Microsoft Web Services Enhancements Version 2.0

Microsoft Releases Technology Preview of Web Services Enhancements Version 2.0

Company Adds New Security Capabilities for Developers Building Advanced Web Services

Redmond, WA, USA. July 15, 2003.

Continuing its commitment to providing developers with the latest Web services capabilities, Microsoft Corp. today announced the availability of the technology preview for the next version of Microsoft Web Services Enhancements (WSE), which gives Visual Studio .NET developers support for designing and building advanced Web services.

Available as a download on the MSDN Web site, WSE version 2.0 offers new security features that greatly simplify development of secure Web services which span company boundaries and trust domains, connecting and exchanging information with customer and partner systems.

WSE 2.0 provides a messaging-based object model that supports multiple transports, including TCP and HTTP, and synchronous and asynchronous communications. Synchronous communications consist of messages in which the sender must wait for a reply. In contrast, with asynchronous messages, the sender can submit a request and can retrieve it at any time without having to wait for a reply. This asynchronous capability is particularly useful for long-running operations that may take hours to complete.

WSE 2.0 builds on the security, routing and attachment capabilities of version 1.0 and adds a foundation for building applications based on Web services specifications published by Microsoft and industry partners including WS-Security, WS-Policy, WS-SecurityPolicy, WS-Trust, WS-SecureConversation and WS-Addressing.

"The new version of WSE takes Web services to the next level by expanding the experience for developers and enabling enterprises to quickly and easily connect their systems with partners, customers and suppliers using advanced Web services," said Rebecca Dias, product manager for advanced Web services at Microsoft. "Developers are now able to apply a set of security policies to Web services with minimal lines of code in a way that is interoperable across heterogeneous systems."

Customers including Reuters, a global information company that provides tailored information for professionals in financial services, are taking advantage of the advanced security capabilities available through WSE to deliver financial information using Web services.

"WSE and the Microsoft .NET Framework address a critical need for our customers by providing the necessary security infrastructure by leveraging WSE's implementation of WS-Security and WS-Policy capabilities," said Bill Evjen, technical director of development for Reuters. "This infrastructure allows our customers to quickly and easily communicate with our financial services customers in a secure and standardized manner."

WSE 2.0 Technology Preview Features

With the release of the technology preview, WSE 2.0 supports the following new capabilities:

Token-issuing framework (WS-Trust, WS-SecureConversation) provides capabilities that build on WS-Security and define extensions to request and issue security tokens and to manage trust relationships and secure conversations.
Roles-based authorization with integration into Windows security enables corporations to leverage their existing Windows domain credentials when accessing Web services or to integrate their own access control engine.
Declarative programming model (WS-Policy, WS-SecurityPolicy) enables developers to author policies that operate a runtime component, responsible for processing the SOAP headers in Web services that contain security and routing information and play a role in the validation of incoming and outgoing messages. For example, the runtime can automatically sign and encrypt a message based on the authored policy without the developer having to write code.
Message-based object model (WS-Addressing) provides customers with a message-based programming model over TCP and HTTP, allowing them to explore alternative types of SOAP-based applications such as ad hoc peer-to-peer applications.

Lydian Trust Co. is using WSE to augment its core services with security features such as encryption, digital signatures and message routing to expose its internal business processes to its business partners directly. "WSE enabled us to build a system that can securely expose our internal systems to partners as Web services, leveraging our existing technology investments to generate future revenue opportunities," said John Studdard, CTO of Lydian.

Future versions of WSE will keep pace with industry developments such as new Web services specifications and customer demand for development tools that support advanced Web services capabilities.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software -- any time, any place and on any device.

[Source: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2003/Jul03/07-15WSE2pr.asp]

Prepared by Robin Cover for The XML Cover Pages archive. See other details and references in the news story "Security Featured in Microsoft Web Services Enhancements Version 2.0 Technology Preview."

