Dependable Distributed Systems

¶ … Distribution Systems

An assessment of Distributed Order Management Web Services transaction velocities and accuracy levels through agent-based, fault-tolerant architectures

Description

Globalization is forcing order management systems that had previously been focused on single or multi-site operation to be increasingly global in scope, operation and transaction support. Correspondingly, the use of Web Services has matured rapidly as a transaction platform due to the widespread adoption of XML standards, the rapid adoption and maturing of agent-based technologies, and the use of routing optimization based on dependable distribution systems.

Papzogglou, Mike (2001). Agent-Oriented technology in support of E-Business; Communications of the ACM. April, 2001 Vol. 44, No.

The key aspects of agents are their autonomy, their abilities to perceive, reason, and act in their surrounding environments, as well as the capability to cooperating with other agents to solve complex problems (p. 72)." key activity in integrated value chains is the collection, management, analysis and interpretation of the various commercial data to make more intelligent and effective transaction-related decisions (p. 76)."

When applied to e-commerce transactions, business agents could simplify the processing, monitoring, and control of transactions by automating a number of activities. Agent support for e-commerce business may, for example, including controlling the workflow governing a set of electronic transactions or monitor and enforce the terms and conditions of electronic contracts (p. 76)."

K. Hogg, P. Chilcott, M. Nolan, B. Srinivasan. (2004). An Evaluation of Web Services in the Design of a B2B Application. Australian Computer Society. Presented at the Conference in Research and Practice in Information technology. Vol. 26.

A pp. 331-340.

Web Services are loosely coupled network-accessible interfaces that are described and defined using an XML-based service description document (WSDL). This identifies all details required to access the Web Service, including the message format, transport protocols and network location (p. 333)."

The Web Services model presents the potential to deliver many benefits in the following areas including e-business enablement by Web Service-enabling existing applications, including legacy applications these applications then become accessible and are able to interact with the other systems accessible via the Internet... (p. 333)."

Subtopics

Workload Quantification

The first subtopic in this area is the scalability of agent-based architectures supporting transaction-based Web Services. Specifically focusing on transaction velocities' cumulative effects on Web Services and agent-based architecture performance, this area of the research looks to validate or refute a series of hypotheses that will be used for constructing a Web Services transaction performance model.

The second topic in workload quantification is measuring network path optimization and ACID-compliant aspects of transaction flows based on secured Web Services. Specifically examining the stability and security of a transaction-centric networks using Web Services at the application layer and agent-based architectures that seek network and transaction optimization while interpreting and countering potential security threats is the research objective. Using constraint modeling to define the optimal mix of these attributes form the foundation of the methodology for researching this second subtopic.

Middleware

The first subtopic is an assessment of SOAP's contribution or detraction of overall transaction performance through agent-based Web Services architectures. The use of Distribution Object Computing middleware needs to be evaluated from a transaction speed and accuracy perspective.

The second subtopic is an assessment of traditional architectures including CORBA vs. agent-based Web Services that require platforms that are capable of optimizing routing algorithms and routing transactions in real-time to attain higher cumulate transaction velocity and greater security.