| Oracle® Web Services Manager Administrator's Guide 10g (10.1.3.3.0) Part Number E10299-01 |
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| Oracle® Web Services Manager Administrator's Guide 10g (10.1.3.3.0) Part Number E10299-01 |
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|
View PDF |
This glossary covers terms pertinent to Oracle Web Services Manager.
The following definitions are provided to assist users in understanding technical details regarding Web Services and how Oracle WSM functions. It also includes terms that describe technical processes for the environment within which Oracle WSM works and technical processes specific to Oracle WSM.
action
Sends a notification, execute a batch command, send an SNMP trap, change state vars, launch script.alerts. In Oracle WSM, this is an indicator that something warrants attention, configured so that specific conditions within the incoming metrics trigger an action that informs a user of the conditions that deserve attention. An administrator can configure and view alerts for an accurate view of system performance.
alert processing action
Alerts saved or notifications created. Additional actions can be configured based on a particular signature of alerts.
alert processing rule
A set of conditions that an Oracle WSM administrator defines, that work on all alerts being created, and selects what Oracle WSM persists in the database and what triggers immediate notification.
authentication
Verification of the identity of a person or process. In a communication system, authentication verifies that messages really come from their stated source.
authorization
Verification that the client has the proper permissions to use the requested resource.
certificate
An electronic document used to verify the identity of a person, group, or organization. Certificates attest to the identity of a person or group and contain that organization's public key. A certificate is signed by a certificate authority.
certificate authority (CA)
An organization that is entrusted to issue digital certificates that verify identities. A certificate authority takes whatever steps are necessary to ensure a valid verification process.
client
Entity (application or human) that connects to applications through Web service SOAP calls. Each client is identified by a unique client identifier. Clients may be authenticated by presenting their credentials to Oracle WSM.
component architecture
A method for building parts of an application. It is a way to build reusable objects that can be easily assembled to form applications.
deploy
To spread out or arrange strategically. Deploy is used in information technology with particular regard to distributed computing.
deployment descriptor file
An XML file used by Apache SOAP to define and deploy a specific SOAP service. It contains the service Uniform Resource Name (URN), a list of service methods, application scope, Java provider, and Java-to-XML type mappings.
distributed computing
Multiple computers remote from one another participating in information processing. The computer programming and data that computers work on are spread out over more than one computer, usually over a network.
DNS
Domain name system. A distributed system for translating domain names to IP addresses. See also IP address.
event
1. An occurrence or happening of significance to a task or program, such as the completion of an asynchronous input/output operation. A task may wait for an event or any of a set of events or it may (request to) receive asynchronous notification (a signal or interrupt) that the event has occurred. 2. A transaction or other activity that affects the records in a file.
flow metric
In Oracle WSM, a system performance metric based on the amount of time that it takes for an entire business process to complete.
gateway
1. A device that enables data to flow between different networks (forming an internet); software that enables communication between computer networks that use different communications protocols, also called router. 2. An Oracle WSM SOAP/XML intermediary deployed in its own J2EE container. A gateway contains transport listeners and dispatchers for HTTP and JMS as well as the policy enforcement framework. An Oracle WSM gateway's task is to mediate SOAP traffic between service clients and providers.
HTTP
Hypertext Transfer Protocol. HTTP is currently the most commonly used protocol for exchanging data between Web browsers and application servers. HTTP was originally designed for remote document retrieval, but is now used by SOAP and XML-RPC for remote procedure calls.
invocation metric
In Oracle WSM, a system performance measurement based on the amount of time that it takes for a service to respond to a valid client request.
IP
Internet Protocol. This is the main protocol used to route packets of data throughout the Internet. See also Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
Java Message Service (JMS)
An API for accessing enterprise message systems from Java programs. Java Message Service, part of the Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) suite, provides standard APIs that Java developers can use to access the common features of enterprise message systems. JMS supports the publish/subscribe and point-to-point models and allows the creation of message types consisting of arbitrary Java objects. JMS provides support for administration, security, error handling, recovery, optimization, distributed transactions, message ordering, message acknowledgment, and more.
managed resources
Typically, a Web service that is being managed. XML Web services are the most commonly managed resources. There are different ways in which managed resources can be managed. A managed resource could be managed through an agent that runs in-process inside the managed resource; or it could be managed through a proxy at front of the Web service.
message
SOAP-XML document (may have non-XML attachments) that is sent from clients to services. Messages are typically sent over HTTP, although other transport protocols may also be used. Messages can be either synchronous or asynchronous.
metric
A quantity reflecting a dynamic characteristic of a resource. Based on a collection of measurements, it is possible to define a measurement method, allowing the system gathering the measurements to systematically measure the activity of the resources it monitors. In addition, collected measurements are used to create reports, reflected in the user interface, providing an administrator with an easy-to-read graphic representation of the overall activity of the monitored resources.
