Tooled approach to interoperability monitoring with traceability for message-driven systems

Abstract

Message-driven information systems allow for asynchronous data exchange of messages via a publish/subscribe mechanism. This is achieved by setting up data exchanges in form of a message-oriented-middleware (MOM) between the collaborating systems. Traceability provides a method for the persistence of the message intermediate states across the message lifecycle allowing for retransmission. This research proposes a model for traceability and metrics generation, not only from the message broker but from the producer and consumer clients interacting via HTTP. A messaging metamodel is proposed for aggregating interaction metadata. We develop this model using RabbitMQ an open-source message broker and Spring Framework enhanced to include traceability interfaces. A web application-compatible tool was designed, prototyped, and implemented based on this metamodel. This approach helps not only for monitoring interactions but for the detection of potential interoperability-related issues and improving overall message throughput. A case study was used to demonstrate the feasibility of this approach.