Designing System for
Internet Commerce
6. Functional Architecture
Jinwon Lee
Contents
What is Architecture?
Core Architecture Ideas
Roles
Components
Example of System Architecture
Summary
1) What is Architecture?
Architecture defines basic components and
important concepts of system.
E-Commerce evolution may go well beyond
the original requirement, so Flexibility of
the Architecture is critically important in
making that growth possible.
2) Core Architecture
Understanding of Roles

Help us to make system effectively to
accomplish the goal.
Decomposition of Functions

The specification of functional units and the
interfaces between them defines the
architecture of a system
2) Core Architecture
Linking Content to Transaction
How the user makes the transition
 How the information is verified
 How the information matches up
→ The answers help make design decision

Trust Models (security)

Specifying relationship between components
3) Roles
Customer Roles

Specifier, Approver, Buyer, Recipient
Business Roles

Business manager, Content designer, etc….
Roles and Reality

Thinking about roles enables us to ensure that
all of the work get done, and that we are not
missing an important function as we design
4) Components
Customer Components and Clients

“ What browsers do the customer have, and what are
their capability?” → E.g. wallets
Seller Components and Servers


The seller provides all of components of the commerce
value chain, from content to customer service
Transaction processing system, Payment processors,
Fulfillment systems
5) Example of System
Architecture
Primary Components:

Clients, Merchant, Transaction system,
Payment gateway
5-1) Web Server with Order Form
5-2) Secure Electric Transaction(SET)
5-3) Open Market Commerce Architecture
5-4) Open Buying on Internet(OBI)
5-1) Web Server with Order Form
Merchant server + Transaction server
No explicit payment gateway → Simplicity
5-1) Web Server with Order Form
Logical View
5-2) Secure Electric Transaction
Payment gateway is added
The key differences from 5-1)

The way the order form is handled

Payment-related communication is handled
5-3) Open Market Commerce
Architecture
Separate the management of content from the management
of transaction through a technology called Secure Link
Separate transaction server:
 Transaction out-sourcing possible
 Content servers can be separately scaled
5-3) Open Market Commerce
Architecture
SecureLink
Secure Remote Procedure Call based on HTTP and
HTML


Works across trust boundaries
MAC (message authentication code)

E.g.)
http://payment.tscaorp.com:80/bin/bayment.cgi?ac1c7b489d40
0e4a98a6e9c8b9851a37:kid=196003.190007&valid=815499241
&expire=….

Components provided




Key management,
digital offer compilation,
digital ticket validation,
software developer’s kit
5-4) Open Buying on the Internet
Split the transaction server into sell-side and buy side parts
A Standard proposal released by the OBI consortium


group of buy-side orgs, sell-sideorgs, payment orgs, technology
companies related to
B-to-B
Split the functionality of the commerce system between
buy-side activities and sell-side activities
→ each organization manages those functions.
5-4) Open Buying on the Internet
5-4) Open Buying on the Internet
Good when there are multiple buy-side
companies and multiple sell-side
companies
Interoperability

Requisitioner authentication


Certification signed by buying organization
Order handling

OBI order request/order


Standard format,
encapsulated as an OBI object
6) Summary
Internet commerce system can quickly be obsolete.
By carefully creating an architecture, taking into
account the business challenges to be addressed
and possibilities for change over time
→ The System can evolve and adapt to growth,
new challenges, and technology change