9 Service Extensibility

This chapter describes how to extend the Oracle Communications Services Gatekeeper functionality.

Overview

Networks change, existing functionality is parsed in new ways to support new features and new nodes with new or modified abilities are added. Because of Service Gatekeeper's highly modular design, exposing these new features to partners is straightforward. There are several ways to extend Services Gatekeeper:

• Entirely new communication services

• New network plug-ins that can work with existing application facing interfaces

• New application-facing-interface types (facades) for existing network plug-ins

• New or reordered interceptors

• Integration with the existing network mechanisms with EDR listeners and SMNP MIBs.

The Platform Development Studio

To help operators and systems integrators, Services Gatekeeper ships with the Services Gatekeeper Platform Development Studio (PDS). The PDS comprises the following features:

• Platform Development Studio Developer's Guide

  A detailed guide covering how to:

  • Install the PDS

  • Use the Eclipse wizard to generate a project

  • Understand the example communication service

  • Use Service Gatekeeper's container services

  • Create Subscriber SLAs for subscriber-based policy

  • Update EDR filters and add JMS-based listeners

  • Reorder the Interceptor Stack or create new interceptors

• Platform Test Environment Guide

  A detailed guide covering how to:

  • Load the Platform Test Environment (PTE)

    • In standalone mode, with a Java Swing-based GUI

    • In console mode, particularly for use with the Unit Test Framework

  • Run the Application Service Clients

  • Use the Network Simulators

  • Utilize the utilities such as the MBean browser and the JMS-based EDR listeners

  • Understand the example module and extend the PTE

• Example Communication Service, including:

  • Source code

  • WSDLs

  • Build files

  • Example unit test

  • Example Subscriber SLA/Profile Provider

• The Eclipse Communications Service wizard

  The developer supplies information to an Eclipse plug-in wizard, which automatically sets up an Extension Project. Included within this project can be a substantial amount of generated code, including:

  • The entire Access Tier, with the Web Service implementation and any callback modules (EJBs) that are necessary

    Note:

    The Eclipse wizard supports building communication services based only on Web Services application-facing interfaces. Both SOAP and RESTful facade types are supported.

  • Most of the code for the common services code in the Network Tier

  • A skeleton of the code required for the network plug-in layer of the Network Tier

• Example Virtual Communications Service

• The Eclipse Virtual Communications Service wizard

• A complete Javadoc reference

• Specialized templates and Ant tasks

• The Unit Test Framework, providing:

  • A base test class, derived from JUnit

  • Simple-to-use mechanisms for connecting to the Platform Test Environment

  • An example unit test bundled with the Communication Service Example

• The Profile Provider SPI, which allows operators and integrators to create subscriber-centric policy, associating subscribers with service provider and application groups based on individualized subscriber preferences and permissions.