metric processing action
A possible action that can be performed on incoming metrics as determined by a set of action modules that are loaded into the system. Examples of action modules include persistence, aggregation, and alert creation. Each of these actions processes incoming metrics.
metric processing rule
A rule that processes incoming metrics. Each metric processing rule consists of a condition that determines whether or not the rule should apply, and a metric processing action that defines what should be done with the metric.
notification
Information (usually a subset of the alert information) that contains just enough text to notify the administrator that there is a problem. Notifications can be sent to administrators over a variety of transports (for example, Short Message Service (SMS), page, e-mail, and telephone).
Oracle WSM user
An individual who can connect to Web Services Manager Control and perform operations based on an assigned Oracle WSM role.
performance
1. The speed at which a computer operates, either theoretically (for example, using a formula for calculating millions of theoretical instructions per second or by counting operations or instructions performed (for example, (MIPS) – millions of operations per second) during a benchmark test. The benchmark test usually involves some combination of work that attempts to imitate the kinds of work the computer does during actual use. Sometimes performance is expressed for each of several different benchmarks. 2. The total effectiveness of a computer system, including throughput, individual response time, and availability.
ping metric
An Oracle WSM system performance measurement based on the amount of time that it takes for a service to respond to a call that Oracle WSM generates.
pipeline
A defined set of Oracle WSM steps that watches for, accepts, and preprocesses designated client requests when sent to services, or postprocesses responses before sending responses back to the client. Pipelines allow for ease of handling and configuration of preprogrammed business processes within Web services.
policy
A collection of business goals and objectives. A policy can be defined as a set of rules used to administer, control access to, manage, and configure a set of resources or services. These rules encode the desired actions of the system and guide present and future decisions.
policy action
A definition of what is to be done to enforce a policy rule, when the conditions of the rule are met. Policy actions may result in the execution of one or more operations to affect and/or configure network traffic and network resources.
policy condition
The necessary state that defines whether or not a policy rule's action should be performed. When the policy condition(s) associated with a policy rule evaluates to true, then the rule should be enforced, subject to other considerations such as rule priorities and decision strategies.
policy conflict
The actions of two rules, whose conditions are both satisfied simultaneously, that contradict each other. A policy server implementation should provide tools for conflict detection, avoidance, and resolution. See also policy server.
policy decision point (PDP)
A logical entity (typically some software) that uses predefined policies to make decisions for entities that request such decisions.
policy decision request
A message requesting a policy-related service. Typically, this is a request from a policy enforcement point (PEP) to a policy decision point (PDP) to determine the actions to enforce.
policy domain
A collection of services over which a common and consistent set of policies are administered in a coordinated fashion. This does not preclude multiple sources of policy creation within an organization (that is, there can be multiple administrators), but it does require that the resulting set of policies are coordinated.
policy enforcement point (PEP)
A logical entity that enforces policy decisions. A PEP usually makes policy decision requests to a PDP, and upon obtaining the decision, enforces it. PEPs are often implemented as agents, running inside another system. In Oracle WSM architecture, there are two types of PEPs—agents and gateways.
policy error
An error resulting from a failed enforcement of policy action, whether due to a temporary state or a permanent mismatch between the policy actions and the capabilities of the policy enforcement point.
policy goal
The desired state intended to be maintained by a policy system. For example, a policy goal might state that a Web service should meet a particular service-level agreement. This goal might lead to a set of policy rules that automatically try to satisfy that goal; these rules might be changed dynamically in response the feedback.
policy group
An aggregation of policy rules or an aggregation of other policy groups (but not both). It allows a group to be treated like a single policy for purposes of representation. It also allows for the refinement of high-level policies into low-level policies. For example a high-level policy group may contain a policy that says "For all services, turn encryption on and logging off", and each service may have its own policy groups that say (encryption-method = pop and logging-relaxes).
policy repository
A data store that holds policy rules, their conditions and actions, and related policy data.
policy rule
Basic building block of a policy-based system. A policy rule is the binding of a set of actions to a set of conditions, where the conditions are evaluated to determine whether the actions should be performed or not.
policy server
This is a marketing term, whose technical definition is imprecise. It can also be called a policy enforcement point.
port
A logical connection where TCP/IP servers listen for client requests. HTTP servers, by default, use port 80.
portType
WSDL portType element that combines multiple message elements to form a complete one-way or round-trip operation. For example, a portType element can combine a request message and a response message into a single request/response operation, such as are commonly used in SOAP services.
protocol handler
Software that describes and enables the use of a new protocol. A protocol handler consists of two classes: a Streamliner and a URL Connection.
