Environmental Data Exchange Node (e-Node) will be provided as Freeware to all Exchange Network Partners (EPA, State, Municipality, Tribal)
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The e-Node is a Web-services based data exchange portal
that enables State Agencies to participate in the Environmental
Information Exchange Network. Built using Web services technology,
it allows other Network Partners to access State data in
a secure manner. In addition, the e-Node provides additional
features beyond the Environmental Information Exchange
Network Node Specifications that allow States to easily
manage and test the Node.
Two versions of the Node are available: Microsoft.NET-based,
and Java (J2EE)-based. This will ensure that the e-Node
can run on all major (Microsoft and Java) application servers.
Architecture
The e-Node, built upon the latest EPA Node Specifications,
acts as both a Web Service provider and Web Service requestor
to flow environmental data. In addition to EPA Node 1.1
compliance, it also includes Node Administration and testing capabilities, allowing States not only to automatically respond to
requests for their data, but to initiate scheduled data
submissions. Graphical utilities are also integrated to simplify
Node user management, configuration, and auditing.
Features
The e-Node can be divided into four major categories:
Node
Nodes act as Web service providers, providing the Web
services outlined in the Node 1.1 Specifications. When responding
to data access service requests (such as Query or Solicit),
the Node will:
- Call a DLL (.NET version), Java class (J2EE version) or stored procedure (for both versions) to obtain the
data
- Return the successful requested information in a dataset
or a standard error message
- Return successful requested dataset or a standard error
message in XML format through .NET or J2EE components
- Return the XML data or a message to the Web service
- Return the SOAP response using DIME (Direct Internet
Message Encapsulation) attachments to the Requestor
The e-Node has been designed to be flexible and is configurable
based on an XML schema-based configuration file. This means
that the e-Node can be configured to suit your specific
needs without any additional programming.
Node Client
Node clients act as Web service requestors, allowing Node
administrators to schedule and initiate Node exchanges.
The Node client can initiate Web services on either its
own Node or a remote Node (CDX). The Node client can also
call DLLs or Java classes.
Node
Administration Utility
The Node Administration Utility is a Web application that
provides Node administrators with a console to manage all
of their Node activity. This includes the following features:
- Node Security
- Administrators can:
- Manage NAAS as well as local users
- Create NAAS users without going to the CDX website
- Search for NAAS users that have been created by other State nodes in order to add them to their Node
- All Web service calls are checked (both authentication and authorization) for both NAAS-managed and locally managed users
- Node Configuration
- Configure the Node to work for a particular environmental
data flow
- Configure proxy settings so your Node can handle
proxies
- Configure database connections for Node logging
- Start/stop entire Node and provide a status message
- Set application level logging settings for debugging
- Node Data Flow Management
- "Plug-in" and manage Data Flows (Operations) through a GUI that lets an Administrator point to the logic that should be executed when a data flow is invoked
- Supports complex data flow logic that can be divided into "Pre-Processes", "Processes", and "Post-Processes". This allows data flow developers to define logic that should be executed before, after, and during the fulfillment of a Web service request
- Administrators can set-up data flow administrators to delegate data flow management
- Node Client Configuration
- Create new tasks that can act as Web service requestors
to call either your own Node or other publicly accessible
Nodes
- Schedule tasks to run at specified intervals using
a powerful and flexible scheduling component
- Setup email notifications to
receive emails any time the Node client executes
a task.
- Web-based Administration
- Control node configuration and management
using a Web page interface
- Manage Node remotely, since access to the Node is controlled by security
- Document Management
- Upload files to the Node through the Admin Console
- Download files to the Node through the Admin Console
- Remove Node documents that no longer are to be made available to trading partners (users) through the Admin Console
- Node Activity Tracking
- View a complete history off all Node and Node client
activity, including
- User ID and IP Address of Web Service requestor
- Date and time of activity
- Elapsed time of activity
- Current status of activity (Passed/Failed/etc.)
- Drill-down to view a comprehensive system message
detailing reasons for the success or failure of each
Node or Node client action
These features allow the Node administrator to configure and manage
the Node (and Node client), manage Node users, and view
each transaction log.
Node Testing Page
This page allows the user to test whether the Node methods
are working on the Node
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