components are elements of the component
  library that are common to multiple business
  domains.
• Core Components are Business Objects horizontal
  to many organizations. Examples can be an
  address on an invoice, a telephone number or a
  legal requirement to reply with confirmation of
  receipt of a purchase order.

9
Part Two - ebXML Mapping / Rendering

• A review of ebXML Mapping / Rendering Architecture

10
ebXML Templates

• Provide semantic information for smart business
  documents.
• Ideally utilize a declarative approach to
  transformations. Small footprint.
• ebXML Mapping / Renderiing Templates are
  expressed in valid XML syntax only.
• They are authored and owned by standards bodies,
  businesses or organizations who wish to
  interoperate within the ebXML Architecture.

Mapping Templates

• Repository

11
ebXML Registries Repositories

• A Registry is an interface to allow Process
  Owners to submit or update their mapping
  templates.
• A Registry has two interfaces one for
  applications (API) and one for Humans (Manual
  HTTP)
• A Security protocol is use to offer
  authentication, protection and non-repudiation
  benefits.
• Once the XML syntax has been validated, the
  Mapping Template is placed into the Repository.

API
Human Interface
Repository
SECURITY LAYER
Registry
Syntax Validation
12
EbXML Repository Search Requirements

• Once the Mapping Templates are stored in a
  Repository, a search and retrieval mechanism must
  be employed.
• The XML Repository Search engine must provide
• A Web Search interface for humans to manually
  locate data
• An API for applications to rapidly access stored
  data
• A caching mechanism

13
EbXML Repository Search Requirements

• A mechanism will be deployed to meet the Search
  and Retrieval needs for an ebXML Repository.
• It must spider the Repository and creates a
  searchable index of the XML-syntax data.
• A cache is created
• A machine API to the Cache is used

XQI API
Human Search Interface
XML index mechanism
XML Cache
API
Human Interface
SECURITY LAYER
Repository
Registry
Spiders the Repository
Syntax Validation
14
How ebXML Trading Partners Interact

• A Trading Partner creates a Mapping Template The
  Mapping Template Editor then sends a copy of the
  Template to the Registry.

Trading Partner (ebXML Compliant)
ebXML Application
GUI Editing Tool
API
Human Interface
SECURITY LAYER
Registry
15
How ebXML Trading Partners Interact

• The trading Partner can now send a business
  transaction to another ebXML capable trading
  partner.
• The transaction sent to the second partner can be
  classified in three distinct categories - Meta
  Information, Technical Information and Business
  Information.

Trading Partner 1 (ebXML Compliant)
Trading Partner 2 (ebXML Compliant)
Business Interchange
16
ebXML Transactional Architecture
Trading Partner 1 (ebXML Compliant)
Trading Partner 2 (ebXML Compliant)
Business Interchange

• The Business transaction will be expressed in
  syntax that conforms to XML (current version is
  1.0). The Business Information will be neutral
  but may need to use entity references to comply
  with the XML syntax requirements.

17
ebXML Architecture

• The first part of the message will be the
  Processing instructions expressed in the document
  type declaration
• A multibyte character set will be used to help
  facilitate diverse language characters

lt?xml version1.0 encodingUTF-8?gt
note This entire section will be elaborated on
by Messaging Group
18
ebXML Architecture

• The message will use a root tag of ltebxmlgt to
  identify it as an ebXML compliant transaction.

lt?xml version1.0 encodingUTF-8?gt ltebXMLgt
lt/ebxmlgt
note This entire section will be elaborated on
by Messaging Group
19
ebXML Architecture

• The next component is the routing information (a
  technical component). Each message must have
  enough information in this section to uniquely
  identify each party and be able to address each
  party on the Internet.

lt?xml version1.0 encodingUTF-8?gt ltebXMLgt
ltrouting verion1.0gt ltfromgtTrading Partner
1lt/fromgt lttogtTrading Partner 2lt/togt
lt/routinggt lt/ebxmlgt
note This entire section will be elaborated on
by Messaging Group
20
ebXML Architecture

• The next component is the Meta data component for
  identifying the business process, the version of
  that process, the owner of the process and where
  another application can retrieve a mapping
  template to apply to the business data component.

lt?xml version1.0 encodingUTF-8?gt ltebXMLgt
ltroutinggtlt/routinggt ltprocess
typePurchase_Order version1.17
ownerFOOBAR_EDI locationwww.foorepository.co
m/maps/gt lt/ebxmlgt
note This entire section will be elaborated on
by Messaging Group
21
ebXML Message Architecture
The ltprocessgt element is a mechanism to provide
information that will allow a unique Mapping
Template to be retrieved and applied to the
business content of the message.

