Dynamic middleware layer for SOAbased tactical system

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Dynamic middleware layer for SOA-based tactical
system

• Joanna Sliwa, Marek Amanowicz
• Military Communication Institute, Zegrze, POLAND
• www.wil.waw.pl

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Agenda

• SOA challenges
• Middleware layer requirements
• Problem statement
• Mediation service (MSv) description
• Initial proof of concept
• Conclusions and further work

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SOA as the NNEC enabler

• Net-centricity sharing information across
  system and organizational boundaries
• SOA is the concept to realize the NII
  Networking and Information Infrastructure
• Service orientation is promoted by the NATO
  Architecture Framework (NAF) and NATO
  Interoperability Standards and Profiles (NISP)
• SOA has a lot of benefits but also challenges
• Transport in tactical environment
• Security
• Real Time services

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SOA middleware should (1/2)

• Provide real world effect
• AEM (Architecture Engineering Methodology)
• BPMN (Business Process Modelling Notation)
• Support semantic interoperability
• Use open solutions
• Implement services using orchestration and
  choreography

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SOA middleware should (2/2)

• Have lightweight design, i.e.
• Provide maximum functionality with minimum
• Network protocols overhead
• Utilization of terminal resources
• Optimize services operation e.g. use the
  smallest number of interactions between
  components
• Recognize changes to the execution context
  (available network and client terminal resources,
  application requirements, available services)
• Adapt services operation to the context

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Middleware requirements vs. web services
Mediation service solution
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Objective

• How to realize Web services (WS) when
• Service producer is located in fixed or
  deployable network
• Service consumer is located in tactical network
• Resources in the tactical network are scarce and
  change dynamically

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Scenario

• Filtering of responses
• Compression of XML documents
• Resolution change for images

Disadvantaged network
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Service description
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QoS broker decision making
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Messages filtering
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Resolution change
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Video stream conversion
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Proof of concept (1/2)

• Phases
• Engineering analysis
• Implementation in the SOA Demonstrator
• Empirical tests together with security services
• Simulation experiments performance and
  efficiency analysis
• Target service
• Blue Force Tracking (BFT) based on NATO
  Friendly Forces Information (NFFI) - STANAG 5527

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Proof of concept (2/2)

• NFFI message (a track) contains
• positional data
• obligatory track source, data/time, coordinates
• optional bearing, speed, reliability,
  inclination
• identification data (optional) unit symbol,
  unit short name
• operational status data (optional) footprint,
  strength, status code, alert, remarks
• Filtering cutting off optional data
• Complete message long track
• Message with only obligatory information short
  track
• Compression of NFFI messages using GZip
  compression algorithm
• Checking the filtering and compression gain

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Filtering gain
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Compression gain
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Conclusions and further work

• Presented mediation service limits the traffic
  flow from the producer to consumer when tactical
  network resources are scarce
• Further work
• Implementation of proposed solution in SOA
  Demonstrator
• Tests with security services (e.g. authorization
  and authentication) and traffic encryption
• Checking BFT realization using different
  transmission techniques between the mediation
  service and the client
• SOAP/HTTP
• DDS (Data Distribution Service)
• MMHS (Military Message Handling System)
  STANAG4406
• Additional topics
• Filtering of XML messages based on client
  preferences (e.g. included in topics)
• Efficient video stream adaptation in real time
• Intelligent caching in the mediation service

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Thank you for your attention

• Joanna Sliwa
• Military Communication Institute
• j.sliwa_at_wil.waw.pl