Visualising the J2EE Management Model

Technology Overview

The technology is designed to generate an interactive 3D graphical model of the J2EE Management Information Model defined by the J2EE Management Specification, JSR 77.

The technology has been designed with the specific purpose of visualising systems in terms of their deployed, black-box, component-based software architecture, in order to expose and illustrate component containment, context and interdependency.

The graphical model illustrates both the managed object containment and dependency hierarchy specified by JSR 77, together with the service dependencies derived from the content of the module deployment descriptors, that is to say, it illustrates the service dependencies between managed objects.

The visualisation process is fully automated, the technology uses a library of graphical components, one for each J2EE Managed Object defined by the Management Specification. The graphical components are themselves constructed from an extensible library of graphical, building block, visual metaphors. The graphical components are arranged using various automated 3D layout algorithums.

The technology is capable of generating the graphical model from a number of different sources, either through a dialogue with the Enterprise Server resident Management EJB (MEJB), by parsing the contents of an Enterprise Archive file or set of Deployment Descriptors.

Graphical Models generated by the technology can be exported to a VRML97 or X3D encoded file, these static, 3D snapshots can then be viewed standalone or embedded within other web content.

The primary aim of the technology is to provide an under-the-bonnet view of the deployed system architecture to facilitate an intuitive, interactive assessment of the structure, complexity and quality of a system. This view is to be shared by an audience that extends beyond the development community to include the business and end-user communities.

The visualisation acts as a graphical framework through which we can interact with the system. The intention is for the technology to integrate with and compliment existing development and business environments.