Approach for generating performance models from UML models of SOA systems

Abstract

 Model-Driven SOA is an emerging approach for developing service-oriented systems using models at different levels of abstractions and applying model transformations to generate either code or other models for the analysis of non-functional properties, such as performance. The paper proposes an approach for deriving layered queueing performance models for the evaluation of the runtime performance characteristics of such systems in the early development phases, before the entire system is built and can be deployed and measured. Early performance evaluation helps to choose an appropriate architecture, design and configuration alternatives, so that the final system meets its performance requirements. The starting point for derivation is a platform independent UML model of a SOA system representing the workflows, architecture of the underlying components offering services, and behavior of the corresponding runtime scenarios. A platform dependent model, obtained by weaving platform services into the platform-independent model through aspectoriented modeling techniques, represents the source model for the transformation into a performance model. The deployment of the software on hardware resources is also part of the source model. The UML model is annotated with performance information by using the standard UML profile MARTE. The proposed approach is illustrated with a healthcare application.

Software Performance Modeling

“…Performance by Unified Model Analysis for SOA (PUMA4SOA) is a modeling approach proposed first in [2] which extends the PUMA transformation, specializing it for service-based systems. The difference between the original PUMA and the extended one for SOA stems from: a) the kind of design models accepted as input, and b) the separation between Platform Independent Model (PIM) and Platform Specific Model (PSM) of the application and the use of platform models.…”

“…Each context specific aspect model is then composed into the primary model, which in our case is the PIM. More details about AOM approach can be found in [2] [48].…”

Assessing composition in modeling approaches

“…Resources: [48], [49], [50], [51] Performance from Unified Modeling Analysis for SOA (PUMA4SOA) PUMA4SOA derives performance models from UML design models of SOA enterprise systems to evaluate their run-time performance from early development phases. Resources: [52], [53], [54], [55], [56] Reusable Aspect Models (RAM) RAM is a reuse-oriented, multi-view modeling approach targeted at high-level and low-level software design with aspect-oriented modeling techniques for class, sequence, and state diagrams. Resources: [57], [58], [59], [60], [61] Unified Modeling Language (UML) UML's activity diagrams, class diagrams, component diagrams, sequence diagrams, state machines, and use case diagrams are assessed.…”

Using Aspects for Platform-Independent to Platform-Dependent Model Transformations

“…is called PUMAPerformance for Unified Modeling Analysis (Woodside et al, 2005). The authors of this paper, who were also contributors to PUMA, have proposed an extension called PUMA4SOA (Alhaj and Petriu, 2010), which adds new capabilities for evaluating the performance of SOA systems. The main differences between PUMA and PUMA4SOA stem from the kind of design models taken as input and the separation between the Platform-Independent Model (PIM) of the SOA application, and the Platform-Specific Model (PSM) which incorporates platform details needed for performance evaluation.…”

“…14 illustrates a simplified LQN of the generic platform aspect model, where the steps performed by the XML parser and the SOAP stubs in the middleware model have been aggregated. (More details are given in (Alhaj and Petriu, 2010). The |Client and |Provider tasks own a client and service entries, respectively.…”