This chapter describes how to configure the Oracle Communications Services Gatekeeper Plug-in Manager to route traffic. It also provides a configuration workflow.
A plug-in is the part of a communication service that routes traffic and translates that traffic from one protocol to another. This chapter primarily explains how to use the Plug-in Manager to route traffic.
Plug-ins are modules that can be plugged into an existing deployment to extend target management or other vertical functionality. Network protocol plug-ins consist of two parts: a plug-in service and a plug-in instance. The plug-in service is the deployable and updatable unit. It does not itself process any traffic.
A plug-in service has a unique ID and a version number. It is packaged in an EAR file, with other plug-ins that share the same set of application-facing interfaces.
Plug-in instances are instantiated from a plug-in service. One plug-in service can be the base for many plug-in instances. A plug-in instance:
Has a unique ID.
Is versioned based on the plug-in service it is instantiated from.
Belongs to a type.
Exposes a set of traffic interfaces to the service communication layer. This set is a Java representation of the web services interfaces exposed by the service access layer.
Interfaces with network nodes using one or more protocols.
Supports a set of address schemes.
Is configured and managed independently of other instances.
Can be assigned a node ID to be used when setting up node SLAs.
A plug-in Manager serves as a solution for performing all plug-in deployment-related activities, through GUI as well as CLIT. The plug-in manager inspects a request and determines which interface and method the request belongs to, along with the names of any arguments. This is useful for creating a service provider group and application group SLAs.
In Services Gatekeeper, plug-in instances are created using PluginManagerMBean. A managed bean (MBean) is a Java bean that provides a Java Management Extensions (JMX) interface. For more information, see the entries in the "All Classes" section of Services Gatekeeper OAM Java API Reference.
The following section describes the execution and evaluation flow.
Plug-in managers ensure that an application's request is routed to the required network protocol plug-in instance. Service interceptors are employed to decide whether to permit, deny, or stay neutral to a particular request.
When it receives a request from an application, the plug-in manager triggers a chain of service interceptors that evaluate the following information in the request:
Data in the request originating from the application.
Status of the plug-in (only plug-ins in active status are considered).
Properties of the registered plug-ins, including:
Plug-in type.
Plug-in ID.
Refer to the Services Gatekeeper Communication Service Reference Guide for each communication service for the plug-in service ID and plug-in type under which individual plug-ins are registered.
Address plan, indicating the kind of network to which a plug-in is connected. For example, E.164 for the international public telecommunication numbering plan, or SIP.
Usage policies based on SLA settings.
Load balancing.
Data from external sources: any custom data-lookups implemented as service interceptors.
Routing logic
Service interceptors evaluate the routing logic expressed in XML. The evaluation results in the selection of a plug-in instance and the plug-in manager forwards the request to the selected plug-in.
The following interceptors use data configured using the Plug-in Manager:
CreatePluginList
RemoveInvalidRoute
The plug-in routing logic matches data in a request, and data associated with a request, with routing logic and results in the selection of a plug-in instance. The request is handed off to the selected plug-in instance for further processing.
The routing logic offers a fine grained way to select a network protocol plug-in instance and makes it possible to select a plug-in instance, and thereby a network node, to be targeted for individual requests, based on all data available in the request.
In combination with the plug-in instance feature make it possible to single out a certain network node based on the above operands and thereby:
Offer different QoS levels. Example: different network nodes offers different QoS, for example latencies for message delivery.
Ensure that requests are routed to a node that can actually handle the request. Example: one SMSC is capable of handling binary content in the form of SM logos, while another is not.
Maximize utilization of the network nodes. Example: Two network nodes offers exactly the same functionality, but one processes the request more expensively, so the selection is done based on the charging code the application supplied.
In combination with the plug-in instance feature make it possible to single out a network protocol plug-in instance even if the different plug-in instances connect to the same network node and thereby use different configurations for the request toward the network node.
For example, a network protocol plug-in offers the possibility to configure a priority parameter when sending request to the network node, by setting the parameter differently in different plug-in instances, different priorities can be used for different service providers. In the same way credentials can be mapped so the originator of the request is mapped to the request that is made to the network node.
The routing logic is expressed in XML and provides:
A set of logical operators:
AND
OR
NOT
Access to a set of operands:
The method name
All parameters in the request
The authentication data, and the data associated with the authentication data, such as service provider ID, application ID, and application instance ID.
The destination address in the request
Tunnelled parameters provided by the application as xparams in the SOAP header.
