Standard Life and SOA – a whirlwind tour

Friday, 01 July 2005

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June 2005Standard Life and SOA1

Standard Life and SOA – a whirlwind tour Ian Muir – [email protected]

Joe Phillips – [email protected]


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Agenda

• Overview

• Our Approach to SOA

• Architectural Detail

• Systems Management

• Build and Deploy Processes

• Summary


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Overview


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Some Quick Background Stuff • Standard Life IT part of Shared Services Centre – now a separate company

• SOA governed by Centre of Excellence teams covering

– Messaging, Java, .net, XML, DBMS, Workflow and security

• IT has 1000 staff – Approx

– 200 Java (started in 1999)

– 300 Cobol

– 100 VB6 and VS.Net (another 100 in business areas)

– Some staff with mix of skills (Java\Cobol)

• Java dominant language for middle tier

• Decided on Websphere App Server and MQI (what is now WBI MB) in 1998

– Bet the architecture decision

– 10 projects running in parallel within first 6 months


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A SOA Definition • An architecture that delivers business agility through rapidly

constructing and adapting business processes• Function is delivered as autonomous services• Services are abstracted from one another and independent of

implementation• Each service should be self defining with a published interface• Each service should be accessible in a consistent manner• Services are designed to be dynamically invoked


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Right Now

• SOA implemented across the group• Over 70 service consuming SOA applications running in production• Over 40% of our back-end transactions are initiated through our SOA• Approx 300 reusable Business Services in our Business Service

Directory • Over 50% of Business Services are reused• £3,000,000+ of development saving• Heterogenous app server environment

– core SOA services bus is implemented using IBM middleware


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Hub Architecture “Vision” 1999

SL Bank

Web server

'Intelligent Switch'

Image server

Telephony server

Infrastructure Servers

Post

Financial Server

Life & Pensions Server

EDIeMail

Extranet

Exchange

SWIFT

Client 'Channels'Application Servers

Investment Server

SLIM

SLAC

Internet

Telephone

Web Firewall

Workflow serverText server


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SOA Vision 2001 – 2005 +

Websphere MQWorkflow

'Intelligent Switch‘,“The Hub”,“The Integration Layer”

Logging

Infrastructure Services

Post

Financial Business Services

Credit check

Life & Pensions Services

Maintain policyProvide customer infoChange name

EDIeMail

Extranet

Exchange

SWIFT

Client 'Channels'

Investment Services

Fund switchSell unitsBuy units

Internet

Telephone

ProtocolTranslation

Poison MessageHandling

Business Services


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Acknowledgements

• Key reference site for IBM worldwide

• Independent review by Forrester Research

– "Standard Life’s SOA approach is mature, seasoned, shows forward looking ideas, and creates a solid foundation for Standard Life’s future application landscapes. Standard Life has defined a state-of-the-art business service model. Many areas [of its architecture] represent best practice (Jost Hoppermann, Vice President, Financial Services Europe)

• British Computer Society

– Short-listed for 2005 awards

• Excellent feedback in the press this spring (Computer Weekly, MIS, CBR, IDC, conference keynote feedback)


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Our Approach to SOA


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Our SOA

• Design Patterns

• Software Frameworks

• Supporting Infrastructure


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Design Patterns

• Architecture Patterns• Show concepts

• Design Patterns• Give technology independent design advice

• Implementation Pattern• Give technology specific “how to advice”


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Design Patterns

Patterns for the development of internal & external clients that perform business function by accessing reusable, channel-independent business services.

A request/reply pattern.

Patterns for the integration of applications & packages running on heterogeneous platforms in a manner which completely isolates/decouples the applications from one another.

A publish/subscribe pattern.

Folders CSOL ContractEnquiry SDS Dundas

Service Oriented Architecture Patterns

Integration Hub Patterns

Patterns Framework


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Applications(Business Services)

DesignPatterns

Framework & Infrastructure

Infrastructure

Websphere & z/os based infrastructure in support of standard applications built to a common design pattern and on common frameworks.

Framework

Java & COBOL framework abstracting applications from underlying infrastructure (e.g. WMQ) and providing standard APIs for common application behaviours (e.g. logging).


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Governance and Evolution

Applications(Business Services)

Framework

Infrastructure

Designs

ArchitectureLittle or No change

Project led change

Change introduced to take advantage of new features & opportunities.

To add value.


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Architectural Detail


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Clients

Channel Dependent

PresentationLayer

Java and C# and VB6

ApplicationControlLayer

Java and C#

Layers and Implementation Technologies

Business Services

Channel Independent Data Service Layer

Stored Procs, IMS Txn,Cics Txn

Business Service LayerJava, Cobol

System

sM

anagement

Integration LayerJMS(WMQ) and WBI MB

Business Service

Directory UDB

ChannelGateway

Java

External Clients(Web Service, XML/HTTP etc)


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– Transactional

– Versioned

– Reusable

– Standard Interface

– WMQ transport– Standard protocol (MQRFH2 header)– XML payload defined by schema– Standardised structures

– Fault notifications– Request/reply structures

Business Services


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– Runtime Business Service Directory

