Application Integration Architecture?
Just imagine buying Home theatre components - Receivers, Speakers, Players, and now, wondering on integrating the components together.
Connecting them properly, rewards you with ultimate viewing experience.
Similary, Companies want the best business capabilities in their systems: The best ERP, the best CRM, the best data warehouse. And they need those systems to work together and also work with investments they already have in place.
The Oracle Application integration Architecture
- Integrates various Applications together.
- Provides an Unified Platform, on technology and Business fronts, aiding Business Process improvement.
- Not necessarily confined to Oracle family of Products.
Why do we need AIA?
SOA is embraced by the Organizations worldwide to enable seamless integration across Applications.
Oracle SOA Suite attempts to standardize the interaction across various Applications to churn out data in a Common Technology format (WSDL, Schema). But each web service holds system specific content.
Oracle AIA is built on top of Oracle SOA Suite. It gets you a step ahead by standardizing the system specific data to a Common Data format.
The common data format helps us in building Cross functional Business logic seamlessly.
AIA Jargons explained...
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Data Components
AIA connects to external Applications, by a unified approach of translating messages to a common canonical message called as Enterprise Business Object ( EBO ).
The EBOs are wrapped in a container known as Enterprise Business Message ( EBM ), when transmitted across AIA components.
The EBO and EBM are plain XML files adhering to the Schema
Translator Components
The component which translates the proprietary content to Canonical format is termed as Application Business Connector Service ( ABCS ). Since we have Source and target systems, we will be having two translators - one converts data from Source System to EBM is called Provider ABCS. The other converts the EBM to Destination system format is termed as Provider ABCS.
Business Process Components
Once we have data in common format, we will have two Business cases
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A simple data exchange from Source to Target system with simple Routing and Business Rules.
Solution -
Leverage the Oracle SOA Mediator Component to route the EBM to appropriate ABCS. AIA names it as EBS ( Enterprise Business Service )
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Perform additional Business logic as per your Business Needs.
Solution -
Write a BPEL Program for Business Logic. AIA names it as EBF ( Enterprise Business Flow ).
Use Mediator for routing the EBM to appropriate ABCS.
The diagram illustrates various components of AIA Processing. The AIA components are underlined.
EBF or EBS ?
EBS, which is nothing but a Service Bus component, is ideal for Routing and simple Business Logic processing.
EBF, handles complex Business logic.
EBF will interface with the EBS component for any routing to appropriate ABCS component. This is to segregate the Business Logic and Routing mechanism
Components of AIA
When to use AIA?
AIA is an ideal choice for your growing Business ecosystem, since -
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Cross functional Business Process improvements will be easier.
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Additional Applications are easily pluggable with minimal changes.
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Extensible for any additional Business logic.
However, AIA could be an overkill if all you need is a simple Point-to-Point integration. But please validate your business case in such case if Point-to-Point solution will stand the test of future.
References / Useful links
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A nice tutorial covering the basics of AIA
ww.rolta.com/pdf/The_ABCs_of_AIA.pdf