Integrating Your e-business Enterprise

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2 Integrating Your e-business Enterprise Andre Yee Atul Apte 201 West 103rd St., Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

3 Integrating Your e-business Enterprise Copyright 2001 by Sams Publishing All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Nor is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. International Standard Book Number: Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: Printed in the United States of America First Printing: March Trademarks All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Sams Publishing cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark. Warning and Disclaimer Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible, but no warranty or fitness is implied. The information provided is on an as is basis. The authors and the publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages arising from the information contained in this book. ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Linda Engelman ACQUISITIONS EDITOR Loretta Yates DEVELOPMENT EDITOR Clint McCarty MANAGING EDITOR Charlotte Clapp PROJECT EDITOR Elizabeth Finney COPY EDITOR Charles A. Hutchinson INDEXER Erika Millen PROOFREADER Tony Reitz TECHNICAL EDITOR Ankur Laroia TEAM COORDINATOR Pamalee Nelson INTERIOR DESIGNER Anne Jones COVER DESIGNER Anne Jones PAGE LAYOUT Lizbeth Patterson

4 Overview Introduction 1 PART I e-business Integration Concepts 3 1 Introduction to e-business Integration 5 2 e-business Concepts and Architecture 15 3 e-business Integration Patterns 29 PART II e-business Integration Technologies 43 4 Integration Brokers 45 5 Application Servers 63 6 Understanding Business Process Integration 77 7 XML Standards and Integration 91 8 Leveraging XML for Integration Using Adapters for Application Data Access 123 PART III Adapting to Applications Interfacing with SAP Interfacing with Peoplesoft Interfacing with Oracle Applications Interfacing with Siebel ebusiness Interfacing with Legacy Applications 191 PART IV e-business Integration Practices e-business Integration Methodology: Steps to Success Practical Steps for a Successful Integration Project 223 Index 241

5 Table of Contents Introduction 1 PART I E-BUSINESS INTEGRATION CONCEPTS 3 1 Introduction to e-business Integration 5 What Exactly Is e-business Integration?...6 e-business Integration Imperative...7 Mergers and Acquisitions...7 Rapid Adoption of Package Applications...7 The Emergence of the Internet as a Business Channel...8 The Integration Challenge: How Did We Get Here?...8 Heterogeneous Platforms...9 Heterogeneous Communications Protocols...9 Corporate Islands of Automation...9 Data Syntax...10 Application Semantics...11 Middleware Revolution...11 Internet: Extending the Enterprise...11 Web-to-Enterprise...12 B2B Integration (B2Bi)...12 How to Succeed with ebi...13 Summary e-business Concepts and Architecture 15 Existing Approaches and Their Limitations...16 Point-to-Point File Transfer Systems...16 Database Gateways...17 Object Middleware...18 Message Queuing Middleware...19 New Technology Framework for e-business Integration...20 The e-business Integration Architecture...22 Transport Integration Layer...23 Data Integration Layer...24 Interface Integration Layer...26 Process Integration Layer...27 Summary e-business Integration Patterns 29 What Are Integration Patterns?...30 Database Replication...31 Synchronous Replication...31 Asynchronous Replication...32 Single-Step Application Integration...32 Multi-Step Application Integration...33

6 CONTENTS v Brokering Application...35 Applications Need to Reuse Logic...35 Applications Linked by Complex Logic...36 Applications Unified Through User Interface...36 Application-to-Application B2Bi...37 Security...38 Federated Control...38 Systems Management...38 Data Exchange B2Bi...38 B2B Process Integration...39 Closed Process B2Bi...40 Open Process B2Bi...40 Summary...41 PART II E-BUSINESS INTEGRATION TECHNOLOGIES 43 4 Integration Brokers 45 Emergence of Integration Brokers...46 Essential Elements of an Integration Broker...46 Robust Document Model...47 Asynchronous Messaging Service...49 Asynchronous Messaging...49 Java Messaging Service...50 Content-Based Routing...51 Data Transformation...52 Application Interaction...54 Session Management...54 Data Management...55 Node-Level Processing...55 Graphically Driven Tools...56 Integration Broker Runtime Architecture...56 Repository...57 Transformation Engine...57 Routing Hub...57 Messaging Service...57 Adapters...57 Leading Integration Brokers...59 New Era of Networks...59 SAGA Software...60 STC...60 webmethods...61 Summary Application Servers 63 How Application Servers Emerged...64 What Exactly Is an Application Server?...65 Execution of Business Logic...66

