Way Ahead Update
Presentation to
DoD Metadata Working Group
October 20, 2011
UCore Technical Agent
Ken Fagan, DISA EE31
UNCLASSIFIED
Outline
•
•
•
•
•
Background
Requirements
Overview of Initial 4 Options
Overview of Proposed UCore Way Ahead
Summary
UNCLASSIFIED
2
Background
• UCore Way Ahead Discussions
– FEB through OCT 2011 UCore Council meetings
• Way Ahead Options Paper: 9 SEP 2011
• Four options were considered as viable ways ahead
– Options are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and some details of
their execution may overlap
• UCore Council Voting
– Preliminary : 19 SEP
– Follow-on: thru 12 OCT
• Discussions with:
–
–
–
Program Manager, Information Sharing Environment (PM ISE)
National Information Exchange Model Program (NIEM PMO)
Intelligence Community (IC CIO)
• UCore Council Meeting: 14 OCT
– Hybrid Approach presented
– Out for vote through 26 OCT
UNCLASSIFIED
3
Requirements
• The approach should support existing and future requirements for
Identity and Access Management (IdAM) and Cross Domain
Enterprise Solution (CDES) through resource tagging and attributes
derived from UCore interrogatives
• The approach should include a technical refresh that aligns UCore
with current versions of DDMS/IRM, security tagging, and GEOINT
standards
• The approach should not preclude the development of a UCore UML
profile, or parallel cooperation with the NIEM-UML effort
• The approach should position UCore to achieve interoperability with
NIEM, with a long-term goal of true convergence
UNCLASSIFIED
4
Overview of Initial 4 Options
UNCLASSIFIED
5
Overview of Proposed UCore Way Ahead
• Phase One: UCore-DDMS Modifications
– Perform a tech refresh of schema dependencies
– Formalize UCore as a set of extensible, reusable data
components (RDCs), including interrogatives, taxonomy, and
relationships
– Develop “simple” UCore pattern for situational awareness
– Extend DDMS to fully support UCore v2.0 Digest content
• Phase Two: True NIEM Convergence
– Continue cooperation with PM-ISE, NIEM PMO, and IC CIO to
resolve issues which prevent DoD/IC from realizing the full
benefits of NIEM
– Migrate UCore RDCs into NIEM
– Engage in pilot activities which model the migration of a DoD
project into NIEM
UNCLASSIFIED
6
Proposed UCore Way Ahead
•
Risk Mitigation
– DoD CIO will advocate DoD requirements through the NIEM PMO
– If NIEM incorporates UCore 3.0 RDCs, UCore adopters will be NIEM compliant
– If NIEM does not incorporate UCore 3.0 requirements, UCore will continue to be
maintained as a separate specification
•
Governance Concerns
– USMC: Need language for addressing pending UCore/NIEM convergence in
requirements
– DoD CIO: No standard that competes with the UCore/NIEM Way Ahead should be
mandated (e.g., added to DISR)
– USAF: No version of UCore or NIEM will be mandated or added to the DISR until it is
piloted/tested
– DISA/Joint Staff: Should portfolio, COI and program specific initiatives (e.g., C2 Core)
be meeting with NIEM or should all requirements be fed through DOD CIO?
• Vetting through DoD CIO is appropriate
– DOD CIO - How will the DoD vote and provide requirements to NIEM?
• DoD CIO will advocate DoD requirements through the NIEM PMO
UNCLASSIFIED
7
Diagram of Proposed Way Ahead
UNCLASSIFIED
8
Key Activities & Timeline
UNCLASSIFIED
9
Summary
• We have narrowed down 4 initial options into a
hybrid approach that attempts to address the best of
each option
– 2 phases, parallel path
• We are seeking consensus on the hybrid approach
– UCore Council voting due 26 OCT 2011
• We are working to partner with appropriate
organizations to facilitate secure information sharing
across the Federal Government
– DoD Components, IC CIO, PM ISE, NIEM PMO
For additional details, please see UCore Council site @
https://www.intelink.gov/inteldocs/browse.php?fFolderId=130113
UNCLASSIFIED
10
Backup Slides
UNCLASSIFIED
11
Phase 1: Tech Refresh
• Update to latest versions of DDMS, ISM.XML, and
XLink
– Investigate approaches to mitigate security change cycles
(OASIS XML Catalog?)
