JCAPS

In the midst of a job change, I've been spending most of the last few weeks handing my work off to others and writing some final documentation. With that almost complete, I'm turning my attention to my new position where I'll be working to integrate systems together in a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA).

While I have SOA experience (creating & integrating web services as well as CORBA modules) my new company has chosen the Java Composite Application Suite (JCAPS) as it's SOA platform. It's (by far) the most comprehensive SOA solution I've had opportunity to work with. I'm really excited to get started. Here are some things I really like about the architecture and questions I have.
  • The system is built on an application server and includes things like messaging, as well as consolidated user management and role based access built in. This is a big change from my current situation where I've needed to integrate (and implement) a lot of this functionality myself.
  • The next layer of the architecture handles integration. Integration with internal services, external services, and legacy systems. This layer also handles the task of single sign-on for users to the various system components.
  • The next layer is called the eInsight Business Process Manager. It's the part I'm most excited to learn more about. This layer leverages languages like BPEL to allow business leaders to create, model, test, and deploy their own business processes. Delivered via the integrated portal server, I'm envisioning something similar to IBM's QEDWiki. It's been a while since I've worked with portal technology so I'm curious as to whether the JCAPS portlets can deliver a similar experience to QEDWiki's integrated components (wired widgets).

As I learn more about the JCAPS platform, I'll be sure to post more.

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