7 vi INTEGRATING YOUR E-BUSINESS ENTERPRISE High Performance...66 Scalability...66 High Availability...67 Security Management...67 Transaction Management...68 Systems Management...68 Development Tools and Services...68 Application Servers and the J2EE Platform...68 The EJB Component Model...69 J2EE Standard Services...70 Using Application Servers for Integration...71 Overview of Leading Application Servers...74 BEA Systems WebLogic Server...74 Bluestone Software Sapphire...75 IBM WebSphere...75 SUN-Netscape Alliance iplanet...76 Summary Understanding Business Process Integration 77 Clarifying Business Process Integration...78 Process Modeling...80 Process Templates...81 B2B Process Integration...82 Practical Limitations...82 Process Management...83 Process Execution...83 Process Transaction Management...83 Process Monitoring...84 Process Auditing...85 Process Analysis...86 Leading Business Process Integration Products...88 Alliance Manager (Extricity)...88 WebLogic Process Integrator (BEA Systems)...89 Verve Component Workflow (Versata)...90 Summary XML Standards and Integration 91 The Emergence of XML...92 Why the Hype over XML?...93 The XML Standard...93 What Exactly Is XML?...94 Element Names Must Conform to XML Conventions...94 Start Tag Must Have a Corresponding End Tag...95 Tags Are Case Sensitive...95 If Included, the XML Declaration Should Begin the Document...95 XML Document Should Contain Only One Root Element...96

8 CONTENTS vii XML Validity Beyond Well-Formed Documents...97 Enter XML Schemas...99 XML Extensibility New and Improved Data Typing Leveraged XML Access and Reference Mechanisms Dynamic Schema Management XML Schemas at Work Accessing and Traversing XML Documents with DOM The SAX Appeal Summary Leveraging XML for Integration 105 The Dawning of XML-Centric Integration Networked B2B Communities The Need for Enterprise Transparency What Is XML-Centric Integration? Enterprise Object-Relational Model: XML and Databases XML-based Transformations: XSLT Text-Based Transformation Only Many-to-Many Transformations Pattern-Matching Style Transformation Is Limited XML-Based Distributed Computing XML-Based Meta Data Application Content Meta Data Document/Message Schema Meta Data Integration Rules Meta Data XML and Meta Data XML Integration Model RosettaNet: An XML-Based Trading Standard The RosettaNet Model RosettaNet PIP Data Dictionaries RosettaNet Implementation Framework Summary Using Adapters for Application Data Access 123 The Role of Adapters in Integration Progression of Adapters Node-Level Processing Direct Point-to-Point Interaction The Adapter Model Design Time Runtime Adapter Patterns Database Access Pattern Interface File Exchange Pattern...133

9 viii INTEGRATING YOUR E-BUSINESS ENTERPRISE Remote Method Call Pattern User Interface Protocol Pattern Socket-Queue Pattern Transactional Proxy Pattern The J2EE Connector Architecture How Do J2EE Connectors Work? Application Server Managing the Resource Adapter Summary PART III ADAPTING TO APPLICATIONS Interfacing with SAP 143 Overview of SAP R/3 Application Suite SAP R/3 Integration ALE Overview IDoc Overview Working with ALE/IDoc Outbound ALE Process Inbound ALE Process Understanding BAPI Using the SAP-DCOM Interface Using DCOM Components on Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS) Summary Interfacing with PeopleSoft Overview of PeopleSoft Internet Architecture Understanding Open Integration Framework (OIF) Components and Integration Points Understanding PeopleSoft Application Integration Tools Tightly Coupled Inbound Calls to PeopleSoft Tightly Coupled Outbound Calls from PeopleSoft Loosely Coupled Inbound and Outbound File Based Inbound and Outbound Summary Interfacing with Oracle Applications 167 Overview of Oracle Applications Integrating External Systems Key Integration Requirements Data Conversion Data Extracts Data Synchronization Types of Interfaces Understanding OIT Error Handling with OIT OIT Execution Flow...174

