Services-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is a software architecture where functionality is grouped around business processes and packaged as interoperable services. SOA also describes IT infrastructure which allows different applications to exchange data with one another as they participate in business processes. The aim is a LOOSE COUPLING of services with operating systems, programming languages and other technologies which underlie applications.
SOA separates functions into distinct units, or services, which are made accessible over a network in order that they can be combined and reused in the production of business applications. These services communicate with each other by passing data from one service to another, or by coordinating an activity between two or more services.
Overview
Companies have long sought to integrate existing systems in order to implement information technology (IT) support for business processes that cover all present and prospective systems requirements needed to run the business end-to-end. A variety of designs can be used to this end, ranging from rigid point-to-point electronic data interchange (EDI) interactions to Web auctions. By updating older technologies, such as Internet-enabling EDI-based systems, companies can make their IT systems available to internal or external customers; but the resulting systems have not proven to be flexible enough to meet business demands. A flexible, standardized architecture is required to better support the connection of various applications and the sharing of data. SOA is one such architecture.
Services
SOA unifies business processes by structuring large applications as an ad hoc collection of smaller modules called services. A service could be; filling out an online application for an account, viewing an online bank statement, or placing an online booking or airline ticket order.
Services are intrinsically unassociated units of functionality, which have no calls to each other embedded in them. Instead of services embedding calls to each other in their source code, protocols are defined which describe how one or more services can talk to each other. This architecture then relies on a business process expert to link and sequence services, in a process known as orchestration, to meet a new or existing business system requirement. The new applications built from a mix of services from the global pool which exhibit greater flexibility and uniformity.
Connections
The technology of Web services is the most likely connection technology of service-oriented architectures. Web services essentially use XML to create a robust connection.The term "Web Services" can be confusing. It is, unfortunately, often used in many different ways.
Here, the term Web Services refers to the technologies that allow for making connections. Services are what you connect together using Web Services. A service is the endpoint of a connection. Also, a service has some type of underlying computer system that supports the connection offered. The combination of services - internal and external to an organization - make up a service-oriented architecture.
Related Descriptions
Business process
A business process or business method is a collection of interrelated tasks, which accomplish a particular goal.
There are three types of business processes:
- Management processes, the processes that govern the operation of a system. Typical management processes include "Corporate Governance" and "Strategic Management".
- Operational processes, processes that constitute the core business and create the primary value stream. Typical operational processes are Purchasing, Manufacturing, Marketing and Sales.
- Supporting processes, which support the core processes. Examples include Accounting, Recruting, IT-support.
Orchestration (computers)
Orchestration describes the automated arrangement, coordination, and management of complex computer systems, Middleware, and services.
1 comment:
Good Attempt hemanth.
I would suggest that a pictorial representation with live examples will make it a much more interesting read. Remember that your blog should be targeted at not just a technical audience but general audience as well.
Keep it going
Karthik
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