Exclusive: Systinet reins in Web service registries

At the outset, I should admit a bias: I’m a UDDI skeptic. Still, I’m willing to believe that maybe I just haven’t dug deeply enough into UDDI to see its real value. So, I was naturally eager to review the latest version of Systinet’s Web services registry.

Free IT resource Hear how top CIOs turn change into a competitive advantage. Sponsored by HP Free IT resource Attend the SOA Executive Forum: Breaking SOA Bottlenecks SOAExecForum.com/may2007 Sponsored by InfoWorld Systinet Registry 6.0 Systinet, systinet.com Very Good  8.1 criteria score weight Interoperability 8 20% Manageability 9 20% Reporting 7 15% Scalability 9 15% Security 8 10% Setup 9 10% Value 6 10% Cost: Typical installation starts at $40,000 to $80,000 Platforms: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1; Solaris 9; Microsoft Windows 2003 Server, Windows 2000, Windows XP Bottom Line: Systinet Registry 6.0 provides a solid platform for building SOA governance and establishing a system of record for enterprise Web services. Registry 6.0 will provide ROI to organizations looking to manage a diverse set of Web services across different groups and versions — but it’s pricey, especially for smaller businesses. About our Reviews and Scoring Methodology

Being a UDDI skeptic doesn’t make me a registry skeptic, however. Registries are a mandatory part of a functional SOA for three reasons. First, a registry acts as a “system of record” for the enterprise’s Web services -- the registry becomes the central reference for otherwise distributed and difficult-to-find services. Second, a registry is a place where providers can advertise services and consumers can discover them. And third, it’s a point of control for governing the availability of services, managing versioning, and ensuring compliance with enterprise and external requirements.

Systinet Registry 6.0 does all this in a platform that’s mature, stable, and polished.

Registry Basics
I installed Systinet Server for Windows XP Service Pack 2 using JVM 1.5. The Systinet wizard makes installation painless: Out of the box, the registry uses the embedded Hypersonic SQL database to make setup easy, but it also supports Oracle, DB/2, Microsoft SQL, Sybase, and PostgreSQL for production use.

You may use Systinet Registry 6.0 in two primary ways. When developing a new service, developers can browse or search the registry to find services. This promotes code reuse and helps developers find services that are ready for production use.

Alternatively, an application can query the registry at run time to get end-point data for services it uses. In this mode, the product functions similar to a registry in any other RPC-style application, allowing services to be found by name instead of embedded end-point data.

Along with its two modes, Systinet Registry comes with two different consoles: the Registry Admin Console and the BSC (Business Service Console). The first is used to configure and manage the registry itself; for simple installations, it will rarely be used.

The second console is where Registry 6.0 provides real value to the enterprise -- and where I spent a good deal of my time. The BSC is the primary interface to the registry for developers, architects, and business users. Using the BSC, you can publish service descriptions and manage metadata about published services, indicating, for example, which are in development, which are in QA, and which are in production.

The BSC also supports the development-time activities of finding services using the console’s search and browse capabilities. As a convenience, users can register for notifications about the services in which they’re interested; when a service has been updated or its metadata has been changed, the user will receive notification either through the BSC interface, by e-mail, or via a custom call out configured using SOAP.

Systinet Registry’s reporting was adequate -- nothing eye-popping, but it gives you a good picture of registered services. Reports are canned queries on the metadata associated with services and can be customized.