A GT Nexus Reference Document The GT Nexus Platform A Look Under the Hood
Overview On-demand computing has transformed enterprise software, lowering risk and cost while increasing user adoption and customer success. Customers that wish to maximize the value of the on-demand approach must understand that this requires two things: The right architectural approach and proper appreciation of the crucial role of data. To be successful, an application must be designed to be deployed in an on-demand environment, taking into consideration core architectural elements such as multi-tenancy, availability, performance, security, metadatadriven customization, and integration via traditional and emerging protocols. The technical infrastructure on which the application runs must ensure these elements are delivered. GT Nexus has been a pure on-demand, multi-tenant Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform since its inception. This history means that the technical infrastructure on which the GT Nexus platform is built has been architected from the ground up to deliver these fundamental capabilities. Today, the GT Nexus platform supports the global trade and logistics operations of thousands of importers, exporters, suppliers, freight forwarders, third party logistics providers, brokers, transportation providers (ocean, air, truck, and rail), and banks. The platform runs a single instance of production code that supports the activities of all participants. Customers configure the solution to meet their specific business needs. While customers manage their specific configuration and user access through UI-based tools, responsibility for the platform and for day-to-day system operations, monitoring, and code deployment lies with GT Nexus as part of its solutions. Having the right data to power trade and logistics applications is absolutely critical. It is also the most difficult aspect of any global supply chain technology solution. The power of the GT Nexus platform lies in its combination of applications and data this is the innovation that sets the company apart from others in the industry and maximizes the value of the on-demand approach. Applications provide customers with enterprise-class collaborative software for global trade and logistics. Easy access through a web-based UI with access to a common underlying database for all partners allows customers and their partners for the first time to share a single, unambiguous view of the truth. Data is the fuel that powers the applications. As innovative as the applications are, their utility relies on the accuracy, completeness and timeliness of the data that feeds them. GT Nexus integration servers handle message processing and transformation to and from the applications. Customer connectivity is enabled by any number of protocols the most common being AS2 and sftp. File formats range from traditional EDI formats (X12 and Edifact) or XML to SAP IDOCs or flat files. THE GT Nexus PLATFORM A LOOK UNDER THE HOOD proprietary and confidential Page 2/7
The GT Nexus technical infrastructure is robust. It processes hundreds of thousands of inter-company transactions every day. These messages include: Purchase orders and sales orders from importers and exporters Shipment manifests from manufacturers, forwarders or consolidators Manufacturing and transportation status events from factories, vendors and service providers Trade documentation such as packing lists, commercial invoices, and shipping orders from vendors Forwarder Cargo Receipts (FCRs) from forwarders Bills of lading from carriers Customs documentation from brokers As inbound transactions flow to GT Nexus, they are processed, mapped, and normalized so that they can be consumed by the applications. Similarly, outbound transactions are extracted from the database, processed and mapped as appropriate for consumption by customer and partner legacy systems of all types. GT Nexus success in the market is due in large part to a focus on and investment in data and data quality. Tools and processes for managing the data that flows to/from GT Nexus are a critical part of the platform architecture. These tools and processes allow customers to proactively monitor, measure and manage the data component of the solution across their partners. This capability differentiates GT Nexus from its competition, many of whom simply focus on applications and take a more passive garbage in/garbage out approach to data quality management. THE GT Nexus PLATFORM A LOOK UNDER THE HOOD proprietary and confidential Page 3/7
The GT Nexus Platform A Look Under the Hood GT Nexus applications are built in a J2EE framework in a traditional 3-tier environment. The overall systems architecture of the solution is shown below: User Login Internet Explorer Public Network (Internet) Automated Server Communication Partner Systems Tier 1 Web HTTPS SMTP Relay SMTP Relay File Transfer FTP, sftp, AS2 Security Security Database Internal Management and Monitoring SiteScope Tier 2 Application Optimization Application WebLogic Web WebLogic App Application WebLogic IntApp Integration Websphere TX Translation Websphere TX Backup Backup Server/File Server LTO Autoloader Tier 3 Database SQL 2005 Database SQL 2005 Security Boundary (Firewall) External Communication Internal Application Communication The GT Nexus engineering teams leverage an array of tools and processes to support the software development lifecycle. These tools help ensure rapid code development and thorough testing prior to deployment: Developers use modern IDEs such as Eclipse, IntelliJ and Netbeans for developing the code BEA/Weblogic is used as the JSP/servlet engine and application server Requirements and design documents are created and reviewed on an internal Wiki to facilitate collaboration and documentation among teams Source code control is maintained with CVS THE GT Nexus PLATFORM A LOOK UNDER THE HOOD proprietary and confidential Page 4/7