• ltprocess typePurchase_Order
• version1.17 ownerFOOBAR_EDI
• locationfoorepository.com/maps/gt

note This entire section will be elaborated on
by Messaging Group
22
ebXML Message Meta Architecture

• The type attribute
• Is used to uniquely identify the process type in
  conjunction with the owner and version
  attributes.
• Any combination of characters can be used as long
  as they are legal in XML syntax.
• Can be used with other attributes to locate a
  specific Mapping Template in a Repository

note This entire section will be elaborated on
by Messaging Group
23
ebXML Message Meta Architecture

• The version attribute
• Is used to identify a specific version of a
  process unique to each process owner
• Not to be confused with the version attribute
  of the ltroutinggt element which is used to
  maintain state within a transaction
• Standard conventions of major.minor should be
  applied (ie version1.17)

note This entire section will be elaborated on
by Messaging Group
24
ebXML Message Meta Architecture

• The owner attribute
• Is used to identify a the organization who owns
  the process being identified.
• Any combination of characters can be used as long
  as they are legal in XML syntax
• A shared Registry/Repository will be used to
  provide unique identification and assign Owner
  names.

note This entire section will be elaborated on
by Messaging Group
25
ebXML Message Meta Architecture

• The location attribute
• Is used to retrieve Mapping Templates or UML
  modelling of the process.
• Ideally will utilize http to point to this
  information

note This entire section will be elaborated on
by Messaging Group
26
ebXML Architecture

• When Trading Partner 2 receives the incoming
  message, it gets handed to the ebXML application
  by the server interface that receives it.
• The ebXML application then checks its own cache
  to see if the process Mapping Template is
  available in the correct version.

TP 1
TP 2
EbXML Application
Local Cache
Human Search Interface
XQI API
XML Cache
Index
Repository
Registry
27
ebXML Architecture

• If the process is available, the transaction can
  be acted upon.
• If it is not found, the ebXML Application must
  then check the repository cache via the API
• If a Template is found, the transaction can now
  be acted upon.

TP 2
EbXML Application
Local Cache
Human Search Interface
XQI API
XML Cache
Index
Repository
Registry
28
ebXML Architecture

• A third stage Manual search can be employed to
  locate a similar Mapping Template. For example,
  v 1.17 may not be available however, 1.17 is.
  The Template Editor can now be used to manually
  create the template by TP 2

TP 2
EbXML Application
Manual Search
Local Cache
Human Search Interface
XQI API
XML Cache
Index
Repository
Registry
29
ebXML Architecture

• A Search logic is employed by the application to
  determine Mapping Templates abstracts. If a MT
  to map X12 to cbXML is available and an MT to map
  cbXML to HL7 is available, this now allows a
  Trading Partners to map from X12 to HL7 even
  though no MT actually claims to do this.

X12 to HL7 does not exist
TP 1
TP 2
X12
HL7
cbXML to HL7
X12 to cbXML
cbXML
ABSTRACT TRANSLATION
30
Adding all the Components Together
Manual Search
TP 1
TP 2
EbXML Application
INTERCHANGE
Local Cache
ebXML App.
Human Search Interface
XQI API
TEMPLATE EDITOR GUI
XML Cache
INDEX
API
Human Interface
Repository
SECURITY LAYER
Registry
Interface
Xml.org
Syntax Validation
eCo
Biztalk
31
Some Final Thoughts..

• Build an open architecture, not a Standard
• Truly Inter-operable and Extensible

Thank you! Editor Duane Nickull