SESAR SWIM Master Class 2012 Best-in-Class Winner

White Paper
Building SWIM B2B Web Services Using Open Standards
SESAR SWIM Master Class
AIS implementations have traditionally been vendor-specific, built in isolation for a specific operational purpose. This approach has resulted in a fragmented industry with Air Traffic Management (ATM) data locked into silo systems, duplicated and maintained separately. To facilitate data exchange and the operational unlocking of ATM data there is a move towards System Wide Information Management (SWIM), where systems are interoperable in both the data they exchange and the services they provide. To achieve this, SESAR is developing the Aeronautical Information Reference Model (AIRM) and Information Service Reference Model (ISRM). Together, the AIRM and the ISRM provide a conceptual blueprint of data exchange models and service operations across the ATM industry. To further the development and demonstrate the added value of state-of-the-art information technology for ATM, the SESAR SWIM Master Class challenged software development teams across Europe, from both industry and academia, to develop prototype SWIM enabled applications and services to consume data from the Network Manager NOP B2B Web Services. NOP B2B Services Whilst the NOP services utilise AIXM to standardise the data layer, the NOP services themselves are specific to the ATM industry and require the development of custom software to consume them. Open Standards, Linked Data and Open Data communities therefore find the NOP services difficult and costly to consume. So, whilst the NOP services make ATM data available more than ever before, they are still somewhat proprietary and closed. Snowflakes SWIM Master Class prototype set out to: 1) Reduce the cost of creating and consuming SWIM services through proving that SWIM web services can be created through configuration and without software engineering thus taking a major step towards model driven service creation directly from the ISRM; 2) Encourage a dynamic eco-system around ATM data through utilising the model driven approach to create numerous service end-points which are conceptually the same but physically tailored to the needs of the communities consuming them. Communities such as Open Standards, Linked Data, Open Data and Semantic Web where services are standardsbased, have lighter transport and are both easier and less costly to consume.

Realising the model driven approach of the AIRM and ISRM

The core principles of AIRM and ISRM provide us with the opportunity to reduce barriers, pare back implementation cost and truly open up ATM data usage. They also enable the creation of an ecosystem around ATM data, where lightweight and standards-based services are deployed alongside heavier, more secure operational services. Realising the AIRM and ISRM in many different physical implementations reduces operational and implementation costs inside ATM whilst at the same time encouraging and removing barriers to communities outside of ATM. For example, a mobile App Developer would very rarely connect a device to WS-Security SOAP service as such a service would be too heavy to implement on a small platform. Rather, an App Developer would develop against a much lighter RESTful service delivering JSON which could be natively consumed on a device. The benefits of this approach to SWIM are three-fold. Firstly, by demonstrating that SWIM Web Services can be deployed through configuration and without software development, costs and

SESAR SWIM Master Class 2012 Best-in-Class Winner

timescales to Data Providers in adopting SWIM can be significantly reduced. Secondly, by implementing open standards, existing off-the-shelf software can be used to build SWIM enabled applications thus reducing the barrier to SWIM adoption for Data Consumers. Finally, by adopting a model driven approach to service generation ATM data can be utilised by a far wider audience through the deployment of more fit-for-purpose services aligned to the community consuming them.

Solution Architecture
The Snowflake prototype was designed to consume the existing NOP services and republish them in three physical forms: NOP SOAP services; OGC Web Feature Services; and RESTful Web Services. The architecture was divided into two core areas: 1) Data Maintenance the download client that connects to the NOP services, downloads the AIXM data and loads it to the underlying Publication Database 2) Data Publication the underlying Publication Database and the three publication web services deployed on top of a standards based OGC Web Feature Service 2.0

