Data Services Overview

A data service is a web service that supports the query and modification of data regarding a principal. An example of a data service is a web service that hosts and exposes a principal's profile information, such as name, address and phone number. A query is when a web service consumer (WSC) requests and receives the data (in XML format). A modify is when a WSC sends new information to update the data. The Liberty Alliance Project has defined the Liberty ID-WSF Data Services Template Specification (Liberty ID-WSF-DST) as the standard protocol for the query and modification of data profiles exposed by a data service. Using this specification, the Liberty Alliance Project has developed additional specifications for other types of data services: personal profile service, geolocation service, contact service, and calendar service). Of these data services, Access Manager has implemented the Liberty Personal Profile Service and, using the included sample, the Liberty Employee Profile Service.

To develop your own data service see the instructions in Developing A New Data Service.

Liberty ID-WSF Data Services Template Specification

The Liberty ID-WSF-DST specifies a base layer that can be extended by any instance of a data service. An example of a data service is an identity service, such as an online corporate directory. When you want to contact a colleague, you conduct a search based on the individual’s name, and the data service returns information associated with that person's identity. The information might include the individual’s office location and phone number, as well as job title or department name. For proper implementation, all data services must be built on top of the Liberty ID-WSF-DST because it provides the data model and message interfaces. The following figure illustrates how Access Manager uses the Liberty ID-WSF-DST as the framework for data services.

Figure 6–1 Data Service Template as Building Block of Data Services

The Web Services framework in Access Manager uses the Liberty ID-WSF-DST to develop data services. The Access Manager Liberty Personal Profile Service and Liberty Employee Profile Service were developed on top of the Web Services framework, using the specification. Additional data services can also be developed by the customer.

For more information on the data services specification, see the Liberty ID-WSF Data Services Template Specification.

Liberty Personal Profile Service

The Liberty ID-SIS Personal Profile Service Specification (Liberty ID-SIS-PP) describes a data service that provides an identity’s basic profile information, such as full name, contact details, and financial information. This data service is intended to be the least common denominator for holding consumer-based information about a principal. Access Manager has implemented this specification and developed the Liberty Personal Profile Service.

For more information, see the Liberty ID-SIS Personal Profile Service Specification.

XML Service File

The Access Manager Liberty Personal Profile Service is configured using the XML service file amLibertyPersonalProfile.xml. This file defines attributes for the Liberty Personal Profile Service which can be managed through the Access Manager Console or the XML file itself.

For information about service files, see the Sun Java System Access Manager 7 2005Q4 Administration Guide.

XSD Schema Definition

The Liberty ID-SIS-PP also defines an XML schema for use in building a personal profile service. This XML Schema Definition (XSD) file is on the Liberty Alliance Project web site. Version 1.0 is also reproduced in Appendix B, Service Schema Files.

Liberty Employee Profile Service

The Liberty ID-SIS Employee Profile Service Specification (Liberty ID-SIS-EP) describes a data service that provides an identity’s profile information as it relates to employment. An example of a employee profile service might be a corporate calendar or phone book.

Access Manager has implemented this specification by developing a sample that includes the files needed to deploy and invoke a Liberty Employee Profile Service. The Liberty Employee Profile Service is not available when Access Manager is installed. It must first be deployed. For information about accessing the sample files and how to deploy them, see Liberty Employee Profile Service.

For more information, see the Liberty ID-SIS Employee Profile Service Specification.

XML Service File

Among the files included with the sample is the XML service file amLibertyEmployeeProfile.xml. This file defines the attributes for the Liberty Employee Profile Service which, once deployed, can be managed through the Access Manager Console or the XML file itself.

For information about service files, see the Sun Java System Access Manager 7 2005Q4 Administration Guide.

XSD Schema Definition

The Liberty ID-SIS-EP also defines an XML schema for use in building an employee profile service. This XSD file is on the Liberty Alliance Project web site. Version 1.0 is also reproduced in Appendix B, Service Schema Files.

Data Services API

Access Manager data services are built using a Java package called com.sun.identity.liberty.ws.dst. Access Manager provides this package for developing custom services based on the Liberty ID-WSF-DST. Additional information about these interfaces can be found in Data Services Template API and in the Java API Reference at /AccessManager-base/SUNWam/docs or on docs.sun.com.