Service Discoverability

Service discoverability is meant to help one avoid the accidental creation of services that are either redundant or implement logic that is redundant. Owing to the fact that each particular service operation is meant to provide a potentially reusable piece of automation logic, metadata that comes attached to a service must describe not only the service’s overall purpose in an efficient manner, but also the functionality that its individual operations offer.

This particular principle of service orientation is similar to discoverability on the level of architecture, in which case the term “service discoverability” is meant to refer to the technology architecture’s ability to provide a mechanism of discovery, for example a service directory or registry. Such extensions effectively become part of the overall infrastructure that is meant to support the implementation of a Service Oriented Architecture.

On the level of service, the discoverability principle can be referred to the design of an individual service so that it becomes as discoverable as possible – no matter whether the discoverability extension or product actually exists in the surrounding implementation environment. The reason behind this is that even if there is no need for a service registry owing to the fact that there is not enough of a service inventory to warrant the need for one, services should consistently be designed as resources that are highly discoverable in some fashion. By doing so, the evolutionary governance off those services can be better managed when the service portfolio increases in size, as each service will then be equipped with the metadata that is required to properly communicate its capabilities and meaning.

Service-Orientation and Interoperability

Interoperability refers to the process whereby people, systems, and data are connected. The word interoperability can be viewed in a broad way, or a more technical way. It may take in to account software procedures, but also social and political meaning. One definition of interoperability considers it as the ability of several systems or components to exchange data and to utilize the data that has been exchanged. In the field of telecommunications, interoperability has a twofold definition.

It is first thought of as the ability of forces, systems, or units to provide services while also accepting services from other systems, forces, or units, and to utilize services exchanged as a means of enabling them to effectively operate together. The other half of the definition of interoperability refers to the condition that is attained among electronics and communications systems or items of such equipment when services or data can be exchanged directly between them and their users. The amount of interoperability must be defined when referring to particular cases.

In the case of two-way radio, interoperability consists of three dimensions. One is devoted to scalable capacity; another to compatible communications paths, such as equipment, signaling, and compatible frequencies; and a third is devoted to radio system coverage or adequate signal strength.

Standardized Service Contract

Standardized service contracts are one of the key Service Oriented Architecture principles. They ensure that services that are in the same inventory of services are kept in compliance with contract design standards. The services in a Service Oriented Architecture are able to delineate their capabilities and overall purpose in the form of a service contract. The standardized service contract principle basically requires that specific considerations be taken in to account when a service’s public technical interface is being designed. It simultaneously assesses the nature and quantity of content that shall be published as part of the service’s official contract.

A lot of emphasis tends to be placed on particular components of service design. This includes the way that the services express their functionality, how policies are to be attached and asserted, as well as the way in which data types and models are to be defined.

A constant focus on ensuring the optimization of service contracts should be maintained. The service contract should also maintain granularity and be standardized in a way that ensures that endpoints established by services shall be governable, consistent, and reliable.  A service contract is an attribute of service-oriented architecture that stipulates services in the form of a communications agreement that will be defined collectively by one or several service description documents.

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