Reusable assets in IBM pureapplication System

IBM pureapplication System provides a framework that enables designers to create reusable assets, accelerates application pattern development, and ensures that architectural standards are implemented consistently across different deployments. Assets can represent infrastructure components, such as databases, user registries, messaging engines, and enterprise applications. In conjunction with these assets, an application pattern template can be formed and used to define standard architectural patterns for applications across the enterprise.

Reusable components and template catalogs can reduce the cost of bringing new applications to market and ensure organizational standards are focused.

Defining Reusable components

Figure 1 and the following list show how to transform the assets that are configured for a specific purpose into components that you can combine into a template and then combine them into a deployable pattern.

Figure 1. How to turn an asset into a deployable application pattern

Assets. The assets provided with Pureapplication System can be used as the basic building blocks of the application pattern. These assets are used when building virtual application schemas to connect to existing enterprise resources, such as databases, messaging engines, and user registries. You must configure assets for the specific resources that you connect to.

Reusable components. These assets are configured by a domain expert to connect to specific enterprise resources. Reusable components are stored in a directory and can be reused. You can add them directly to the application pattern or template without any further configuration.

The virtual application template. These templates are composed of assets and reusable components that are connected together, representing a common pattern. The system provides configuration details that are common to all instances of using the template. Templates are located in the directory and are available for reuse.

Virtual application Mode. Patterns are made up of assets and components that are connected and fully configured. These patterns can be deployed at any time.

User roles for reusable components

Pureapplication System provides a security model that controls who can add new content to the reusable component directory and who can access those components. This model allows the organization to control the visibility and use of content contained in the directory. For example, internal and external applications may have a separate user registry. Organizations can set permissions so that schema developers who are responsible for building internal applications can access only the internal registry components, and schema developers who build external applications can only access external user registry components.

Add content to the directory

Only users with the Create new directory content permission can add reusable components and schema templates to the Pureapplication System directory. After a component is added to the directory, the owner must add the user or group to the Access Control List (ACL) before other users can use the component.

Access directory Content

Any user who has access to an item in the directory can implement the component. For reusable components, the user can add the component to the application pattern or application template. The ability to access an application template enables the schema creator to select a template from the catalog and use it as a starting point when creating a new application pattern.

Value of reusable components

The knowledge of configuring enterprise resource connections is often mastered by domain experts, who need to be involved each time a new connection needs to be established. Pureapplication System provides a tool for domain experts to capture their knowledge into reusable components that are placed in a directory for reuse. In fact, the configuration details that are consistent across the enterprise are captured in the component, and the details that are unique to each application are defined when the application is added to the schema.

Example

A payroll application and a human resources (HR) application are connected to an enterprise user registry. The user registry component is common to both applications, so it is useful to have domain experts configure a standard user registry component and save it as a reusable component in a directory. Both payroll and HR application patterns can implement user registry reusable components. This component has preconfigured the host name of the user registry because the name is the same throughout the enterprise. However, the payroll application has a security role called "accountants", and the HR application has a security role called "". These application-specific configuration details are left to the developer to define, because he or she will customize each application's schema.

Reusable components can speed development by providing schema developers with the ability to leverage domain experts ' knowledge of enterprise systems, by not knowing how to connect to the user registry. The pattern developer simply provides the details of the application specific to him or her instantly.

Reusable components can speed up the development of patterns in this way, reduce the chance of human error, and perform a consistent interaction with enterprise resources.