Understanding Waveset Components

Waveset is a Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE platform) web application. The J2EE platform consists of a set of industry-standard services, APIs, and protocols that provide the functionality for developing multitiered, web-based, enterprise applications.

The Waveset system architecture is distributed across four logical tiers:

• The user tier

• The application tier

• The database tier

• The managed resources tier

Each tier is discussed in the following sections, starting with the application tier.

Figure 2–1 Waveset System Architecture

Understanding the Application Tier

Waveset (also known as the Waveset server) is installed in a J2EE web container inside an application server. Waveset server consists of JSP files, HTML, images, and Java classes. Adapters and connectors, which interface with other IT systems (also known as resources), are also located in Waveset on the application server.

See Application Servers in Oracle Waveset 8.1.1 Release Notes for a list of supported application servers.

Because Waveset is a web application, the user interface resides on the application server and pages are served to the user tier on a request-by-request basis.

Installing Waveset on the application server is straightforward: A graphical, wizard-based installer is provided, and, on UNIX systems, a command-line installer is also available. The application server must have a bundled or installed Java Development Kit (JDK) to run the Java classes that perform actions within Waveset.

Understanding the Database Tier

Waveset stores all of its provisioning and state information in the Waveset repository. The repository is comprised of tables that store all the configuration data about Waveset. It is a single point for Waveset to look up data and lock objects. The repository also contains an audit log, which is a history of actions taken in Waveset. Waveset data is stored as XML. The repository can reside in local files or a relational database, although in production, a relational database is required.

See Repository Database Servers in Oracle Waveset 8.1.1 Release Notes for a list of supported database servers.

Note that, beyond a minimal amount of identity information about individual users, user data is not kept in Waveset. Instead, only those attributes that are needed to identify and differentiate users within Waveset (for example, name and email address) are saved in the repository.

Waveset can connect to the repository over a direct JDBC connection, or it can use data source functionality made available by your application server.

The Waveset Service Provider feature requires an additional LDAP repository for storing user information. See Understanding Waveset Service Provider System Architecture for details.

Understanding the Managed Resource Tier

The managed resource tier consists of the applications and IT systems to which you provision and deprovision user accounts. It includes the Waveset Gateway, which is a helper application that allows Waveset to interact with certain resources.

Adapters and connectors provide user management functions, including creating, updating, deleting, and reading user accounts, and performing password change management functionality. Adapters and connectors can also extract account information from a remote system.

In most cases, Waveset manages user data on the remote system and does not maintain it in its own data store.

Some common resources that require the use of the Waveset Gateway include Microsoft Exchange, Windows Active Directory, Novell eDirectory (formerly Netware Directory Services), Lotus Domino, and several others. (See Oracle Waveset Gateway in Oracle Waveset 8.1.1 Release Notes for a complete list.) The Gateway installs as a service in Windows and communicates with Waveset using TCP port 9278. Communication is initiated from Waveset using a proprietary encrypted protocol. The Gateway then interfaces with managed resources using the resources native protocols.

From an installation perspective, there are two type of adapters and connectors: Waveset adapters and connectors and custom adapters and connectors. Waveset adapters and connectors are pre-installed in Waveset. Custom adapters and connectors, however, need to be copied to a designated directory in the Waveset installation directory located on the application server.

Custom adapters are easy to create using the Waveset Resource Extension Facility (REF) kit. The REF kit provides the API and a number of template adapters that companies can use to jump start the development process. Simple resource functionality can be achieved by implementing only eight Java methods.

Understanding the User Tier

The user tier consists of administrators and end users who interact with Waveset through one of the user interfaces. The main user interface for the product is a web browser, which communicates with Waveset over HTTPS. The two browser-based UIs, the administrator user interface and the end-user interface, primarily consist of HTML pages, although some features may use Java applets.

For clarity, only the administrator user interface and the end-user user interface are shown in figure Figure 2–1. Other user interfaces, however, are also located in the user tier. These include the IVR telephone interface, the Waveset IDE, the SPML web services interface, and the Waveset console.