This chapter describes the Standards Information Base (SIB), the database of industry standards for populating an architecture.

Introduction

This section describes the role of the SIB, and how to access it.

Role of the SIB

Previous sections of Part III: Enterprise Continuum have set the TOGAF Foundation Architecture in context to the Architecture Continuum, and described in detail one part of it, the TOGAF Technical Reference Model (TRM). This section describes the other part of the TOGAF Foundation Architecture, the Standards Information Base (SIB).

What is the SIB?

The SIB is a database of facts and guidance about information systems standards. The standards to which it refers come from many sources: from formal standards bodies such as ISO or IEEE; from authoritative standards makers such as the Internet Society; and from other consortia, like the World Wide Web Consortium (www.w3.org) and the Object Management Group (www.omg.org).

What is it for?

The SIB has three main uses:

1. Architecture Development

   For an organization that is creating an architecture for its information systems, the SIB provides a valuable source of information about standards that may be used to populate the architecture.

2. Acquisition/Procurement

   An organization that is planning a procurement (whether or not based on an architecture) will find that the SIB can help ensure that the procurement gives a clear statement of technical requirements, with an assurance of conformance.

3. General Information

   Finally, it can simply be a source of information about relevant IT standards, for use by anyone at any time.

The standards listed in the various tables are all Open Group standards; that is, standards endorsed by The Open Group as fit-for-purpose in architecture specification and procurement. They have been approved by the members of The Open Group as appropriate for use in architecture and procurement.

How is it Used in Architecture Development?

The entries in the SIB are linked either to other Open Group databases and resources (in particular those relating to Product Standards and Registered Products) or, where relevant, to the web sites of other organizations.

In this way, the SIB provides the architect with a gateway to a uniquely powerful set of tools for defining the standards that an architecture is to mandate, and for checking the availability in the marketplace of products guaranteed to conform to those standards.

In the context of TOGAF, the SIB can be used to dynamically generate lists, structured according to the TOGAF TRM taxonomy, of the standards endorsed by The Open Group for use in open systems architectures.

For a detailed explanation of how the standards generated in this way are used, refer to Part II: Architecture Development Method (ADM), which describes how to use the complete TOGAF Foundation Architecture as a basis for defining (by service) all the standards that make up the Target Technology Architecture, and all the Software Building Blocks (SBBs) that will be used to implement it.

Accessing the SIB

Originally held as part of the TOGAF document set, the SIB is now held in a database with web-enabled user access:

• The SIB home page (www.opengroup.org/sib) is the usual starting point. You may want to bookmark the home page after following the hyperlink. It contains the two direct links shown below, plus a link to the detailed explanation on Using the SIB (see Using the SIB).
• You can access the SIB selectively through a search interface (www.opengroup.org/cgi-bin/dbcgi?TPL=search_sib) according to your own defined criteria.
• Alternatively, you can view the entire SIB (www.opengroup.org/sib).

The Open Group Standards

This section looks at The Open Group standards, including technical processes, Product Standards, and the Open Brand.

Overview

Besides the fact that they are structured and made accessible in the SIB, using The Open Group standards to populate an architecture has a number of distinct advantages for the architect, and for the architect's organization:

• Individual Open Group standards are developed by proven technical processes (see The Open Group Technical Processes) that establish strong industry consensus behind a standard.
• The Open Group adds value to individual standards by integrating them into sets, known as Product Standards (see Product Standards), which are designed to be used together.
• The Open Group Product Standards are supported by a unique brand - the Open Brand (see The Open Brand) - which in turn is supported by an extensive set of conformance tests, and which guarantees the conformance to a Product Standard of real products available in the market.

Information on the different types of Open Group standards and publications is available from The Open Group Bookstore ( www.opengroup.org/bookstore).

The Open Group makes all of its standards published since January 1997 freely available in PDF and/or HTML. It also maintains a current list of The Open Group standards and other Open Group publications that are accessible in this way (www.opengroup.org/bookstore/catalog/web.htm).

