[ebxml-iic] Minutes of July 15 conf call

[Jacques Durand <JDurand@fsw.fujitsu.com>]

Title: RE: [ebxml-msg] speak in Barcelona?

All:

 

Minutes attached.

Actually augmented with summary of latest discussions on some points

of our mail list - so you should read it to be up-to-date !

Let me know if any incorrection.

 

Jacques

 

 

Minutes of IIC telecon July 15th, 2002
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Call:
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Host: NIST
CALL DATE: JUL-15-2002 (Monday)
CALL TIME: 01:00 PM EASTERN TIME, 10am PDT
DURATION: 1+ hr
USA Toll Free Number: 888-810-4932
USA Toll Number: +1-712-271-0567
 

Present:
--------

Mike Kass (NIST)
Jaques Durand (Fujitsu)
Monica Martin (Drake Certivo)
Eric Van Lydegraf (Kinzan)
Matt McKenzie (XMLG)
Michael Wang (TIBCO)
Hatem El-Sebaaly (IPNet)
Yan Guo (webMethods)
Steve Yung (Sun)

Guests:
Cliff Collins (Sybase)
Bolivar Pereira (EAN)
Thomas B (EAN)


Agenda:
-------

1-  Logistics
- f-2-f late August. Preferences?

2- Status of MS Conformance Test Suite:
-  submission of test reqs to MS TC, spec coverage
- the Test Cases definition (see draft of MS conf Test suite doc)
- conformance profiles.

3- Status of MS Interoperability Test Suite: 
-  some feedback on potential users at OAG (Jacques)
-  one or more initial interop profiles? 
- the Test Cases definitions material

4- Implementation and deployment guidelines.
- the deployment template / EAN


Minutes:
--------

1- Logistic issues.

- Next f-2-f: sometime second half of August. we have four options:
So far 8 persons replied, 4 preferred Vancouver, 3 Bay area, 1 Boston.
(I did not vote.) 
The main objective is final review of MS test material, and also
Test Framework, before submission to OASIS (September 1st).

I'd like to make sure we have enough representatives
on the Interop subteam before calling that a f-2-f. By Monday July 22,
after last attempt to get in touch with Prakash and also know travel
restrictions of Hatem (also on Interop) we should decide. 
Note: call-in is an option.
If we don't get enough committment from Interop subteam, then I'd
suggest the COnformance subteam may decide to meet f-2-f by itself separately,
same for Interop team. But decisions will need be voted after by all.


2. Status of work MS conformance: 

- (Mike, Matt) Released the latest version of Test Requirements.
Mike believes the coverage is quite good, if not fully exhaustive yet.
Ready for release, content-wise.
At the time I write these notes, all test reqs have been consolidated
in a single "master" file (216 test items). 
The spec has been annotated with coverage attribute for each spec item 
(still need to change numbering to match master" file's new one).

Action Item: I would post it on our site today or this week-end, 
and ask for review and comments during next week (so updates still OK till then). 
Then at next IIC conf call (July 29) as I'm not here, Matt will submit to the group (IIC) 
a resolution to submit to MS TC (I would have prepared a companion doc to add to package). 
If there is no objection, or if majority OK, we submit (we don't have a formal 
liaison person to MS TC anymore, but we can transmit to Cliff Collins and 
Ian Jones, MS TC chair. 
I would notify them informally before, if OK with everyone. 
So their TC can have an headstart on our stuff through our site) 
As for the Conformance Profiles, they are not required for MS TC submission, 
but we need to work on these for the final submission.


3. Status of work MS Interoperability: 

On-going:
- Identify test cases that relate to our test Framework (means some
DGI tests need massaging). 
- DGI tests map: Tests that are relevant to Conformance should be left 
to conformance Test Suite (e.g. Reliability behavior, messages well formed, etc.). 
Criteria is simple: could the test be done using a single (candidate) MSH, 
and our COnformance Test Harness? If yes it belongs to conformance. 
However, its OK to keep some tests that, even though are
conformance, have an interop element in it (e.g. sending Acks, we need make sure
the other MSH can understand them.)
- test Cases need to be grouped in Interop Profiles. Need to define these.
Not too many... but profiles will be specific to transport HTTP vs SMTP etc.
also, there hase to be a simple base interop profile. Others may expand on it.
Hatem El-Sebaaly will help the team define these, and will review how we map DGI 
tests into our test suite.
- Jacques reformatted a subset of initial Interop draft by Prakash/Steve, with 
a small set of Test Cases (described in same way as in conformance test suite doc)
that could make up a basic interop profile. Posted it on Interop list.
Will post it on the site. For review.

Note: Interop testing becomes a hot issue for OAG users (from OAG/Testbed meeting): 
Each business partner will have to deal with non-synchronized upgrades 
of other partner end-points (Messaging and BPSS). That means interop testing
will be required on a routine basis.
(upgrades not necessarily based on spec version new releases, but rather their
own proprietary features)

4. Implementation & Deployment Guidelines:
 
Bolivar P. and Tom Bikeev have released a EAN Deployment Guide Template draft,
in a tabular form. That is quite a good start.
The doc specifies two kinds of additional requirements business users should
comply with in order to comply/interact with EAN other users:
(a) additional business-level requirements (in addition to standard reqs.)
that are content-based (e.g. what should be the CPAid format, the PartyId content)
(b) narrowing of options in the spec (e.g. what optional feature should be used,
what type of security, etc.) Pete Wenzel is undertaking a more exxhaustive work
on this, identifying all the spec options a business user may want to decide on.

So far the EAN draft is already an "EAN/UCC instance" of a template that we need
to abstract even more (i.e. a template should not even mention EAN specifics.)
Pete Wenzel may help here.
Then the EAN draft, as an instantiation of the "MS Deployment Template", could be called
the "EAN MS Deployment Guidelines". There may be later an "XYZ MS Deployment Guidelines"
if XYZ has different business specs, etc.  


Reminders:
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- Next teleconference planned for Monday, July 29th, 10am Pacific time.
Matt will facilitate (and host?) the call, as I wont be on the call.
We need a volunteer to host...
 

Jacques Durand
ebXML IIC chair