SESAR SWIM Master Class 2012 Best-in-Class Winner

Data Maintenance Architecture The data maintenance architecture comprises two core components: the Download Client which authenticates, connects and pulls data from the existing NOP service; and GO Loader which manages the loading process by loading the data into the Publication Database which was built on Oracle Express Edition. The Download Client used in the prototype is a purpose-built Java client that connects to the SWIM B2B web service. This regularly polls the SWIM B2B service to submit relevant SOAP requests and post-process data prior to download to: remove the SOAP message header; add the query parameters EAUP (chainDate and sequenceNumber) to feature/timeslice; and download files. A mature, off-the-shelf Snowflake product, GO Loader is designed for high performance, enterpriselevel loading of XML data. For the prototype, GO Loader was used specifically to design and build a database schema for maintaining AIXM 5.1 features (plus extensions) and regularly poll the local directory for new downloads and automatically load data into the Oracle database. Data Publication Architecture At the heart of the prototypes Data Publication Architecture is an OGC Web Feature Service v2.0 (ISO 19142) implemented using Snowflakes GO Publisher WFS product. A WFS is a standardsbased web service supporting a set of request operations allowing users to retrieve and manage features or properties. The WFS has been designed as a flexible, interoperable web service providing access to any data encoded as XML. It is therefore capable of supporting the retrieval and maintenance of AIXM, WXXM, FIXM and any other ATM exchange model developed in accordance with the ISO 19136 Annex E: UML to GML Application Schema Encoding Rules. Within the prototype, a key objective was to demonstrate how a set of WFS Stored Queries could be configured to represent the NOP service functionality for the Airspace Availability Port. The aim was to have the same conceptual service deployed in three styles: WFS, RESTful and SOAP. Alongside these services it was also important to demonstrate how the ad-hoc query functionality of the WFS Filter Encoding Specification (ISO 19143) was capable of supporting advanced query functionality to the underlying NOP data. A series of RESTful web services was designed in line with the existing NOP services with GO Publisher deploying those services on top of the underlying WFS. Importantly the RESTful services were able to deliver the AIXM 5.1 data both as XML and JSON, the later being the browser developer format of choice due to its ability to be natively parsed by mainstream browser languages such as Javascript. The SWIM SOAP Wrapper was designed to replicate the Airspace Service NOP/B2B web service request response layers for retrieving EAUP CDR and RSAs within the Airspace Availability Port. The wrapper was deployed as an additional facade to the WFS Stored Queries. Whilst the wrapper does not directly execute the request, it allows users to submit a request according to the SWIM B2B web services specifications which is then executed against an underlying WFS Stored Query. The wrapper then transforms the WFS response into the relevant SOAP response. Client Access During the SWIM Master Class, the Data Publication web services were made available to other Master Class participants in addition to the participants in the EUROCONTROL sponsored OWS-9AIM test-bed. Snowflake Software then further developed its generic 2D/3D ATM Viewer to visualise AIXM 5.1 features. To demonstrate the prototype SWIM Airspace Availability web services, the Download Client and a generic web browser were used to submit example requests to download the EAUP data which was then visualised within the ATM Viewer.

SESAR SWIM Master Class 2012 Best-in-Class Winner

Summary
Technical / technology benefits A core goal of the prototype was to prove that a single conceptual service could be deployed in numerous styles using configuration and without software development. This goal was achieved and now paves the way towards a model driven approach to service creation directly from the ISRM. Following a model driven approach also enables multiple service styles to be created from the same conceptual service model making ATM data more accessible and easier to use. During the prototype three service styles (all conceptually the same) were deployed: 1) SOAP Services By replicating the NOP services, we demonstrated how fixed and lockeddown end-points which could be highly secured and encrypted could be implemented in SOAP on a platform of existing OGC standards via wrapping OGC WFS Stored Queries; 2) RESTful Services - Creating lightweight RESTful services and JSON data feeds demonstrated that we could deploy end-points better aligned to browser and mobile app developers as well as Link Data and Open Data communities; 3) OGC Services - Deploying the NOP services as OGC Stored Queries demonstrated that NOP services could be created using existing Open Standards and that the rich Filter Encoding Specification of the WFS standard could be use to perform spatio-temporal queries on the data; Business benefits The three service styles deployed in the prototype have removed barriers both for ATM data providers and ATM data consumers. Providing multiple service styles for consuming ATM data will encourage innovation and create an eco-system around ATM data where growing communities in App and Browser development, as well as Linked Data and Semantic Web technologies, can access and innovate without significant investment in custom software development. Most importantly, the prototype has demonstrated that SWIM Web Services can be implemented through open standards configuration and without software development. The prototype has proven an approach to facilitate the model driven creation of SWIM Web Services direct from the ISRM. The fact that it was possible for Snowflake to reproduce a subset of the NOP Services, RESTful services and OGC Services during the short timeframe of prototype demonstrates the potential of this approach to dramatically reduce the cost, time and complexity of implementing SWIM Web Services.

Contact Information Snowflake Software Alleyn House 23-27 Carlton Crescent Southampton UK SO15 2EU T: +44 (023) 8023 8232 F: +44 (023) 8023 8233 E: info@snowflakesoftware.com www.snowflakesoftware.com