10 CONTENTS ix Understanding EDI and XML Interfaces Understanding OAI Assessing the Oracle Applications Interfaces Summary Interfacing with Siebel ebusiness Overview of Siebel Siebel Application Architecture User Interface Layer Object Manager Layer Data Manager Layer Understanding Siebel Thin Client Products Thin Client for Windows Java Thin Client HTML Thin Client Siebel Application Integration Strategy Understanding the Enterprise Integration Manager (EIM) Understanding the Business Integration Manager Summary Interfacing with Legacy Applications 191 Why Have These Systems Endured? Displacement of Legacy Systems Is Costly Displacement of Legacy Systems Is Risky Distributed Client/Server Systems Still Don t Measure Up Types of Mainframe Application Integration Understanding IBM Terminal Emulation Structure of Data Stream Basic Features of Terminal Emulation Display Emulation Printing File Transfer API (Application Programming Interface) Role of Terminal Emulation in e-business Integration Screen Identification Flow Management Session Management Exception Management Modes of Terminal Emulation User Mode Design-Time Mode Test Mode Runtime Mode Summary...201

11 PART IV E-BUSINESS INTEGRATION PRACTICES e-business Integration Methodology: Steps to Success 205 Why an e-business Integration Methodology? Phases of the e-business Integration Methodology Strategy Phase Planning Phase Implementation Phase Evaluation Stage Summary Practical Steps for a Successful Integration Project 223 Cultivating an Understanding of Priorities Constructing in Layers Process Flow Application Access Transformation Transport Profiling Performance Early and Often Conducting a Performance Profile The Cyclical Nature of Performance Profiling Building in Resiliency Eliminating Single Points of Failure Isolating Effects of Failure Minimizing Moving Parts Implementing Failover Mechanisms Embracing Comprehensive Testing Component Testing System Testing Endurance Testing Platform Testing Performance-Scalability Testing Secondary Scenario Testing Addressing Secondary Scenarios Building with Deployment in Mind Building a Traceable System Instrumenting System Components for Monitoring Linking to Systems Management Frameworks Establishing Service-Level Agreements and Testing for Compliance Building a Deployment and Management Plan Early Summary Index 241

12 About the Authors Andre Yee is a noted authority on EAI and B2B integration technologies. He has several years of practical experience with middleware and distributed object technologies such as EJB, DCOM, and CORBA. He is a regular conference speaker and has authored several articles on B2B integration, Java, and COM. He was most recently the Vice President, R&D for SAGA Software, a leading provider of e-business Integration solutions. He currently resides in Northern Virginia. Atul Apte is the Director, Adapter Development for SAGA Software. He has broad expertise in integrating with various enterprise applications such as SAP, Oracle Applications, and Clarify. He also brings several years of experience in designing and implementing EAI projects for Global 2000 companies. He currently resides in a suburb of Toronto, Canada.

13 Dedication To my most excellent wife, Kathy, and my wonderful children, Kirsten, Michael, and Stephen words of thanks are insufficient. May we live our lives with the ultimate goal Soli Deo Gloria. Acknowledgments First, I would like to thank my coauthor, Atul Apte, for contributing key chapters to this book in particular, the chapters on interfacing with applications. This book is truly a collaborative effort in every sense. I also owe many thanks to David Linthicum, Suvajit Gupta, and my friends at SAGA Software for lending support in reviewing, discussing, and challenging my ideas on e-business Integration. All of you make me better by your participation.

14 Tell Us What You Think! As the reader of this book, you are our most important critic and commentator. We value your opinion and want to know what we re doing right, what we could do better, what areas you d like to see us publish in, and any other words of wisdom you re willing to pass our way. As a Associate Publisher for Sams Publishing, I welcome your comments. You can fax, , or write me directly to let me know what you did or didn t like about this book as well as what we can do to make our books stronger. Please note that I cannot help you with technical problems related to the topic of this book, and that due to the high volume of mail I receive, I might not be able to reply to every message. When you write, please be sure to include this book s title and author as well as your name and phone or fax number. I will carefully review your comments and share them with the author and editors who worked on the book. Fax: Linda.Engelman@samspublishing.com Mail: Linda Engelman Associate Publisher Sams Publishing 201 West 103rd Street Indianapolis, IN USA