The XML based routing logic is specified per plug-in instance and routes requests to a plug-in based on logical expressions and tests that gets evaluated. Table 20-1 describes the logical operators (XML elements).
Table 20-1 Logical operators/elements for Plug-in routing
| Operator/Element | Description |
|---|---|
|
and |
This element contains 1 or many nested elements that in turn are evaluated. This expression will only be true if all the contained elements are true. |
|
or |
Contains 1 or many nested elements that in turn are evaluated. This expression will be true if any of the contained elements are true. |
|
not |
This element can contain only one nested element. This expression results in the inverse of the nested element. |
The operands are XML elements, as described in Table 20-2.
Table 20-2 Operands/elements for Plug-in routing
| Operand/Element | Description |
|---|---|
|
spId |
The service provider ID associated with the request is compared with the value given in this element. The result is true only if there is an exact match. |
|
appId |
The application ID associated with the request is compared with the value given in this element. The result is true only if there is an exact match. |
|
appInstanceId |
The application instance ID associated with the request is compared with the value given in this element. The result is true only if there is an exact match. |
|
destAddress |
The destination address provided in the request is compared with the value given in this element. Which parameter that is considered the destination address is plug-in specific. The format of the value is a regular expression specified as a string. The result is true only if the regular expression matches. See "Specifying Address Ranges in Routes" for examples of regular expressions. The element has the optional attribute |
|
method |
The name of the method that the application invoked is compared with the value given in this element. The result is true only if there is an exact match. For example:
|
|
param |
A named parameter in the request is compared with the value given in this element. There are three attributes to this element:
The result is true only if there is a match or if The result is true only if there is a match. The value can be expressed as a regular expression. For example:
<param name="arg0.senderName" value="tel:123.*"/> |
|
xparam |
A parameter supplied in the request as a tunnelled parameter (xparam) in the request is compared with the value given in this element. There are three attributes to this element:
The result is true only if there is a match or if The result is true only if there is a match. The value can be expressed as a regular expression. For example, the tunneled parameter is defined as:
A match occurs if the
|
The plug-in routing configuration XML document is validated when it is provisioned. The XML is validated according to the XSD. See "Plug-in Routing XSD".
For a set of examples, see "Plug-in Routing Configuration Examples".
The example in Example 20-1 matches requests sent to an address starting with tel:123. If the request does not contain an address, this route does not match.
Example 20-1 Plug-in Routing Configuration Example 1
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <route xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="route.xsd"> <destAddress>tel:123.*</destAddress> </route>
The example in Example 20-2 matches any address and also matches any request that does not contain an address.
Example 20-2 Plug-in Routing Configuration Example 2
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <route xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="route.xsd"> <destAddress defaultResult="true">.*</destAddress> </route>
The example in Example 20-3 matches requests sent from the service provider with the ID sp1, and the application with the ID app1.
Example 20-3 Plug-in Routing Configuration Example 3
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<route xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="route.xsd">
<and>
<spId>sp1</appId>
<appId>app1</appId>
</and>
</route>
The example in Example 20-4 matches all requests except the ones where the operation is sendSmsRingtone and either sent from and application using application instance ID appInst1 or the operation is sendSms withe the value of the parameter senderName is tel:123456.
Example 20-4 Plug-in Routing Configuration Example 4
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<route xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="route.xsd">
<and>
<not><method>sendSmsRingtone</method></not>
<or>
<appInstanceId>appInst1</appInstanceId>
<and>
<method>sendSms</method>
<param name="arg0.senderName" value="tel:123456"/>
</and>
</or>
</and>
</route>
Following is the XSD to use when creating a plug-in routing configuration XML file.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
<xs:element name="route">
<xs:complexType>
<xs:group ref="ConditionGroup" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1"/>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:element>
<xs:group name="ConditionGroup">
<xs:choice>
<xs:element name="and" type="AndType"/>
<xs:element name="or" type="OrType"/>
<xs:element name="not" type="NotType"/>
<xs:element name="spId" type="xs:string"/>
<xs:element name="appId" type="xs:string"/>
<xs:element name="appInstanceId" type="xs:string"/>
<xs:element name="destAddress" type="AddressType"/>
<xs:element name="method" type="xs:string"/>
<xs:element name="param" type="ParamType"/>
<xs:element name="xparam" type="ParamType"/>
</xs:choice>
</xs:group>
<xs:complexType name="AndType">
<xs:group ref="ConditionGroup" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="unbounded"/>
</xs:complexType>
<xs:complexType name="OrType">
<xs:group ref="ConditionGroup" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="unbounded"/>
</xs:complexType>
<xs:complexType name="NotType">
<xs:group ref="ConditionGroup" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1"/>
</xs:complexType>
<xs:complexType name="AddressType">
<xs:simpleContent>
<xs:extension base="xs:string">
<xs:attribute name="defaultResult" type="xs:boolean" default="false"/>
</xs:extension>
</xs:simpleContent>
</xs:complexType>
<xs:complexType name="ParamType">
<xs:attribute name="name" type="xs:string" use="required"/>
<xs:attribute name="value" type="xs:string" use="required"/>
<xs:attribute name="defaultResult" type="xs:boolean" default="false"/>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:schema>
Address ranges are specified using UNIX regular expressions. A few examples are given below:
^.* specifies a route that matches all addresses.
