Application Integration Framework
Application Integration Framework extends PeopleSoft Integration Broker (IB) functionality to provide a standard way to represent, classify, store, query, publish, acquire, and invoke data that maps element names, structures, and values between PeopleSoft Application Business Messages (ABMs) and other applications. PeopleSoft Integration Broker provides the framework to send and receive messages with other PeopleSoft systems or third-party systems. If the message structure differs between systems, transformation programs are used to transform the incoming or outgoing message to a message format that the PeopleSoft system understands.
Each application that you are integrating with may use different data values or identifiers to represent the same information. For example, for a new customer in a PeopleSoft application, a new row is inserted in its customer database with a unique identifier such as PS1001. When the same information is propagated to an Oracle E-Business Suite application and a Siebel application, a new row should be inserted with different identifiers, such as EBS1001 and SBL1001. The application integration framework enables you to transform this data.
Application Integration Architecture
Application Integration Architecture (AIA) is built on Oracle's Service Operation Architecture (SOA) as a unified approach for integrating business processes across applications, including third-party applications, based on a common architecture and common definition of business objects called Enterprise Business Objects (EBOs). These applications were designed using different technologies and use different names and structures to represent the same business object. AIA is the foundation for creating transformations on messages sent between diverse systems to integrate multiple applications without the need to create separate point-to-point integrations for each system involved.
AIA middleware can be used to transform business objects to a common object. Oracle's Fusion middleware includes AIA as well as prebuilt integrations for Oracle products.
Oracle Application Integration Architecture Foundation Pack
AIA Process Integration Packs (PIPs) are prebuilt integrations across Oracle applications, such as Siebel CRM, Oracle E-Business Suite, Agile PLM, and Oracle Communications Billing and Revenue Management. The integrations consist of EBOs and Enterprise Business Services (EBS). Enterprise Business Messages (EBMs) are designed to be operation-specific.
AIA provides a middle layer between the PeopleSoft system and other third-party systems. If a third-party Siebel customer uses AIA, when a message from that customer arrives at the PeopleSoft system, the common AIA names and values are seen by the PeopleSoft application, rather than the Siebel names and values. On the other hand, if a Siebel customer did not purchase the AIA PIP, then the PeopleSoft application would see the Siebel names and values.
Note: PIPs are available from the Oracle E-Delivery website.
Application Integration Framework Integrations
Application Integration Framework is designed to assist developers with the tasks required to produce integrations that are architected to be AIA-supportive. The integration produces ABMs with the same semantic content and approximately the same shape as the canonical (AIA) EBMs, thus minimizing transformation requirements. Each AIA-supportive integration that PeopleSoft applications delivers includes a sample transformation to enable the integrations to map as closely as possible to the EBOs. This strategy enables PeopleSoft customers to utilize IB to complete partner integrations without the need for middleware to perform transformations. Of course, customers who choose to purchase Oracle AIA middleware or who already own it can use the features of the EBS for transformations instead of or in addition to using the delivered IB samples.
Note: PeopleSoft-delivered integrations transform messages to the EBM format for direct integration with other Oracle products.
Image: Common value mapping for outgoing message
This diagram illustrates a PeopleSoft message transformed to a common value.
Use Cases for Application Integration Framework
Use cases fall into two categories:
Key-mapping transforms using the dynamic cross-reference framework
Static value transforms using the domain value map framework
These two frameworks are assumed to be separate; however, they in fact share common elements. The values of keys are open-ended and are usually extended; thus they are created programmatically during the transformation process, not in advance of the transform. Static value transforms generally have all values entered into the maps prior to the transformation process, and are less frequently extended.
In addition to these two categories, the integration use case depends on whether the third party is using AIA middleware.
This table shows where the transformations take place depending on whether AIA middleware is used:
|
Use Case |
PeopleSoft Integration Broker |
AIA Middleware |
Third Party |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Integration Broker Transformations without AIA middleware |
Transform PeopleSoft ABM to EBM for outbound Transform EBM to PeopleSoft ABM for inbound |
not used |
Transform EBM to third-party ABM for inbound Transform third-party ABM to EBM for outbound |
|
Integration Broker Point-to-Point transformation |
Transform PeopleSoft ABM to third-party ABM for outbound Transform third-party ABM to PeopleSoft ABM for inbound |
not used |
No transformations are necessary Optionally, the third party can do the outbound transformation to PeopleSoft ABM. |
|
Integration Broker Transformation in which third party uses AIA middleware |
Transform PeopleSoft ABM to EBM for outbound Transform EBM to PeopleSoft ABM for inbound |
Transform EBM to third-party ABM for outbound from PeopleSoft application Transform third-party ABM to EBM for inbound to PeopleSoft application |
No transforms are performed |