– IBM DB2 UDB implementation– Accessed via framework code– Contains

– End points (WMQ Queues)– Quality of service attributes

Invoking Business Services


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– Design Time Catalogue

– Documenting and Publicising Services

– Business Service Definitions– Interfaces– Functional & non-functional characteristics

– Managing Services– Supported by the Business Service Management

team– Virtual team drawn from all development areas

– Measuring Service Reuse and Value– Demonstrate the return on SOA

Managing Business Services


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Design Time Catalogue


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• Mainframe– Z/OS– Transaction Monitors

• Websphere• IMS• CICS

– Databases• IMS• DB2

Technology in Use


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Technology in Use• Off-mainframe

– IBM P690’s• AIX• Websphere Application Server (v4.07/v5.1.1.1)• Websphere MQ (v5.3 CSD 8)• Websphere MQ integrator (v2.1) and WBI MB (v5.0.4)• Websphere MQ Workflow (v3.4)

– Windows 2000 Server • MTS (for SL Healthcare)

– Databases• DB2 UDB • Oracle

– AS/400• Imaging and Workflow (AWD)


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Technology in Use• Languages

– COBOL– SQL\PL Stored Procs for DB2 UDB– PL\SQL Stored Procs for Oracle– Java (WSAD 5.0 / RADWS v6.0)– eSQL (WBI MB v5.0.4)– .Net (for Rich Client Applications)– XML wherever we can


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Technology in Use• EJB Strategy

– Message Driven Beans only– Persistence

• Stored procedures over JDBC rather than dynamic SQL • Home grown persistence framework


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Web Services–– Many analogiesMany analogies–– We expose Web Service interfaces as requiredWe expose Web Service interfaces as required–– Framework rather than tooling gives us speed of development Framework rather than tooling gives us speed of development

within our architecturewithin our architecture–– Will eventually migrate when a compelling case can be madeWill eventually migrate when a compelling case can be made–– Web Services <> SOAWeb Services <> SOA


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Systems Management


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–– Standardised Logging MechanismStandardised Logging Mechanism–– Events correlated endEvents correlated end--toto--end across heterogeneous systemsend across heterogeneous systems–– Highly flexible, dynamically reconfigurableHighly flexible, dynamically reconfigurable–– Centralised aggregation and processing of events (WMQ / WBI Centralised aggregation and processing of events (WMQ / WBI

MB based)MB based)–– Specific events can be configured to raise systems mgt events Specific events can be configured to raise systems mgt events

(Tivoli/Solve). Opt(Tivoli/Solve). Opt--in.in.–– Supports audit and management info functionsSupports audit and management info functions–– Data mining tool providedData mining tool provided

Systems Management - Logging


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–– Standardised Component Interaction Logging MechanismStandardised Component Interaction Logging Mechanism–– RunRun--time view of component interactionstime view of component interactions–– Aids impact analysis decisions, change planningAids impact analysis decisions, change planning–– Provides reuse statistics Provides reuse statistics –– Helps quantify SOA benefitsHelps quantify SOA benefits–– Data mining tool providedData mining tool provided

Systems Management–Component Interactions


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• Common framework gives us standardisation• Applications are built and delivered in a consistent manner• Framework plus tooling allows:

– Interrogation of logging events – correlated end-to-end across different platforms

– Tooling available to interrogate component interaction information and support system management

• We now deliver infrastructure hosting for 70+ applications with less people than when when the initial application was delivered.– Those staff now being positioned for delivery of other services

Systems Management - Summary


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Build and Deploy Processes


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Automated Build and Deployment

AutoBuild

CVS

Build and deployment

database

EARs and deployment

metadata

AutoDeploy

Websphere

Development Operations


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Summary


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• A highly flexible architecture enabling the development of SOA applications

• An approach based on design patterns and supporting frameworks and infrastructure that ensures an extremely high degree of development and runtime consistency across applications

• Impact free change via versioning• Sophisticated systems management capabilities enabling SOA

applications to run smoothly and coexist cleanly• A framework within in which we can introduce new technology

when appropriate

What Have We Delivered?


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• Continue to evaluate XML Web Services standards and to what level we adopt – Currently support http\soap exchanges for b2b – Proof of concept findings on WSDL\UDDI as replacement for

existing XML protocol and BSD found no value add• internal UDDI not great, less performant

• Assess what we get from next versions of core middleware – Process choreography with WBI Process Server – Websphere Integration developer

• Enhance patterns and framework to provide – Federated security framework using SAML tokens Q305 – Enhanced security at XML business service level Q405– Business event monitoring (pub\sub) tba

What Next ?


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SOA Core Product

SOA Framework Code

(Java, .Net, WBI MB)

Design Patterns Implementation Patterns

Auto Build and Deploy Business Service Mgt

Best practice

Sample application and

infrastructure guidance

Extensive logging

Features built in Impact analysis utilities Tivoli TEC Integration

SOA Mgt Info

reporting

Forward compatibility

with IBM middleware

Development and Test

utilities


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Standard LifeIS DivisionGroup Technology Direction52 Annandale StreetEdinburgh

Thank You

Standard Life and SOA – a whirlwind tour

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