Transparent runtime adaptability for BPEL processes

Abstract

Dynamic service binding is essential for runtime adaptability of BPEL processes, particularly in the case of service failure. BPEL's support for dynamic service binding is coupled with the process business logic, requiring the process developer to deal with dynamic service selection and failure recovery. Changing these aspects requires modification and redeployment of all affected processes. In this paper we present a novel infrastructure that handles dynamic (re)binding of stateful and stateless services independently of process business logic. Our infrastructure is transparent both to the process developer and to the BPEL engine. It offers automated failure recovery and allows for runtime customizations, such as changes of service binding policies. We also assess infrastructure overhead and explore the impact of service failures on system throughput. © 2008 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.