Criteria for Inclusion in the SIB

The content of the SIB is determined by a consensus technical process (see The Open Group Technical Processes). In order to be included in the SIB, a standard needs to be recommended by a Program Group that has responsibility in the relevant technical area. At the same time, confirmation is sought that each new entry acceptably meets the criteria listed below.

The Open Group Technical Processes

The technical processes by which The Open Group produces its standards are long established and widely accepted throughout the industry.

They are also central to The Open Group's mission of delivering greater business efficiency by making it easier to integrate IT across the enterprise.

By means of these processes, The Open Group:

• Defines the industry consensus standards necessary to support the deployment of interoperable infrastructures and business applications
• Promotes the availability in the marketplace of products that conform to those standards

As a result, enterprise architects can design, and customer organizations procure, multi-vendor IT solutions that both meet the business needs, and integrate within and between enterprises, with reduced time, cost, and risk.

More information about The Open Group technical processes is available at www.opengroup.org/tech/procedures.

Product Standards

All individual standards adopted through The Open Group's technical processes are known as Open Group Standards, and are documented in its SIB.

The Open Group adds value to the standards in its SIB by integrating related standards into sets, known as Product Standards (analogous to Solution Building Blocks (SBBs) in TOGAF terms, or "technical profiles" in the formal standards world¹), which are designed to be used together.

This is a recursive process, the goal being the definition of "procurement-ready" Product Standards, whose functionality is strongly related to the needs of customers, and whose scope and structure is strongly related to real products that can be procured in the open market.

More information about Open Group Product Standards is available at www.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/7501899/file4.htm.

The Open Brand

The Open Brand is signified by the green "X" Device. It can be associated with, and used in relation to, IT systems that have been registered with The Open Group as being fully conformant with one or more Product Standards.

Anyone wishing to register a product, or products, and use the "X" Device, must first sign the Open Brand Trademark License Agreement and thereby "warrant and represent" that any products they register will fully conform to the identified Product Standard(s), and continue to do so.

Thus the Open Brand, when associated with a vendor's product, communicates clearly and unambiguously to a procurer that the software bearing the brand correctly implements the corresponding Open Group Product Standard.

Customers specifying the Open Brand in their procurements can therefore be certain that the branded products they buy will conform to the Product Standard at the time of purchase, and will continue to do so for as long as the product remains registered.

Using the SIB

This section covers how to use the SIB, including examples and a list of URLs.

Introduction

The database entries in the SIB are linked either to other Open Group databases and resources - in particular those relating to Product Standards and Registered Products - or, where relevant, to the web sites of other de facto and de jure standards organizations.

In this way, the SIB provides the architect with a gateway to a uniquely powerful set of tools for defining the standards that an architecture is to mandate, and for checking the availability in the marketplace of products guaranteed to conform to those standards.

Examples

Getting Started

First, go to the SIB home page (www.opengroup.org/sib). (It opens in a new window, to enable you to keep these instructions visible.) You may want to bookmark the home page after following the hyperlink.

The home page provides four hyperlinks:

1. Search it - generates a form to guide the search for specific standards or sets of standards.
2. View it - generates a full summary listing of the entire SIB, structured according to the TOGAF TRM taxonomy.
3. Help - links to an explanatory page giving information on the structure of an entry in the SIB.
4. Learn more about it - links to this page, giving an overview.

The following examples are intended to provide an initial guide through the different resources available, and to provide readers with an understanding of the wide range of information available, starting from the SIB home page.

The examples are far from exhaustive, and readers are encouraged to investigate further for themselves after following the examples.

Example 1: The Entire SIB

From the SIB home page (www.opengroup.org/sib), click the 'View it' hyperlink.

The result is a full summary listing of the SIB, represented as a series of tables, one for each of the major service categories in the TOGAF TRM taxonomy. The hyperlinks at the head of the page provide links to the start of each service category table.

Note:

If you want to, save this page for off-line viewing later. (Size is ˜200K.)

