ACI's Product - ICE-XS

ICE-XS stands for Internet Communications for the Enterprise Cross System.

• It is a multi-protocol, multi-platform communications gateway with embedded message transformation capabilities, security services, and SOA technology.
• Allows dissimilar and heterogeneous networks, devices and applications to communicate.
• Designed for high-speed, high-volume, switching oftransactions in real-time.
• Provides four layered architecture:
– Communications protocols support, e.g. TCPIP, SNA, WMQ
– Device protocol support, e.g. HTTP, VISAII, MDS
– Message switching, e.g. TCPIP to SNA
– Message transformation, e.g. SOAP to ISO, Binary to XML

Typically ICE-XS is used to facilitate communications between networks, devices and applications, such as
– ATM’s
– POS devices
– Hardware Security Modules (HSM’s), such as Atalla, Thales etc
– Hosts, for CICS/IMS/MQ applications
– Switches/Interchanges, such as VISA, Mastercard
– Networks, such as French Interbank network e-RSB
• ICE-XS is typically deployed
– As a front end to ACI applications such as BASE24-eps, PRM, BASE24 (NSK), OCM24 (z/OS), but can be deployed standalone as a protocol/message switch or ESB SOA provider.

Supported Platforms

• Solaris, SunOS version 5.8 (Solaris 8) or greater, Sparc CPU
– Websphere MQ version 5.3
– TIBCO Rendezvous 7.5.3

• AIX version 5 or greater
– Websphere MQ version 5.3
– TIBCO Rendezvous 7.5.3

• zOS version 1.9 or greater
– Websphere MQ version 6.0

• HP Nonstop S-series G06.13 or greater
– Websphere MQ version 5.1

• HP Nonstop Integrity (Itanium) H06.03 or greater
– Websphere MQ version 5.3.1.2

Communication Protocols

Provides low-level connectivity to devices and applications.
• Connections established, managed and maintained by ICE-XS
and used as transports for higher layer protocols.
• Primary communication flavors available:

– TCP/IP

– SNA

– Websphere MQ (WMQ)

• Other more specialized communications options include Interprocess
Communication (IPC) using Unix-domain sockets,Publish/Subscribe using TIBCO Rendezvous messaging busand X.25 over TCPIP (XOT).

Device Protocols

• Provides higher-level connectivity to devices and applications.
• Device Protocol connections operate over Communication Protocol connections established, managed and maintained by ICE-XS.
• Primary device protocol flavors:
– HTTP – client and server
– GENERICx/CUSTOM
• simple messaging for streamed protocols (TCP/IP)
– GENERIC
• simple messaging for non-streamed protocols (WMQ)
– VISAII/ACISTD
• POS protocols
– MDS
• Message delivery for BASE24-eps

• Other specialized device protocols supported include:
– ATALLA (HSM access)
– VIPUSMG (Visa IP US Message Gateway)
– IMSCONNECT (IMS comms over TCP/IP)
– CBCOM (French interbank network eRSB comms)
– PIP (ACI PRM Interface Process)
– TPAD (Transaction Pad over TCPIP or XOT)
– EQUENS
– WSAPI (ACI Web Services API)
– PATHSEND (HP Nonstop TP Monitor API)
– CIFO (French ISO messaging over TIBCO)

ROUTING SERVICES

• Messages received on an ENDPOINT are routed to a destination ENDPOINT based upon selection of a route rulethat specifies where particular messages should be sent.
• Route rules are defined by the user and specify five main
things:
– The attributes used to match the message to this route
rule, eg. source ENDPOINT, client IP address, message
content.
– Any intermediate message processing that should be
applied before forwarding the message.
– The destination ENDPOINT for the message.
– The weight of the route rule.
– The Message Exchange Pattern (MEP) to apply to thismessage, eg. REQUESTONLY, REQUESTRESPONSE.
• These routing services allow for flexible routing of messages between ENDPOINTs.

Intermediate Message Processing

• Messages routed between ENDPOINTs can be modified (transformed) by Intermediate Message Processors (IMPs) within ICE-XS.
• Two IMPs are currently supported:
– Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)
– Data Transformation Engine (DTE)
• The SOAP IMP provides transformation between SOAP XML messages and binary message formats such as ISO8583. This allows host applications to present an SOA interface to clients
without change to their underlying message formats.
• The DTE IMP provides more general purpose message transformation services for transformation between different binary formats, or binary and XML formats.
• Both IMPs employ user-defined Data Sync Repository (DSR) files to describe the message formats and required transformation. These files are cached in memory and can be
reloaded by operator command at runtime.