protocol stack
A layered set of protocols that work together to provide a set of network functions. Each intermediate protocol layer uses the layer below it to provide a service to the layer above it. The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) seven-layer model is an attempt to provide a standard framework within which to describe protocol stacks.
proxy gateway
A computer and associated software that will forward a request for a URL from a Web browser to an outside server and return the results. Once the client is properly configured, its user should not be aware of the proxy gateway.
query
A user's (or agent's) request for information, generally as a formal request to a database or search engine. SQL is the most common database query language.
remote method invocation (RMI)
Part of the Java programming language library that enables a Java program running on one computer to access the objects and methods of another Java program running on a different computer.
remote procedure call
A generic technique whereby one application can connect over a network to a second application, invoke one of its functions, and receive the results of the call. Remote procedure calls (RPCs) are used in many distributed application frameworks, including CORBA, Distributed COME, Java RMI, SOAP, and XML-RPC.
role
A set of privileges that can be assigned to a client. Roles are defined by the Oracle WSM administrator.
SAML
Security Assertion Markup Language. Developed by the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS), SAML facilitates the exchange of authentication and authorization information between business partners.
SDK (software development kit)
Software provided by software vendors to allow their products to be used with those of other software vendors.
serialize
A generic technique for transforming a variable or an object into a standard format for transmission across a network. For example, a Java SOAP client will serialize Java objects to a standard XML format and then transmit the XML over the network. See also XML data type and type mapping registry.
service
An application that may be either a native Web service, or legacy software that has been wrapped into a Web service through adaptation.
service description
A layer within the Web service protocol stack that is responsible for describing the public interface to a specific Web service. See also WSDL.
service provider
1. A subset of Oracle WSM users. Service providers are entities (business units, organizations, humans) that create and deploy Web services. A service provider can manage a collection of Web services. 2. Within the Web service architecture, any host that implements a Web service and makes it available on the Internet. Traditionally, this is the same as a server in a client/server architecture.
service registry
Within the Web service architecture, the service registry is a logically centralized directory of services. Developers can connect to a service registry and publish new services or find existing ones. See also UDDI.
service requester
Within the Web service architecture, any consumer of a Web service. The requester utilizes an existing Web service by opening a network connection and sending an XML request. Traditionally, this is the same as a client in a client/server architecture.
SOAP
Simple Object Access Protocol. An XML-based protocol for exchanging information between computers. Although SOAP can be used in a variety of messaging systems and can be delivered through a variety of transport protocols, the main focus of SOAP is remote procedure calls (RPCs) transported through HTTP. Like XML-RPC, SOAP is platform-independent. It therefore enables diverse applications to communicate with one another over a network connection.
SOAP action header
The header that can be used to indicate the intent of a SOAP message. Some SOAP servers require that clients specify a full Speculation value, but other SOAP servers, including Apache SOAP, require that clients specify only a blank Speculation (for example, Speculation: ""). The Speculation header is required under SOAP 1.1, but is optional under SOAP 1.2.
SOAP body
An element that encapsulates the main details of the SOAP message. The details includes the remote procedure call, including the method name to invoke, method parameters, or return values. The body element can also include an optional fault element for specifying error conditions.
SOAP envelope
An element that encapsulates a single XML message being transferred through SOAP. The envelope specifies the SOAP version and consists of one optional SOAP header and a required SOAP body. See also SOAP header and SOAP body.
SOAP header
An optional element that provides a flexible framework for specifying additional application-level attributes for a specific SOAP message. The header framework can be used in a diverse set of applications, including user authentication, transaction management, or payment authorization. See also SOAP envelope.
socket
A programming abstraction that facilitates network programming by insulating the developer from the details of the underlying network protocol.
step
In Oracle WSM, a programming object wrapped with code that exposes it in compliance with SOAP protocols so that the step can be used within the Oracle WSM pipeline.
target Names pace
A convention of XML schema that enables an XML document to refer to itself. Any newly defined elements will belong to the specified target Names pace. See also XML Schema.
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
A connection-oriented, reliable protocol; one of the protocols on which the Internet is based. TCP is primarily responsible for breaking messages into individual Internet Protocol (IP) packets and then reassembling those packets at the destination. See also IP.
type mapping registry
Within Apache SOAP, the registry that assigns XML elements to Java classes and Java classes to XML elements. By default, the registry is prepopulated with basic data types, including strings, vectors, dates, and arrays. If you are passing new data types, you must explicitly register the new type and indicate which Java classes will be responsible for serializing and removing the serialization of your new type. See also serialize.
UDDI
Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration. UDDI currently represents the discovery layer within the Web service protocol stack. UDDI was originally created by Microsoft, IBM, and Arabia, and represents a technical specification for publishing and finding businesses and Web services. See also UDDI cloud service.
