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The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is a military branch of the United States that has an important role in homeland security, law enforcement, search and rescue, marine environmental pollution response, and the maintenance of river, intra coastal and offshore aids to navigation.
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is a military branch of the United States that has an important role in homeland security, law enforcement, search and rescue, marine environmental pollution response, and the maintenance of river, intra coastal and offshore aids to navigation.
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The Klinger-Cohen Act mandates that federal agencies should operate exactly as efficient and profitable businesses would operate by developing proficient enterprise architecture. The USCG Operations Center, located in Martinsburg, WV, serves as the premier software development center for the Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security, decided to implement business-driven enterprise architecture to fully connect IT systems and business infrastructure.
As acting Chief Technology Officer of the Project under the SETS-II contract, QSS Group's James Jennis was charged with the primary responsibility of implementing enterprise architecture. "The USCG needed an enterprise architecture solution that was document-based and event-driven. We would have to develop a technical implementation of the architecture that custom-fit to Coast Guard doctrine", says James Jennis.
This large-scale SOA initiative was code named "SPEAR" Semper Paratus: Enterprise Architecture Realization, incorporating the USCG motto. USCG commissioned an 18-month detailed POC based evaluation of over 7 leading vendors and selected Fiorano based on the highest score across 12 different technical and commercial parameters.
EVERY 3 seconds
9000 ships send signal on FioranoMQ
Fiorano Platform provided the backbone
of USCG’s SOA infrastructure.
The Klinger-Cohen Act mandates that federal agencies should operate exactly as efficient and profitable businesses would operate by developing proficient enterprise architecture. The USCG Operations Center, located in Martinsburg, WV, serves as the premier software development center for the Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security, decided to implement business-driven enterprise architecture to fully connect IT systems and business infrastructure.
As acting Chief Technology Officer of the Project under the SETS-II contract, QSS Group's James Jennis was charged with the primary responsibility of implementing enterprise architecture. "The USCG needed an enterprise architecture solution that was document-based and event-driven. We would have to develop a technical implementation of the architecture that custom-fit to Coast Guard doctrine", says James Jennis.
This large-scale SOA initiative was code named "SPEAR" Semper Paratus: Enterprise Architecture Realization, incorporating the USCG motto. USCG commissioned an 18-month detailed POC based evaluation of over 7 leading vendors and selected Fiorano based on the highest score across 12 different technical and commercial parameters.
EVERY 3 seconds
9000 ships send signal on FioranoMQ
Fiorano Platform provided the backbone
of USCG’s SOA infrastructure.
Steve Munson, Chief of Enterprise Engineering Services, United States Coast Guard Operations Systems Center
Steve Munson, Chief of Enterprise Engineering Services, United States Coast Guard Operations Systems Center
Fiorano SOA Platform forms the core platform of the USCG SPEAR architecture. The SPEAR architecture leverages the Fiorano Platform, as the primary mechanism for data sharing between services and systems. The Platform is a layer of hardware and software based on reliable asynchronous messaging that provides four main functions to all USCG services and systems: - Logical routing between services, systems, and other USCG and non-USCG assets. - Protocol mediation for integration with external and legacy systems. - Security policy enforcement. - CGDN+ to DMZ or Internet connections.
The Platform implements functionality in units called event processes. These are analogous to operating system processes (programs). Event processes are built using a Graphical User Interface (GUI) tool. The tool is used to compose and configure a collection of small programs into a "flow" and messages are sent along the paths of the flow. The messages used on the platforms are typically formatted as "SPEAR documents". A SPEAR document is an XML document with a structure and format designed specifically for the Coast Guard's Service Oriented Architecture.
Hosting Services on the Integration Platform
When USCG needs to provide access to resources hosted on other USCG systems, federal agencies, or other organizations outside the Coast Guard, the Integration Platform is the approved, certified and accredited, and architecturally preferred method. There are two main categories of service one might host on the Fiorano Platform; publishing services and request/response services. A publishing service pushes content out to one or more recipients based on business rules, policies, or events via a SPEAR document. An example of publishing services is publishing Vessel Notices of Arrival.
Fiorano SOA Platform forms the core platform of the USCG SPEAR architecture. The SPEAR architecture leverages the Fiorano Platform, as the primary mechanism for data sharing between services and systems. The Platform is a layer of hardware and software based on reliable asynchronous messaging that provides four main functions to all USCG services and systems: - Logical routing between services, systems, and other USCG and non-USCG assets. - Protocol mediation for integration with external and legacy systems. - Security policy enforcement. - CGDN+ to DMZ or Internet connections.
The Platform implements functionality in units called event processes. These are analogous to operating system processes (programs). Event processes are built using a Graphical User Interface (GUI) tool. The tool is used to compose and configure a collection of small programs into a "flow" and messages are sent along the paths of the flow. The messages used on the platforms are typically formatted as "SPEAR documents". A SPEAR document is an XML document with a structure and format designed specifically for the Coast Guard's Service Oriented Architecture.
Hosting Services on the Integration Platform
When USCG needs to provide access to resources hosted on other USCG systems, federal agencies, or other organizations outside the Coast Guard, the Integration Platform is the approved, certified and accredited, and architecturally preferred method. There are two main categories of service one might host on the Fiorano Platform; publishing services and request/response services. A publishing service pushes content out to one or more recipients based on business rules, policies, or events via a SPEAR document. An example of publishing services is publishing Vessel Notices of Arrival.