Code reviews are managed using Crucible The build environment uses Ant and Anthill Defect tracking is performed with Bugzilla Unit testing is done with junit Functional testing is automated using the QTP tool Load testing is performed using WebStressTool Other tools in the development environment include: JavaRebel, Firebug, Charles proxy server, IE dev toolbar, SQL Server Management Studio, as well as a number of homegrown tools to address the specifics of our environment The GT Nexus applications are merely the top layer of the platform that is managed for customers. Drilling deeper, the platform infrastructure can be viewed from the ground up as follows: 1 A professionally operated colocation facility provides the physical infrastructure where production hardware and software reside, powering the GT Nexus production platform. 2 3 4 5 6 Inside this facility, Cisco networking equipment is in place to enable connectivity to the Internet, security and redundancy. Data is written to an EMC SAN, or Storage Area Network, which houses disk arrays where production data is managed. Production class web servers, application servers, database severs, file transport servers, integration servers, and monitoring servers run the code, process the files, and monitor the activity of the platform. 3rd party software (operating systems and 3rd party applications) run on each of these servers. These applications need to be maintained and managed as part of the day-to-day operations of the platform. Finally, GT Nexus web-based applications for global trade and logistics run on top of this infrastructure. NOTE: In the traditional software license and install model, customers are responsible for items 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 from the above list; 6 is delivered on a CD ROM for installation by the customer and the vendor s consultants. In the GT Nexus model, this is all part of the platform that is provided and managed as part of the annual subscription. 6) GT Nexus web based applications for global trade and logistics. In addition to this technical stack of hardware and software outlined above, people and processes are in place to support platform operations 24x7x365. THE GT Nexus PLATFORM A LOOK UNDER THE HOOD proprietary and confidential Page 5/7
Highlights from each of these components, from the ground up, are below: 1 Professional Colocation Physical Security: 24/7/365 staffed security station Alarm systems with security cameras on all perimeter points of ingress/egress to the building Secure reception and shipping/receiving areas Biometric security system Locked cabinets to ensure that only authorized personnel are allowed near production equipment Power: The GT Nexus Platform 6. GT Nexus Code 5. 5 OS & Supporting Applications 4 7. People (Web, App, Database, Integration, File Transfer) 3. Storage Area Network 88. Processes (SAN) 2. 2 Networking 1. 1 Professional Colocation The GT Nexus platform technology, processes and people Every piece of production hardware is physically plugged into two separate power circuits. In the event of a trip or overload on one circuit, utilization of the second power source prevents interruption of power. In the event of a total power failure, equipment is protected by CPS (Continuous Power Supply) flywheel technology and backup generators. Physical connection to the Internet: Multiple Tier 1 ISPs provide redundant connectivity to the Internet. In the event one of the ISPs has a service failure, the other ISPs will continue to provide uninterrupted connectivity. 2 Networking Cisco Networking 3 Storage Area Network EMC SAN 4 : Web, App, Database, Integration, File Transfer Over 90 production servers powering the platform scaled and upgraded to run at a target average of 10-20% of capacity 5 Operating System (OS) and Supporting Applications Microsoft Enterprise Edition 2003 Weblogic at Web Server and Application Microsoft SQL 2005 at Database OPL and CPLEX from ILOG for Optimization Engines Axis for Web Services THE GT Nexus PLATFORM A LOOK UNDER THE HOOD proprietary and confidential Page 6/7
WTX from IBM for data transformation and mapping SiteScope from IBM for systems and data flow monitoring 6 GT Nexus Code Code development in J2EE (Java EE5) environment Programmers leverage industry standards including EJBs, JSPs, JMS, JDBC, html, dhtml, CSS, AJAX, Jrules 7 People Dedicated teams focused on production operations, customer support, and network data services Security certification (CISSP) for key team members 8 Processes 24x7x365 system monitoring tools and processes in place; over 800 monitors in place across production nodes linked directly to on-call team pagers Data flow monitoring and reporting of Network Data flow to/from platform; alerts for delayed, stalled, failed messages across severity types Processes in place for issue identification, resolution with partners sending data; processes enable understanding of root causes for issues and enable continuous improvement measurement so that partners can demonstrate progress to customers on the platform in terms of data accuracy, completeness and timeliness Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR); separate DR facility out of state; RTO of 8 hours; RPO of 5 minutes Annual security audits conducted by 3rd party SAS70 Compliance GT Nexus invests millions of dollars annually in this infrastructure to ensure that it is meeting the needs of customers. The power of the on-demand delivery model is that it allows customers to leverage the GT Nexus platform to streamline their business processes at a fraction of what it would cost them to build, monitor and maintain such a solution on their own. Companies such as GT Nexus, Salesforce.com, and Netsuite, that lead the on-demand revolution in their respective software areas, understand this well. They recognize that their underlying platforms are critical not only to their customer s success, but their success as well and they invest accordingly. THE GT Nexus PLATFORM A LOOK UNDER THE HOOD proprietary and confidential Page 7/7