About Provider Web Service Descriptors

You can turn any service in any Integration Server package into a web service by using the IS service as an operation in a provider web service descriptor. Integration Server provides an environment for executing services efficiently and securely. It receives and decodes requests from clients, calls the requested services, and encodes and returns the output to the clients.

A provider web service descriptor (WSD) is created from one or more IS services or from a single WSDL document, and is designed to allow the IS services to be invoked as web services over a network. The provider web service descriptor contains all the data required to create a WSDL document for the IS web service, as well as the data needed at run time to process the request and response.

You can create a provider web service descriptor from a service that exists on Integration Server or from a WSDL document.

A service first provider web service descriptor refers to provider web service descriptors created from an existing service on Integration Server. In this case, you specify the protocol, binding style/use, and host server when creating the WSD. The IS service becomes an operation in the provider web service descriptor. Integration Server uses the existing service signature as the input and output messages for the operation. You can add operations and bindings to a service first provider web service descriptor.

A WSDL first provider web service descriptor refers to a provider web service descriptor created from an existing WSDL document or from a service asset in CentraSite. In this case, Designer uses the message and operation definitions from the WSDL to generate a “placeholder” flow service for each operation encountered in the WSDL, along with IS document types defining the input and output signature of the generated flow services. You can then implement any required logic within the placeholder flow service. Note that you cannot add operations or bindings to a WSDL first provider WSD.