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Don’t Neglect the Data! Data Modeling for Interoperable Systems

Lacey Rae Trebaol20 March 2013

Context

Topics

• Systems, Integration, and Interoperability• Data Modeling for Interoperable Systems• RTI Products and Services• Q&A

Systems

Systems

Systems

Systems

Systems

Systems

Integration

The process of linking together different computing systems and software applications physically or functionally, to act as a coordinated whole.

Integration

Integratability

Integratability is the ability for some combination of systems to come together and form, coordinate, or blend into a functioning or unified whole.

Interoperation

The setup of components and methods to make two or more systems work together as a combined system.

Interoperation

Interoperation

System of Systems

A system of systems is a collection of task-oriented or dedicated systems that pool their resources and capabilities together to create a new, more complex system which offers more functionality and performance than simply the sum of the constituent systems.

Interoperability

Interoperability is the ability for systems, units, or forces to provide services to and accept services from other systems, units, or forces, and to use the services so exchanged to enable them to operate effectively together.

Levels of Conceptual Interoperability

Technical Interoperability

• Requires– Communications

Infrastructure established

• Result– Bits & Bytes are

exchanged in an unambiguous manner

• Non-Functional Need Met– Replaceability

Interchangeability

доброе утро

おはよう

Syntactic Interoperability

• Requires– Communications

Infrastructure established– Common structure or

common data format for exchanging information

• Result– Bits/Bytes and the Structure of

Data are exchanged in an unambiguous manner

• Non-Functional Need Met– Interchangeability and

Integratability

What was her temperature?

37.2

Get the warming blankets.

Semantic Interoperability

• Required– Communications Infrastructure

and Common Data Format are established

– Common information model is defined for exchanging the meaning of information

• Result– Bits/Bytes and the structure of

data are exchanged in an unambiguous manner

– Content of the information exchanged is unambiguously defined

• Non-Functional Need Met– Actual, high-level Interoperability

The apple is orange and

yellow.

What does that have to do with

her surgery?

Oh! I thought we were talking about food. She didn’t

need surgery.

Data Modeling for Interoperable Systems

ModelA model is anything used in any way to represent something else

Data Model

A data model is a representation that describes the data about the things that exist in your domain

Systems of Systems are Different

System of

Systems

[n] types of systems

[n]sets of requirements +

the requirement for Semantic

Interoperability

many things to express

many different representations of those expressions

to achieve interoperability

The SOS Data Model Shall…

1. Meet the requirements of all of the constituent systems

2. Support the overarching requirement for Semantic Interoperability

3. Allow for changes to be made to the model without requiring changes to the existing system and application interfaces that use it

Formal Language

Rigorous Documentation Formal Process

1. 2. 3.

We Need A Formal Approach!

Formal Language for Data Modeling

• Similar to structured, rigorous programming languages

• Ambiguity is not acceptable– Syntax– Semantics

Formal Language

Alphabet

Transformation Rules

Formation Rules

Semantics, Ambiguity, and Language

Natural Language Representation

• A pair of shoes that Claire wants costs 1500 dollars. She waits until the shoes go on sale. She can spend 450 dollars, including 8.25% tax. On Monday, the shoe store discounts everything by 50%. Each day an item is not sold, it is discounted another 25%. How soon can Claire buy her shoes?

Formal Language Representation

Documentation Methodology

• Documenting only your messages is insufficient

• Documentation doesn’t end at the data model– Your system– Key decisions – Context

Formal Process

• Mandates are insufficient with so many stakeholders

• Can’t dictate everything, must accommodate many things

• SOS DM needs to enforce rigorous well defined processes, not mandate messages

Atomic ElementsElements

of Meaning

Putting the Pieces Together

Things to Model from

System A

Data Model

Data Modeling Process

Structure

Behavior

Context

representation A

representation A

representation [n]

per a Rigorous and Formal

Approach

Data Centric Integration Solution

Legacy System A

Mediation

Future System C

Mediation

New System B

Mediation

• Technical Interoperability– Infrastructure &

Protocol• Syntactic

Interoperability– Common Data

Structure• Semantic

Interoperability– Common Data

Definition

RTI Products and Services

RTI’s Data Centric Integration Solution

Connext DDS Professional

DDS-RTPS Wire Interoperability

Messaging

Real-Time Apps DisparateApps/Systems

Integrator

Tools

Administration

Monitoring

Recording

Replay

LoggingSystem Viz

• Connext DDS– Wire

Interoperability– Xtypes

• Connext Integrator– Mediation

• Future Evolutions– More powerful– More flexible– More systems.

Working as 1.

Q&A

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