The Platform seamlessly integrates multiple technologies including Java, .NET, Oracle forms, Visual Basic etc.
The US Coast Guard Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) System, for example, now an SOA-aware service, tracks every vessel in US coastal waters that weighs more than 300 tons through a peer-to-peer, real-time distributed network of over 6,000 ship transponders, powered by the Fiorano Platform. These ships must automatically report their position to their Flag Administration every six hours, with ship transponders emitting critical signals every 3 seconds. Integration of LRIT information with that from ship transponders enables the Coast Guard to correlate LRIT data with data from other sources, detect anomalies, and heighten overall Maritime Domain Awareness.
With over 80 services built with a small team over the initial implementation period, SPEAR implementations have grown to provide literally scores of enterprise services. Over 50 Business Systems including 12 mission critical systems, both internal and external to the Coast Guard all requiring service enablement are now connected through the Fiorano Platform. These include: Law Enforcement, Logistics, Maritime Domain Awareness, Financial, and Mariner Licensing.
The (SPEAR) service-oriented architecture will save the Coast Guard millions of dollars; Cost of carrying inventory has been slashed through inventory tracking and deep operational visibility into assets.
Prior to its SOA implementation, the US Coast Guard relied on slower manually intensive processes of extracting data from various systems, putting it into spreadsheets and then providing that static content back to somebody who had to manipulate it into something useful. Now, with the SOA framework in place, it is just a matter of hearing from the operational community what information they believe they want and the technical staff can quickly identify sources for that information and establish a new service to allow that dataset to flow across the SPEAR enterprise service bus, Fiorano Platform.
The Platform seamlessly integrates multiple technologies including Java, .NET, Oracle forms, Visual Basic etc.
The US Coast Guard Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) System, for example, now an SOA-aware service, tracks every vessel in US coastal waters that weighs more than 300 tons through a peer-to-peer, real-time distributed network of over 6,000 ship transponders, powered by the Fiorano Platform. These ships must automatically report their position to their Flag Administration every six hours, with ship transponders emitting critical signals every 3 seconds. Integration of LRIT information with that from ship transponders enables the Coast Guard to correlate LRIT data with data from other sources, detect anomalies, and heighten overall Maritime Domain Awareness.
With over 80 services built with a small team over the initial implementation period, SPEAR implementations have grown to provide literally scores of enterprise services. Over 50 Business Systems including 12 mission critical systems, both internal and external to the Coast Guard all requiring service enablement are now connected through the Fiorano Platform. These include: Law Enforcement, Logistics, Maritime Domain Awareness, Financial, and Mariner Licensing.
The (SPEAR) service-oriented architecture will save the Coast Guard millions of dollars; Cost of carrying inventory has been slashed through inventory tracking and deep operational visibility into assets.
Prior to its SOA implementation, the US Coast Guard relied on slower manually intensive processes of extracting data from various systems, putting it into spreadsheets and then providing that static content back to somebody who had to manipulate it into something useful. Now, with the SOA framework in place, it is just a matter of hearing from the operational community what information they believe they want and the technical staff can quickly identify sources for that information and establish a new service to allow that dataset to flow across the SPEAR enterprise service bus, Fiorano Platform.
The US Coast Guard's SPEAR implementation recently won the Federal 100 Award for the agility and benefits imparted to USCG operations. The ease of use of the REST-based Fiorano Platform has resulted in significantly compressed deployment times and consequent productivity gains at the Coast Guard. 11 Prototype Services were built in just two days for the Marine Information System for Law Enforcement (MISLE) system; SPEAR documents were completed in just a day for Enterprise AIS Data Service (EADS) / Net Centric Enterprise Services (NCES).
SPEAR has already improved data sharing and enhanced the service's response to incidents, such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Captain Michael Ryan of the OSC of the USCG says "SPEAR" has become pervasive throughout all segments of the Coast Guard's IT community and has helped remove many of the artificial barriers that had developed between various facilities. It's also had a major effect in other areas; SPEAR opened a lot of doors and created partnerships with other people, from those driving the boats to those running shore-side operations. It's been an initiative that's really transcended all the organizational boundaries.
The US Coast Guard's SPEAR implementation recently won the Federal 100 Award for the agility and benefits imparted to USCG operations. The ease of use of the REST-based Fiorano Platform has resulted in significantly compressed deployment times and consequent productivity gains at the Coast Guard. 11 Prototype Services were built in just two days for the Marine Information System for Law Enforcement (MISLE) system; SPEAR documents were completed in just a day for Enterprise AIS Data Service (EADS) / Net Centric Enterprise Services (NCES).
SPEAR has already improved data sharing and enhanced the service's response to incidents, such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Captain Michael Ryan of the OSC of the USCG says "SPEAR" has become pervasive throughout all segments of the Coast Guard's IT community and has helped remove many of the artificial barriers that had developed between various facilities. It's also had a major effect in other areas; SPEAR opened a lot of doors and created partnerships with other people, from those driving the boats to those running shore-side operations. It's been an initiative that's really transcended all the organizational boundaries.
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