I agree with Dennis. Here are two things:
1) SOA is not a structure of Web Services. However if a vendor like Amazon or any other in the market admit that a way to SOA is more complicated that just the Web Service wrappers on a stone-age apps, they would not be able to make easy money. So, it is just a populist statement when Mr. Vogels presents an alternative "way" for SOA architects instead of "detailed advanced planning". My guess, this way is called bazaar. 2) for last 5 years I noticed that Gartner, when dealing with emerging technologies, runs after whatever loud speakers suggesting they are forming future market. Initially it is true but the rest of us, later, have to work much harder to fix hype in real world; the most recent example is Web-enabling instead of building real Web applications. If anybody wants to find my personal position with regard to SOA services, you are welcome to look at http://webservices.sys-con.com/read/219016.htm and, please, send me a feedback. - Michael --- In [email protected], Dennis Sosnoski <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > This seems typical of the SOA misinformation in the industry, and shame > on Gardner for helping to spread it. Amazon has a useful collection of > web services, but no SOA influence is perceivable in their external > interfaces. In fact, at least as of a year ago they weren't even doing a > very good job with web services - they were returning SOAP responses > that didn't match the schemas in their own WSDL service contracts. > > It may be that this is just an ugly external interface to a clean > internal architecture - but I very much doubt it. > > - Dennis > > Gervas Douglas wrote: > > Here is a report on a recent speech by Vogels on the Amazon system: > > > > <<For architects who believe detailed advanced planning will be the > > key to a successful SOA implementation, an alternative approach is > > offered by Werner Vogels, vice president, world-wide architecture and > > CTO at Amazon.com. > > > > "Amazon does a lot of research, but we don't call it research, we call > > it development," Vogels said in a keynote at the opening the Gartner > > Inc. Enterprise Architecture Summit this week. He offered an almost > > anti-model for SOA development that includes hard work, failures, more > > hard work, successes and more hard work. > > > > He laced his presentation with tongue-in-cheek humor starting with the > > title: "Order in the Chaos: Building the Amazon.com Platform." > > > > Vogels pointed out that in 1995 when Amazon started with a simple Web > > ordering application running on a single server, the architecture was > > so simple it was literally drawn on a cocktail napkin. There was no > > grand plan to build an SOA platform that today features as many as 150 > > Web services on its home page alone. > > > > The massive online retail Web site evolved from a modest attempt to > > sell books on the Web, into this year's version that hosts 1 million > > merchant partners ranging from small used book stores to Target Inc., > > which in virtual retailing is now bigger than Wal-Mart, Vogels said. > > > > "We more or less naturally became a platform," Vogels said of the > > technological evolution. > > > > In a brief history of Amazon's technology, he showed how one server > > for databases of customer information and inventory grew to two > > servers, one for customer info and one for inventory. As the business > > got bigger with more customers and more products, more and more > > database servers were added. > > > > When database performance became an problem, a fast talking salesman > > told Amazon to buy a mainframe. Big iron did not prove to be the > > answer, a technology misstep that still leaves Vogels chagrined. > > > > "This is an Internet company in 1999 and we bought a mainframe," he > > said. When it failed to meet the scalability, reliability and > > performance needs after a year, Amazon pulled the plug on that hardware. > > > > Vogels said there is a lot of talk about what is the "secret sauce" > > that makes Amazon so popular. In his opinion, "The secret sauce is > > operating reliably at scale." > > > > To serve its 60 million customers and keeping them all happy requires > > scalability and reliability, that may go beyond what most SOA > > developers and architects need to factor into their platforms, Vogels > > said. For example, while most customers may feel they're buying a lot > > of stuff if they have 20 books and gadgets in their online shopping > > cart, he said Amazon has to be prepared for the one customer in 60 > > million with 20,000 items in their shopping cart. > > > > After the mainframe debacle in 1999, Amazon reached the point around > > 2001 where the only way to achieve the reliability and scalability it > > needed was to use Web services to insulate the databases from being > > overwhelmed by direct interaction with online applications. > > > > "We were doing SOA before it was a buzz word," the Amazon CTO said. > > > > Unlike most speakers at analyst conferences, Vogels doesn't mince > > words as to whether SOA is a good strategy or a workable theory. > > Upfront, he told his audience "Service orientation works." > > > > For all the talk of how Amazon is succeeding with blade servers > > running Linux, the CTO says, "We never could have built that platform > > without service orientation." > > > > Giving a glimpse into how the developers at Amazon are organized, > > Vogels said it involves teamwork. Each Web service has one team of > > developers responsible for it. And they are not just responsible for > > writing the service and then tossing it over the wall for testing and > > eventual entry into production where some poor maintenance geek has to > > look after it. > > > > The Amazon CTO tells his Web services team members: "You build it. You > > own it." > > > > That means the team is responsible for its Web service's on-going > > operation. If a Web service stops working in the middle of the night, > > team members are called to fix it. > > > > This policy that there is "no wall at the end of development" > > encourages developers to make their Web services as bulletproof as > > possible. > > > > Since complexity is notoriously the enemy of reliability, Vogels > > encourages developers to keep their Web services simple. > > > > "Simplicity is the hardest design criteria," Vogels said. "Designing a > > service we ask constantly: Is this the simplest service we can build?" > > > > Another design criterion the chief technology officer emphasizes is > > not getting attached to any one technology or standard. Amazon > > developers start with what the customer needs and then work back to > > what technology will work for them, Vogels said. > > > > This includes the implementation of Web services standards. If one > > retail partner wants to use SOAP and another wants to use > > Representational State Transfer (REST), they each get the standard > > they request. > > > > "Our developers don't care if it's REST or SOAP," Vogels said. "It's > > all about customers.">> > > > > You can find this at: > > > > <http://searchwebservices.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid26_gci1195702,00.html?track=NL-110&ad=556382> > > > > Gervas > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Check out the new improvements in Yahoo! Groups email. http://us.click.yahoo.com/6pRQfA/fOaOAA/yQLSAA/NhFolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/service-orientated-architecture/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