UDDI cloud service
A fully operational implementation of the UDDI specification, also known as the UDDI Business Registry. Produced in May 2001 by Microsoft and IBM, UDDI cloud services now enable anyone to search existing UDDI data or to publish new business and service data.
UDP
User datagram protocol, a connections unreliable protocol. UDP describes a network data connection based on datagrams with little packet control.
Unicode
A 16-bit character encoding that includes all of the world's commonly used alphabets and ideographic character sets in a form from which duplications among national standards have been removed. ASCII and Latin-1 characters may be mapped to Unicode characters. Java uses Unicode for its char and String types.
UNSPSC
Universal Standard Products and Service Classification. UNSPSC provides standard codes for classifying products and services. The standard was developed in 1998 and is currently maintained by the nonprofit Electronic Commerce Code Management Association (ECCMA). UNSPSC provides coverage of 54 industries and includes over 12,000 codes for products and services. UNSPSC is used within UDDI as a standard way to classify businesses and business services.
URI
Uniform Resource Identifier. In the World Wide Web, the URI is a generic set of all names and addresses that are short strings that refer to objects (typically on the Internet). The most common kinds of URI are URLs and relative URLs. WSDL definitions are also URIs. URIs are defined in RFC 1630.
URN
Uniform Resource Name. A URN is a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) that is both persistent and location-independent. For example, urn:isbn:0596000588 refers to the book XML in a Nutshell (O'Reilly). URNs are frequently used to identify SOAP services.
UTF-8
UCS transformation format 8-bit form, an encoding for Unicode characters (and more generally, UCS characters) commonly used for transmission and storage. It is a multibyte format in which different characters require different numbers of bytes to be represented.
W3C
World Wide Web Consortium. The W3C is the main standards body for Web protocols and specifications, including HTML, XML, XML Schema, SOAP, and XML Encryption.
Web service
1. Any service that is available over the Internet, uses a standardized XML message system, and is not tied to any one operating system or programming language. Although not required, Web services should also be self-describing through a common XML format and discoverable through a simple find mechanism. 2. A set of protocols, business processes, and network facilities that enable authorized clients access to business processes from any Web-connected device. 3. A software application denoted by a URI, whose interfaces and binding are capable of being defined, described and discovered by XML artifacts. The application supports direct interactions with other software applications using XML-based messages through Internet-based protocols.
Web service protocol stack
An emerging stack of protocols used to create and describe Web services. The current Web service protocol stack consists of four layers: service transport (for example, HTTP, FTP, and BEEP), XML messaging (XML-RPC, SOAP), service description (WSDL), and service discovery (UDDI).
white page
A generic category of data used within UDDI to specify business information, including business name, business description, and address.
WSDL
Web Services Description Language. WSDL currently represents the service description layer within the Web service protocol stack. WSDL is an XML grammar for specifying a public interface for a Web service. This public interface can include information on all publicly available functions, data type information for all XML messages, binding information about the specific transport protocol to be used, and address information for locating the specified service. WSDL is not necessarily tied to a specific XML messaging system, but it does include built-in extensions for describing SOAP services.
WSIF
Web Services Invocation Framework. WSIF is a framework created by IBM that enables a developer to invoke a SOAP service without actually writing any SOAP-specific code. It also enables automatic invocation of SOAP services, based on WSDL files.
XKMS
XML Key Management Services. XKMS is a proposed Web service specification for distributing and managing public keys and certificates. XKMS has been submitted to the W3C.
XML
Extensible Markup Language. An official recommendation of the W3C, XML represents a flexible framework for organizing and sharing data. XML is used heavily within the XML messaging, service description, and service discovery layers of the Web service protocol stack.
XML data type
The type of data that may be placed inside a particular XML element. XML Schema includes built-in support for basic data types, including strings, integers, floats, and doubles. See also XML Schema and type mapping registry.
XML Encryption Standard
A proposed W3C framework for encrypting or decrypting entire XML documents or just portions of an XML document.
XML namespace
A standard mechanism for interpreting XML elements and attributes that have the same name. The SOAP specification makes heavy use of XML namespaces.
XML-RPC
A protocol that uses XML messages to perform RPCs through HTTP. Like SOAP, XML-RPC is platform-independent, and it therefore enables diverse applications to communicate with each other over a network connection.
XML Schema
A framework for defining rules for XML documents. XML Schema includes the ability to specify data types for individual elements, a key ingredient for remote procedure calls (RPCs).
yellow page
A generic category of data used within UDDI to classify companies or services offered. Data may include industry, product, or geographic codes based on standard classifications. See also UNSPSC.
