Service Oriented Architecture for Monitoring Cargo in Motion Along Trusted Corridors

Abstract

This thesis describes a system called the Transportation Security SensorNet that can be used to perform extensive cargo monitoring. It is built as a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) using open web service specifications and Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards. This allows for compatibility, interoperability and integration with other web services and Geographical Information Systems (GIS). The two main capabilities that the Transportation Security SensorNet provides are remote sensor management and alarm notification. The architecture and the design of its components are described throughout this thesis. Furthermore, the specifications used and the fundamental ideas behind a Service Oriented Architecture are explained in detail. The system was evaluated in real world scenarios and performed as specified. The alarm notification performance throughout the system, from the initial detection at the Sensor Node service to the Alarm Reporting service, is on average 2.1 seconds. Location inquiries took 4.4 seconds on average. Note that the majority of the time, around 85% for most of the messages sent, is spent on the transmission of the message while the rest is used on processing inside the web services. Finally the lessons learned are discussed as well as directions for future enhancements to the Transportation Security SensorNet, in particular to security, complex management and asynchronous communication.