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Frequently Asked Questions
(Updated 8/30/2002)
- What is Openwings?
- What benefits does Openwings offer?
- Is Openwings a standard for military systems?
- Is Openwings a proprietary standard?
- What is Openwings' relationship to Jini?
- What type of applications is Openwings targeting?
- What roles do General Dynamics C4 Systems
and Sun have in Openwings?
- What has been the industry reaction to Openwings?
- Does using Openwings require replacing any
existing software or hardware?
- What is the investment to use Openwings?
- In deploying Openwings to an existing system,
do I have to change all of my existing code?
- What is the impact on development cost / maintenance?
- Is Openwings secure?
- Will Openwings meet my performance needs?
- How mature is the technology?
- How mature is Java?
- Can I prove the value of Openwings on a small
investment / prototype?
- Is Openwings going to be well supported in
the future?
- Where can I get more information?
1. What is Openwings?
Openwings is a set of open systems specifications for a framework that enables the
development of highly available, secure, distributed systems for mission critical
applications. The initial implementation of this framework utilizes Sun’s Jini
technology to provide ad-hoc integration of system components as well as increasing the
interoperability in a "systems of systems" environment.
2. What benefits does Openwings offer?
Openwings provides a complete framework for ad-hoc integration of system components. It
provides a model for increased reliability, increased security and independence from
middleware and database technologies.
3. Is Openwings a standard for military
systems?
No. However, the issues that the military faces during tactical operations demonstrate
the need for a robust, self-forming, self-healing "systems of systems"
integration technology. We believe that a systems framework based on the Openwings
specification may solve many of the Army’s interoperability issues. The integration
of Openwings into the DoD’s Command & Control and Sensor systems will also enable
field forces to spontaneously add new hardware and software without reconfiguring the
entire network, thus reducing Army administration costs while expediting decision-making.
4. Is Openwings a proprietary standard?
No. Openwings is a completely open standard that will be managed using a model similar
to the Java Community Process model that Sun has established for the development of its
Java technologies.
5. What is Openwings' relationship
to Jini?
One of the key premises of the architecture is that everything in the system is treated
as a service and dynamically provides the software others need to make use of its
services. Openwings specifies a set of "Component Services" that discuss how
services will connect to each other and their services on the network. Today, Jini
represents the best implementation of a self-discovery framework. Openwings provides a
simplified model for implementing Jini services as good "Jini Citizens."
It’s important to understand that Openwings itself is not dependent on Jini, but
initial implementations of the Openwings framework will likely implement the
"Component Services" using Jini technology.
6. What type of applications is Openwings
targeting?
Openwings is targeting large, software-intensive "system-of-systems"
environments that need high reliability and where systems are likely to come and go in an
ad-hoc fashion. Some examples of systems that would make use of Openwings technology are:
- Army Tactical Operation Centers
- Cellular Internet Service Providers
- Hospitals & Emergency Response Units
- Advanced Automotive Systems
7. What roles do General Dynamics C4 Systems and Sun have in Openwings?
General Dynamics C4 Systems (formerly Motorola IISG) and Sun have taken the
initiative to define the Openwings community and begin development of the initial
specification. Both companies are currently acting in the role of the Process Management
Office (PMO) for management of the Openwings Community Process.
8. What has been the industry reaction
to Openwings?
The reaction has been extremely positive from both the government and industry. There
is significant demand in the marketplace for a technology that simplifies the development
of highly reliable, distributed systems. A significant number of government agencies and
major systems integrators have expressed interest in becoming part of the Openwings
community.
9. Does using Openwings require replacing
any existing software or hardware?
No. Existing digital devices can be upgraded to use Openwings with the addition of some
Openwings-enabled software. For example, your PC, once it has this software, can use the
services of other devices and offer itself as a service. Even the devices that are
connected to your system, such as a disk or a printer, could be offered as services with
the addition of the appropriate Openwings-enabled software. Software that is currently
used on a system would work without change on that system even if the system were to be
upgraded to use Jini technology. Changing the software to provide services over the
network, however, would require upgrading the software.
10. What is the investment to
use Openwings?
The Openwings reference implementation is free for development and
deployment. Parts of Openwings are open source, such as the connector
generators. We have done a lot to make Openwings easy to use and
have a comprehensive tutorial and example programs. A Java developer
can learn to create Openwings services in an afternoon.
11. In deploying Openwings to
an existing system, do I have to change all of my existing code?
No. In fact, Openwings is designed to allow you use
your legacy code without modification. The Openwings connector
model can be used to communicate in the native protocol to your
existing software. You can also create wrappers around existing
code using Java Native Interface (JNI).
12. What is the impact on development
cost / maintenance?
Openwings significantly simplifies development of distributed
programs and thus reduces development cost. Maintenance cost is
reduced by isolation of implementations from interfaces and the
ability to reuse whole components.
13. Is Openwings secure?
The Openwings Security Specification, security model,
and secure connector prototypes will be complete for the Openwings
1.0 release. This release of Openwings will have the security
features necessary to secure platforms and services.
14. Will Openwings meet my performance
needs?
We have a stress-testing suite that continually drives
performance optimizations into Openwings. We have also cut startup
time significantly. Now that the functionality of Openwings is
fairly mature, we are focusing on performance, reliability, and
security. In general, Openwings performs as well as the underlying
connector protocols being used. We are also working to optimize
Openwings for low bandwidth environments.
15. How mature is the technology?
Many of the services in Openwings are on their 5th release
and hence are very mature. The most recently released services (install
and container) are on their 3rd release and are fairly mature. Security
and Context Services are under development and will be beta-quality
in Openwings 1.0.
16. How mature is Java?
Openwings uses the code mobility, portability, and interfaces
of Java extensively so this is an important question. Java has
now become very mature. The richness of the API, reliability and
recent security enhancements make it a solid platform to build
on.
17. Can I prove the value of Openwings
on a small investment / prototype?
Openwings can be used to service enable a small part
of the system with a small investment. The more services available,
the more valuable Openwings becomes.
18. Is Openwings going to be well
supported in the future?
General Dynamics is making significant investments in
Openwings and sees it as a key technology for our future systems.
Sun Microsystems is also investing in Openwings. Currently, we
try to answer questions to our mailing list within one business
day. Beyond our investments, parts of Openwings are becoming open
source, which makes them somewhat self-supporting.
19. Where can I get more information?
Pattie Fekete
General Dynamics C4 Systems
8201 E. McDowell Road, MD H8271
Scottsdale, AZ 85257
Phone: 480-441-2277
FAX: 480-441-0590
E-mail:
Pattie.Fekete@gdc4s.com
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