– Evaluate suitable integration points for NTK.XML and MAT.XML
• Incorporate TSPI 1.0.1/2.0 for Where and When
• Additional minor enhancements
– Add support for confidence factor
– Refresh of taxonomy and relationship model
UNCLASSIFIED
12
Phase 1: UCore RDCs
• Formalize UCore as a set of extensible reusable data
components
• Deprecate the ULEX message framework from UCore
specification
• Develop “simple” pattern for situational awareness
– Single Event/Entity per message
– Comparable to UCore v1.0
– Compatible with Air Force Cursor-on-Target requirements
• Provide supporting direction on RDCs as the
foundation for any data exchange, conformance, and
valid extension strategies
UNCLASSIFIED
13
Phase 1: DDMS Enhancements
• DDMS supports all content of UCore v2.0 Digest
• Separate an external payload from core content and
metadata for greater simplicity and flexibility
• Open DDMS Change Requests
– Support use of relationship RDCs and UCore extensions
– Use TSPI 1.0.1/2.0 for geospatial coverage.
• Provide supporting direction on the role of the DDMS
metacard
– Supports discovery of a more detailed payload when needed
– May contain enough actionable information as-is
UNCLASSIFIED
14
Phase 1 Result
• The UCore “brand” still exists
• What is UCore?
– UCore is a set of reusable and extensible data components
modeling Who, What, Where, and When (and the relationships
between them). The RDCs are modeled in a set of schemas,
taxonomies, Schematron rules, and extension specifications.
– UCore is a GML application schema for situational awareness.
– The RDCs are intended to be the foundation of any information
exchange or COI vocabulary.
• DDMS supports the discovery and location of
payloads constructed from applicable RDCs
UNCLASSIFIED
15
Phase 2: NIEM Convergence
• Continue cooperation with PM-ISE, NIEM PMO, and IC
CIO to resolve issues which prevent DoD/IC from
realizing the full benefits of NIEM
– Address requirements through NIEM NBAC and NTAC
• Work towards UCore-NIEM convergence
– Determine NIEM location for “core” elements of UCore
• Work towards DoD adoption of NIEM
– Engage in pilot activities which model the migration of a DoD
project into NIEM
– Use Geospatial domain as governance test case (follow-up with
NGA), understand how NIEM domains are governed, and
determine scope of DoD governance
– Avoid perception of a divided DoD position
UNCLASSIFIED
16
DoD Requirements for NIEM Convergence
• Full usage of the GEOINT specifications including
GML, NFDD, AIXM, SWE, etc.
• Support the need for agile security tagging which
accommodates rapid release cycles of Intelligence
specifications like ISM, NTK, and MAT
– IC CIO is addressing this with NIEM PMO
• Alternatives to the Adaptor pattern for referencing
external schemas
• Support for specifying genuine semantic
relationships (subclass and equivalence) and domain
restrictions on relationships
UNCLASSIFIED
17
Suggested Discussions for NIEM Convergence
• The effect of the NIEM NDR when combined with
other standards, such as GML and XLink
• Inclusion of semantics in the NIEM-UML profile
• Support for OWL taxonomies
• Looking beyond schema design pattern to webservice interactions when determining future NIEM
technical guidance
UNCLASSIFIED
18
Phase 2: NIEM Convergence
• Evaluation is needed to determine appropriate
location for UCore RDCs, either within the NIEM core
or a NIEM domain
• Resolution of issues and successful pilot activities
will provide a better understanding of what largescale DoD NIEM adoption will require
• Ultimately, DoD would become a NIEM participant,
and address future UCore requirements within the
NIEM framework
UNCLASSIFIED
19
Phase 2 Result
• The UCore “brand” no longer exists
• UCore RDCs exist within NIEM as true NIEM
constructs
• COIs would evaluate NIEM as the first choice for their
information exchanges
• COIs adopting NIEM would use NIEM tools to develop
information exchanges from components in the NIEM
core and supporting domains
UNCLASSIFIED
20
Acronyms
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
AIXM: Aeronautical Information Exchange Model
CDES: Cross Domain Enterprise Solution
CoT: Cursor on Target
DCGS: Distributed Common Ground System
DDMS: DOD Discovery Metadata Specification
DIL: Disconnected, Intermittent, and Low Bandwidth
GEOINT: Geospatial Intelligence
GML: Geography Markup Language
IdAM: Identity and Access Management
IEPD: Information Exchange Package Documentation
IRM: Information Resource Metadata
ISM: Information Security Marking
ISO: International Organization for Standardization
MAT: Multi Audience Tearline
M2M: Machine to Machine
NBAC: NIEM Business Architecture Council
NDR: Naming and Design Rules
NFDD: National System for Geospatial-Intelligence (NSG) Feature Data Dictionary
NIEM: National Information Exchange Model
NTAC: NIEM Technical Architecture Council
NTK: Need-to-Know
OGC: Open Geospatial Consortium
OMB: Office of Management and Budget
OMG: Object Management Group
OWL: Web Ontology Language
PM-ISE: Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment
SAR: Suspicious Activity Report
SWE: SensorWeb-Enablement
ULEX: Universal Lexical Exchange
UML: Unified Modeling Language
UNCLASSIFIED
21