| Sun Java Enterprise System 2003Q4 Technical Overview |
Java Enterprise System Key Terms
This glossary defines and explains key terms introduced in this Java Enterprise System Technical Overview. Refer to the Java Enterprise System Glossary (http://docs.sun.com/doc/816-6873) for a complete list of terms that are used in the Java Enterprise System documentation set.
architecture A design that shows the logical and physical building blocks of a distributed application (or some other software system) and their relationships to one another. In the case of a distributed enterprise application, the architectural design generally includes both the application’s logical architecture and deployment architecture.
business service A distributed component or component assembly that performs business logic on behalf of multiple clients (and is therefore a multi-threaded process). A business service can also be an assembly of distributed components encapsulated as a web service, or it can be a standalone server.
client Software that requests software services. (Note: this is not a person—see end user.) A client can be a service that requests another service, or a GUI component accessed by an end user.
component product A previously independent Sun ONE product that has been integrated into the Java Enterprise System, but which can be individually licensed.
computing node One of a number of computers in a network or Internet environment. Distributed applications are deployed across this environment, with different distributed components, business services, and servers running on the various computing nodes.
deployment A stage of the application life-cycle process in which a logical architecture is mapped to a physical topology, implemented, prototyped, and rolled out in a production environment. The end product of this process is also referred to as a deployment.
deployment architecture A design that depicts the mapping of a logical architecture to a physical topology. The physical topology includes the computing nodes in an intranet or Internet environment, and the network links between them.
deployment scenario A software solution (logical architecture) and the system requirements that the solution must satisfy to meet business needs. The system requirements include: load (number of concurrent users), availability, security, serviceability (dynamic upgrade requirements), and latent capacity (growth potential).
development A phase in the deployment process, in which a logical architecture is implemented (either through programming or customization) and tested.
distributed component A unit of software logic from which distributed applications are built. A distributed component usually conforms to a distributed component model (CORBA, J2EE) and performs some specific computing function. Distributed components—singly or combined—provide business services, and can be encapsulated as web services.
distributed enterprise application An application whose logic spans a network or Internet environment (the distributed aspect) and whose scope and scale meet the needs of a production environment or service provider (the enterprise aspect).
end user A person who uses a distributed application, often through a graphical user interface, such as an Internet browser or mobile device GUI. the number of concurrent end users supported by an application is an important determinant of the deployment architecture of the application.
instance (server instance) A distinct execution of a server process on a computing node. In general, multiple instances of a server can run on a single node or on multiple nodes, and each instance can be configured independently.
logical architecture A design that depicts the logical building blocks of a distributed application and the relationships (or interfaces) between these building blocks. The logical architecture includes both the distributed application components and the infrastructure services needed to support them.
module, system module A group of Java Enterprise System servers dependent on one another or closely enough related to be deployed as a unit to provide a specific service or set of services. Service modules are multi-server assemblies that have been pre-tested for use in deployment architectures.
production execution A stage of the application life-cycle process in which distributed applications are started up, monitored, tuned to optimize performance, and dynamically upgraded to include new functionality.
reference deployment architecture A specific deployment scenario mapped to and deployed across a specific hardware topology and tested for performance. Reference deployment architectures are used as starting points for designing custom solution deployment architectures.
requirements analysis A stage of the application life-cycle process in which business needs are translated into a deployment scenario: a solution (logical architecture) and a set of system requirements the solution must meet.
server A multi-threaded software process—as distinguished from a hardware server—that provides a distributed service or cohesive set of services for clients that access the service by way of an external interface.
service A software function performed for one or more clients. This function might be a very low-level support service, such as a memory management, or a high-level business service, such as a credit check. Services can be local (available to local clients) or distributed (available to remote clients). A system-level service can consist of a family of individual services.
shared component A Java Enterprise System component (system component), usually a library, that provides local services to other system components. By contrast, a system server provides distributed services to other system components (or to application-level components).
support service One or more services needed to support a system service. These include communication services, persistence services, security services, memory management services, logging services, and so forth. These might be provided by internal server components or, externally, by system servers.
system component Any software package or set of packages included in the Java Enterprise System and installed by the Java Enterprise System installer. There are several kinds of system components: system servers which provide distributed services, Cluster software, which provides availability and scalability services, and shared components that provide local services to other system components.
system server A component product—a server—included in the Java Enterprise System, and which provides one or more system services within the distributed service infrastructure.
system service One or more distributed services that define the unique functionality provided by a system server. System services normally require the support of a number of internal support services and/or a number of shared components.
use case A specific end-user task or set of tasks performed by a distributed enterprise application, and used as a basis for designing, testing, and measuring the performance of the application.
web service A service that conforms to standardized Internet protocols for accessibility, service encapsulation, and discovery. The standards include the SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) messaging protocol, the WSDL (Web Service definition Language) interface definition, and the UDDI (Universal Discovery, Description, and Integration) registry standard.
