Container Communication Segmentation for Interoperability
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing Web Service communication technologies, relying on open-standard protocols like SOAP and XML, impose restrictive message formats and loose coupling between containers, limiting performance and reliability, and hindering vendors from differentiating their services effectively.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a mechanism where containers initially communicate using open-standard protocols to establish compatibility, then switch to messages with portions defined by native protocols, allowing for tighter coupling and improved performance and reliability without altering the Web Service logic or application logic.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If containers communicate using open-standard protocols like SOAP and XML, then interoperability and vendor independence are improved, but message format flexibility and coupling between containers deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The message is segmented into two distinct parts: a standardized portion that ensures interoperability and a proprietary portion that enables vendor-specific functionality. This segmentation allows each part to serve its specific purpose without compromising the other, resolving the contradiction between standardization and flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
Different parts of the message have different qualities - the standardized portion follows open protocols for broad compatibility, while the proprietary portion uses vendor-specific formats for optimized functionality. This local differentiation allows the system to simultaneously achieve interoperability and message format flexibility.
2Adaptability or versatility
If containers are loosely coupled through open-standard protocols, then vendor independence is improved, but communication performance and reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The communication protocol is segmented into standardized and proprietary layers, where the standardized layer maintains vendor independence while the proprietary layer enhances communication reliability through optimized, vendor-specific mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the balance between loose and tight coupling by allowing containers to negotiate and switch between standardized and proprietary message formats based on their compatibility and performance requirements.
3Adaptability or versatility
If data is converted to fit open-standard protocol messages, then interoperability is improved, but information specificity and communication efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The message structure is segmented to preserve container-specific information in the proprietary portion while maintaining interoperability through the standardized portion. This eliminates the need to convert or lose container-specific data formats.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of fully converting all data to standardized formats, the system applies partial conversion only where necessary for interoperability, preserving the original container-specific information in the proprietary message portion.
Data Source
AI summary
A first container executing on a first computer determines, by using one or more messages defined by an open-standard protocol and communicated over one or more networks coupled to the second computer, whether the second container, executing on a second computer, can communicate using messages having a portion not defined by the open-standard protocol and having a portion defined by the open-standard protocol. The first container communicates, with the second container, at least one additional message having the portion not defined by the open-standard protocol and having the portion defined by the open-standard protocol. The portion not defined by the open-standard protocol occupies a predetermined part of the message that would be defined by the open-standard protocol if the open-standard protocol were used for the predetermined part.