^[0-5].* specifies a route that matches all address strings starting with 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5.
^.*[6-9]$ specifies a route that matches all address strings ending with 6, 7, 8, or 9.
^46.* specifies a route that matches all address string starting with 46.
^46.{8}$ specifies a route that matches all address strings starting with 46 that contain exactly 10 total digits.
^.*@.*\.com$ specifies a route matching all mail addresses in the com domain. The dot in .com must be written "\.".
In the examples:
^ indicates the beginning of the string.
. matches anything except a new-line. That is, "a.b" matches any three-character string that begins with a and ends with b.
* is a suffix that means the preceding regular expression is to be repeated zero or more times. That is, the "." in the expression ”^46.*" is repeated until the whole string is matched.
$ is an indicator of end of line (or end of string).
The address scheme can be included in the expression. If not specified, any scheme will match. Examples:
tel:^46.* matches all tel (E.164) numbers starting with 46.
sip:.* matches any SIP address.
Plug-in routing logic is an extension of the plug-in routes and these PluginManagerMBean methods:
setRouteConfig
getRouteConfig
Plug-in routes added using the addRoute method, are converted into plug-in routing logic where a route is added as a logical OR given that the route that is being modified contains <or> and <destAddress defaultResult="true"> elements only.
See "PluginManagerMBean Reference" for information on using this MBean.
Configuring the Plug-in Manager tasks include:
Configuring the general behavior of the plug-in manager.
Administering routes, which is tightly coupled to configuring individual communication services.
Following is an outline for configuring the Plug-in Manager using the PluginManagerMBean:
Specify whether or not to use policy-based routing in the PolicyBasedRouting. field. Policy based routing is necessary in order to enforce node SLAs.
Specify the network protocol plug-in behavior when it is being deployed or re-deployed in the ForceConnectInResuming field.
See "PluginManagerMBean Reference" for information on using this MBean..
Following is an outline for creating an instance of a plug-in service using the PluginManagerMBean:
Find the plug-in service ID for the service you want to use to create the plug-in instance. The plug-in service IDs are listed under the heading ”Properties” in the sections describing the management of each plug-in. To get a list of plug-in service IDs, use the listPluginServices method.
Use the createPluginInstance method to create the instance. The Plug-in Instance ID supplied as a parameter will be used to identify the instance for all routing and administration.
To destroy an instance, use the destroyPluginInstance method.
See "PluginManagerMBean Reference" for information on using this MBean.
You administer routes using these PluginManagerMBean operations:
To add new routing logic: getRouteConfig
To change or remove routing logic: getRouteConfig and setRouteConfig
To list all existing routes: listRoutes
To get information about a specific plug-in instance: getPluginServiceInfo
To get a list of all registered plug-in instances: listPluginInstances
To get a list of all registered plug-in services: listPluginServices
To define the node ID: setPluginNodeId.
A node ID is assigned to one or more Plug-in Instance IDs to enforce node SLAs. The node ID is then referred to in the node SLAs.
See "PluginManagerMBean Reference" for information on this MBean.
If a communication service does not already support bulk messaging, you can add support for it. If you want bulk messaging applied to the message address, have the PluginFactory implement the BulkRequestFactory, and implement the createSingleAddressRequest method.
To make bulk messaging apply to other types of information in the request, use these general steps:
Create a new class that extends AddressRequestInfo to contain the information after the message is split.
Create a new xparameter or other identifier in the original bulk request.
Define a new schema for the information in the bulk request, and add a process for it in the createRequestInfo method in the PluginFactory.
Set the information back in the createSingleAddressRequest method in the PluginFactory.
Set field values and use methods from the Administration Console by selecting Container, then Services followed by PluginManager. Alternately, use a Java application. For information on the methods and fields of the supported MBeans, see the "All Classes" section of Services Gatekeeper OAM Java API Reference.