Traffic manager for distributed computing environments

Abstract

Techniques suitable for facilitating communications between various computer programs operating on various nodes in a distributed computing environment are disclosed. The techniques can be used by a traffic manager operating in such environments. The traffic manager is capable of monitoring traffic exchanged between client and server programs operating in the distributed computing environment. Moreover, the traffic manager can be used to implement a variety of desirable features across different computing environments. These computing environments are typically separated by one or more distinguishing characteristics. As will be appreciated, the traffic manager provides an integral and cost effective solution which can bridge these distinguishing characteristics as well as define and enforce policies across disparate computing environments. This is achieved by centralizing the generation of interfaces which allow interaction between any of the nodes in a distributed computing system. This avoids the redundancy and inefficiency inherent in building these capabilities in each node, particularly in complex systems.

1 . A computer-implemented method of processing SOAP messages, the method comprising:
 receiving a SOAP message;   determining whether at least one rule is associated with the SOAP message;   evaluating the at least one rule based on at least a portion of the SOAP message; and   determining whether an action should be taken with respect to the SOAP message based on the evaluating of the at least one rule.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein at least one portion of the SOAP message comprises data in an XML format. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein the SOAP message comprises an attachment having at least one of a multimedia format and an office file format. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the SOAP message comprises a request for one or more services. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein determining whether at least one rule is associated with the SOAP message comprises:
 determining for the SOAP message: (1) a message type; (2) a sender node; (3) a recipient node; and (4) one or more authentication identifiers; and   identifying rules associated with the message type, the sender node, the recipient node and the one or more identifiers.   
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the one or more authentication identifiers are associated with one of the sender node and the recipient node. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the at least one rule associated with the SOAP message comprises at least one of a data review rule and a conditional flow rule. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the at least one rule associated with the SOAP message is generated based on a policy. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein evaluating the at least one rule based on at least a portion of the SOAP message comprises:
 gathering data from the SOAP message as specified by the at least one rule; and   evaluating the at least one rule based on the gathered data.   
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the action comprises at least one of holding the SOAP message, archiving the SOAP message, failing SOAP message delivery, sending a notification, logging special notification, modifying data in the SOAP message, sending side-effect SOAP messages and invoking Java methods. 
   
   
       11 . A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium including a computer readable program, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to:
 receive a SOAP message;   determine whether at least one rule is associated with the SOAP message;   evaluate the at least one rule based on at least a portion of the SOAP message; and   determine whether an action should be taken with respect to the SOAP message based on the evaluating of the at least one rule.   
   
   
       12 . The computer program product of  claim 11  wherein at least one portion of the SOAP message comprises data in an XML format. 
   
   
       13 . The computer program product of  claim 12  wherein the SOAP message comprises an attachment having at least one of a multimedia format and an office file format. 
   
   
       14 . The computer program product of  claim 11  wherein the SOAP message comprises a request for one or more services. 
   
   
       15 . The computer program product of  claim 11  wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer also causes the computer to:
 determine for the SOAP message: (1) a message type; (2) a sender node; (3) a recipient node; and (4) one or more authentication identifiers; and   identify rules associated with the message type, the sender node, the recipient node and the one or more identifiers.   
   
   
       16 . The computer program product of  claim 15  wherein the one or more authentication identifiers are associated with one of the sender node and the recipient node. 
   
   
       17 . The computer program product of  claim 11  wherein the at least one rule associated with the SOAP message comprises at least one of a data review rule and a conditional flow rule. 
   
   
       18 . The computer program product of  claim 11  wherein the at least one rule associated with the SOAP message is generated based on a policy. 
   
   
       19 . The computer program product of  claim 11  wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer also causes the computer to:
 gather data from the SOAP message as specified by the at least one rule; and   evaluate the at least one rule based on the gathered data.   
   
   
       20 . The computer program product of  claim 11  wherein the action comprises at least one of holding the SOAP message, archiving the SOAP message, failing SOAP message delivery, sending a notification, logging special notification, modifying data in the SOAP message, sending side-effect SOAP messages and invoking Java methods.