SEARCH Advanced Search ABOUT Site Map CP RSS Channel Contact Us Sponsoring CP About Our Sponsors NEWS Cover Stories Articles & Papers Press Releases CORE STANDARDS XML SGML Schemas XSL/XSLT/XPath XLink XML Query CSS SVG TECHNOLOGY REPORTS XML Applications General Apps Government Apps Academic Apps EVENTS LIBRARY Introductions FAQs Bibliography Technology and Society Semantics Tech Topics Software Related Standards Historic	Microsoft Web Services Enhancements Version 2.0 Microsoft Releases Technology Preview of Web Services Enhancements Version 2.0 Company Adds New Security Capabilities for Developers Building Advanced Web Services Redmond, WA, USA. July 15, 2003. Continuing its commitment to providing developers with the latest Web services capabilities, Microsoft Corp. today announced the availability of the technology preview for the next version of Microsoft Web Services Enhancements (WSE), which gives Visual Studio .NET developers support for designing and building advanced Web services. Available as a download on the MSDN Web site, WSE version 2.0 offers new security features that greatly simplify development of secure Web services which span company boundaries and trust domains, connecting and exchanging information with customer and partner systems. WSE 2.0 provides a messaging-based object model that supports multiple transports, including TCP and HTTP, and synchronous and asynchronous communications. Synchronous communications consist of messages in which the sender must wait for a reply. In contrast, with asynchronous messages, the sender can submit a request and can retrieve it at any time without having to wait for a reply. This asynchronous capability is particularly useful for long-running operations that may take hours to complete. WSE 2.0 builds on the security, routing and attachment capabilities of version 1.0 and adds a foundation for building applications based on Web services specifications published by Microsoft and industry partners including WS-Security, WS-Policy, WS-SecurityPolicy, WS-Trust, WS-SecureConversation and WS-Addressing. "The new version of WSE takes Web services to the next level by expanding the experience for developers and enabling enterprises to quickly and easily connect their systems with partners, customers and suppliers using advanced Web services," said Rebecca Dias, product manager for advanced Web services at Microsoft. "Developers are now able to apply a set of security policies to Web services with minimal lines of code in a way that is interoperable across heterogeneous systems." Customers including Reuters, a global information company that provides tailored information for professionals in financial services, are taking advantage of the advanced security capabilities available through WSE to deliver financial information using Web services. "WSE and the Microsoft .NET Framework address a critical need for our customers by providing the necessary security infrastructure by leveraging WSE's implementation of WS-Security and WS-Policy capabilities," said Bill Evjen, technical director of development for Reuters. "This infrastructure allows our customers to quickly and easily communicate with our financial services customers in a secure and standardized manner." WSE 2.0 Technology Preview Features With the release of the technology preview, WSE 2.0 supports the following new capabilities: Token-issuing framework (WS-Trust, WS-SecureConversation) provides capabilities that build on WS-Security and define extensions to request and issue security tokens and to manage trust relationships and secure conversations. Roles-based authorization with integration into Windows security enables corporations to leverage their existing Windows domain credentials when accessing Web services or to integrate their own access control engine. Declarative programming model (WS-Policy, WS-SecurityPolicy) enables developers to author policies that operate a runtime component, responsible for processing the SOAP headers in Web services that contain security and routing information and play a role in the validation of incoming and outgoing messages. For example, the runtime can automatically sign and encrypt a message based on the authored policy without the developer having to write code. Message-based object model (WS-Addressing) provides customers with a message-based programming model over TCP and HTTP, allowing them to explore alternative types of SOAP-based applications such as ad hoc peer-to-peer applications. Lydian Trust Co. is using WSE to augment its core services with security features such as encryption, digital signatures and message routing to expose its internal business processes to its business partners directly. "WSE enabled us to build a system that can securely expose our internal systems to partners as Web services, leveraging our existing technology investments to generate future revenue opportunities," said John Studdard, CTO of Lydian. Future versions of WSE will keep pace with industry developments such as new Web services specifications and customer demand for development tools that support advanced Web services capabilities. About Microsoft Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software -- any time, any place and on any device. [Source: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2003/Jul03/07-15WSE2pr.asp] Prepared by Robin Cover for The XML Cover Pages archive. See other details and references in the news story "Security Featured in Microsoft Web Services Enhancements Version 2.0 Technology Preview."