SOA: the basics

What it is. What it is not.

SOA: the false, the ideal, the real

False: SOA equals web services. SOA equals distributed services. Ideal: SOA cleanly partitions and consistently represent business services. Real: SOA is a fundamental change in the way we do business.

Real SOA
Changed mindset: service-oriented context for business logic. Changed automation logic: serviceoriented applications. Changed infrastructure: service-oriented technologies. A top-down organization transformation requiring real commitment.

SOA Characteristics
Loosely coupled: minimizes dependencies between services. Contractual: adhere to agreement on service descriptions. Autonomous: control the business logic they encapsulate. Abstract: hide the business logic from the service consumers.

SOA Characteristics
Reusable: divide business logic into reusable services. Composable: facilitate the assembly of composite services. Stateless: minimize retained information specific to an activity. Discoverable: self-described so that they can be found and assessed.

Potential Benefits
Based on open standards. Supports vendor diversity. Fosters intrinsic interoperability. Promotes discovery. Promotes federation. Fosters inherent reusability. Emphasizes extensibility.

Potential Benefits
Promotes organizational agility. Supports incremental implementation.

Technical architecture that adheres to and supports the principles of service orientation.

Common Misperceptions
SOA is just Web services. SOA is just a marketing term. SOA is just distributed computing. SOA is a magic global solution to general interoperability.

Focus on the Business Process and Services

Application logic

Business logic

Application a

Application b

Application c

Source: Service-Oriented Architecture, Thomas Erl

Focus on the Business Process and Services

Business process layer

Services interface layer

Business-oriented services

Application-oriented services

Application layer

.NET

J2EE

Legacy
Source: Service-Oriented Architecture, Thomas Erl

Focus on the Business Process and Services

Business process layer

Services interface layer

orchestration service layer business service layer application service layer

Application layer

.NET

J2EE

Legacy
Source: Service-Oriented Architecture, Thomas Erl

Common Pitfalls
Not basing SOA on standards. Not creating a transition plan. Not starting with a solid XML foundation architecture and skill set. Not understanding SOA performance requirements. Not understanding web services security.

Summing Up SOA
Not a magic trick. Not a magic solution. Not an easy thing to do correctly. The wavelet of the present. The wave of the future. A useful architectural concept. A potential business facilitator.

Resources
Douglas K. Barry, Web Services and Service-Oriented Architectures: the savvy managers guide. Thomas Erl, Service-Oriented Architecture: concepts, technology and design. Thomas Erl, Service-Oriented Architecture: a field guide to integrating XML and web services.