Distributed process control and excecution
A system and method for process execution in a distributed system. A central instance creates a generic process definition. A relevant portion of the process definition may be distributed to the various constituents of the system so that each constituent can execute a relevant portion of the process locally at runtime. The results of the local execution may be communicated directly between constituents.
1 . A method comprising:
defining at a central component a genericized process to be performed by a plurality of constituents of a distributed system;
communicating a relevant portion of the genericized process to each constituent; and
executing each portion of the process locally to the constituent at runtime; and
communicating process results directly between constituents.
2 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:
modifying the portion of the genericized process locally to the system of the plurality.
3 . The method of claim 1 wherein communicating a relevant portion comprises:
sending metadata describing the portion of the process over a point-to-point link between the central component and the constituent.
4 . The method of claim 1 wherein communicating process results comprises:
transmitting an asynchronous message over a point-to-point limit between constituents.
5 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:
instantiating a process fulfillment component in each constituent.
6 . A system comprising:
an integration component to define a process;
a plurality of application components to receive and locally execute a portion of a definition of the process from the integration component; and
a messaging infrastructure to permit asynchronous communication between the application components of the plurality.
7 . The system of claim 6 wherein the integration component comprises:
a monitoring module to monitor the process executed by the application components at runtime.
8 . The system of claim 7 wherein the monitoring module retains a complete view of the process.
9 . The system of claim 6 wherein the process is a fulfillment process and wherein the plurality of application components include at least two of a planning component; a sales component; a financial component; a production component; and an execution component.
10 . They system of claim 6 wherein each component comprises:
an interface to the messaging infrastructure.
11 . A machine-accessible medium containing instructions that when executed cause a machine to:
define at a central component a genericized process to be performed by a plurality of constituents of a distributed system;
communicate a relevant portion of the genericized process to each constituent; and
execute each portion of the process locally to the constituent at runtime; and
communicate process results directly between constituents.
12 . The machine accessible medium of claim 11 , further comprising instructions causing the machine to:
modify the portion of the genericized process locally to the system of the plurality.
13 . The machine accessible medium of claim 11 wherein the instructions causing the machine to communicate the relevant portion comprise instructions causing the machine to:
send metadata describing the portion of the process over a point-to-point link between the central component and the constituent.
14 . The machine accessible medium of claim 11 wherein the instructions causing the machine to communicate process results comprise instructions causing the machine to:
transmit an asynchronous message over a point-to-point limit between constituents.
15 . The machine accessible medium of claim 11 further comprising instructions causing the machine to:
instantiate a process fulfillment component in each constituent.