The Runtime Behavior of Composite SOAP Web Services under Transient Loads

Abstract

Services are computational elements that expose functionality in a platform independent manner. They are the basic building blocks of the service-oriented (SO) design/integration paradigm. Composite Web Services (CWS) aggregate multiple Web Services (WSs), which is typically achieved by use of a workflow language. A workflow coordinates services in a manner that is consistent with the desired overall functionality (e.g. business process). When the atomic and composite services are exposed to various users, the performance and runtime behavior of WSs becomes important. To ensure wide deployment of CWS, the performance issues must be studied. This research focuses on the performance of atomic and composite SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) WSs under transient overloads. This research includes conducting experiments with WSs, studying the runtime behavior, and building simulation models of WSs workflow patterns. Simulation models of different WSs workflow patterns are built to study different situations. Timeout and network latency are added to the model to better simulate real systems. The simulation models are used to predict the runtime behavior of WSs and CWS, as well as to improve the performance with existing, limited resources.