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16 Introduction A great deal of change has occurred in business over the past few years. The enterprise is no longer simply corporate. It now extends well beyond corporate walls. The Internet is no longer simply a means of communication; it has become a channel for e-business. To compete in this new digital economy, companies will have to do more than Web-enable applications, personalize their Web sites, or even modify their business models. In what might initially seem to be an overstatement, I believe that to be truly successful in e-business, these companies will need to integrate. Classically, integration means connecting newer enterprise information systems with older, legacy data. This process encompasses cohesive integration of both data and business logic. It also means collaboration with partners, suppliers, and customers in an intelligent value chain of products and services. Companies need to be able to link and manage business processes together. In the end, being able to sell over the Web is not enough; you also need to be able to automatically process orders and fulfill customer needs. That s where enterprise application integration (EAI) comes in. EAI allows internal systems to be integrated so that they can provide the automated support needed to fulfill e-business transactions. In fact, EAI is not simply an enabling function for e-business; it truly is e-business. It is also insufficient to be able to sell via the Internet but not engage your partners and suppliers in the same fashion. This industrywide epiphany is what accounts for business-to-business integration (B2Bi) transactions. As B2Bi grows, it is giving rise to a new emphasis beyond simply point-to-point trading. It is extending to e-collaboration, the need to manage complex business processes and rich relationships between business entities. Whether discussing EAI or B2Bi, you are addressing the need for integration that begins within the enterprise but spans well beyond the enterprise walls to reach partners, suppliers, and customers. This is what is known as e-business Integration. Who Should Read This Book? This book is written to be useful to CTOs, CIOs, senior IT managers, project managers, and architects. Each constituent may get something different from the book, but my hope is that all will benefit in some way. Part of what makes e-business Integration hard to grasp in practice is not only the technology but also fundamental concepts that pave the way to implementation. I believe this book is unique because it blends the concepts together with the technology and practice of e-business Integration. In this book, you will find help in all three areas.

17 2 INTEGRATING YOUR E-BUSINESS ENTERPRISE How This Book Is Organized How you plan to use this book may depend on your role and what you are trying to accomplish. This book is written to be read cover to cover, and you can certainly choose to do that. You may also find some chapters more useful than others depending on your situation. Chapters 1 to 3 serve as a broad introduction to e-business purpose and concepts. Senior executives (CEOs, CIOs, CTOs, and vice presidents) will find these chapters particularly useful as Chapter 1 covers the basic premise of e-business Integration. Chapters 2 and 3 delve into fundamental technical integration concepts such as the introduction of e-business Integration architecture (Chapter 2), followed by a discussion of integration patterns (Chapter 3). Chapters 4 to 9 cover general integration technology elements. This section is critical reading for any IT architect involved in an e-business Integration project. Discussions of technologies such as integration brokers, application servers, and XML will lend to your integration expertise. Chapters 10 through 14 discuss the specific integration mechanisms in place to allow integration with primary package applications such as SAP, Siebel, and Peoplesoft, as well as with older technologies such as 3270 mainframe access. These chapters will provide information pertaining specifically to interfaces to these and other applications. If you don t have an understanding of these interfaces, integration is almost impossible. The heavy lifting occurs when you re navigating the application interfaces in an integration project. Finally, you have to make your project work. The last two chapters of this book address the issue of methodology and practices that will lead to real success. These chapters provide a series of tips and techniques that will help you during your integration project. Although it is not meant in any way to supplant a book on methodology, this book will cover specific tips regarding integration projects that can prove invaluable.

18 e-business Integration Concepts PART I IN THIS PART 1 Introduction to e-business Integration 5 2 e-business Concepts and Architecture 15 3 e-business Integration Patterns 29

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20 Introduction to e-business Integration There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home. Kenneth H. Olson, President of DEC, Convention of the World Future Society, 1977 CHAPTER 1 IN THIS CHAPTER What Exactly Is e-business Integration? 6 e-business Integration Imperative 7 The Integration Challenge: How Did We Get Here? 8 Internet: Extending the Enterprise 11 How to Succeed with ebi 13