As you can see, the SIB contains hyperlinks to the web sites of many different standards organizations, both de jure and de facto.

The standards listed in the various tables are all standards adopted by The Open Group; that is, standards endorsed by The Open Group as fit-for-purpose in architecture specification and procurement.

Example 2: Referenced Standards

Many of the standards listed in the SIB have been developed and published by The Open Group itself. There are also many Referenced Standards - standards developed and published by other organizations, and referenced from the SIB.

Data Interchange in particular is an area where The Open Group has elected not to duplicate the excellent work done in other organizations, and instead has adopted from those organizations the relevant standards with demonstrated industry consensus.

1. From the SIB home page (www.opengroup.org/sib), click the 'Search it' hyperlink. The search form appears, which allows you to specify several criteria to help you find what you want.
2. From the 'Service Category' drop-down box, select the 'Data Interchange Services' category (but don't click the 'Search' button just yet).
3. Click the 'Service' drop-down box. You will see that it now lists all the individual services within the 'Data Interchange' category.
4. Select 'Hypertext' , and then click the 'Search' button.
5. When the search results appear, look under the 'Reference and Status' column and locate the 'HTML 4.0' entry. Click on 'Details' in the 'Other Views' column. This displays the full SIB entry for HTML 4.0.
6. In the full SIB entry, click the hyperlink shown against 'URL' (you could also have clicked the HTML 4.0 hyperlink in the previous page). This takes you to the HTML 4.0 Specification on the W3C public web site.
7. Go back to The Open Group web site, and go back again to the search results for 'Hypertext ' .
8. Locate the entry for IETF RFC 2068 and click the 'Details' link. This displays the full SIB entry for IETF RFC 2068. The full entry explains the relationship of HTTP/1.1 to HTTP/1.0, and (under See Also) gives a link to the SIB entry for the corresponding IETF RFC (1945).
9. Again, click the hyperlink shown against 'URL' . This takes you to the text of the HTTP/1.1 specification as approved by the Internet Engineering Task Force.
10. Go back to The Open Group web site, and go back again to the search results for 'Hypertext ' . Browse the remaining links at your leisure. Note that all organizations whose standards are referenced from the SIB make the full text freely available.

Example 3: Open Group Technical Standards

Now we will look at the facilities available in the SIB for the Technical Standards developed and published by The Open Group itself.

1. From the SIB home page (www.opengroup.org/sib), click the 'Search it' hyperlink.
2. When the search form appears, under 'Service Category' select 'System and Network Management Services' (but don't click the 'Search' button just yet).
3. Click the 'Service' drop-down box. You will see that it now lists all the individual services within the 'System and Network Management' category.
4. Leave the 'Any' entry in place under 'Service ' , and press the 'Search' button. The table displayed as a result shows all the standards in the SIB under the 'System and Network Management Services' category.
5. Search down the table under the 'Reference and Status' column to locate the entry for C701(XDSA). This is the Systems Management: Distributed Software Administration (XDSA) Technical Standard. This time, click on the 'C701' hyperlink.
6. This links to The Open Group Publications database (a separate database from the SIB). The next table displayed shows full publication details of the Technical Standard, and links to a range of further information. Options at this point:
   1. Press the 'Systems Management' hyperlink. This provides a page of structured hyperlinks to all Open Group Systems Management publications (not just standards).
   2. Go back to the previous page. The two hyperlinks under 'Availability' offer two different ways of obtaining a copy of the standard, including free access to an HTML version; and an order form for a hard copy version. Investigate these links at your leisure.

Example 4: Open Group Product Standards

This time we will look at the facilities for the Product Standards developed and published by The Open Group.

1. From the SIB home page (www.opengroup.org/sib), click the 'Search it' hyperlink.
2. When the search form appears, under 'Service Category' select 'Operating System Services' , and press the 'Search' button.
3. The table displayed as a result shows all the standards in the SIB under the 'Operating System Services' category. As you can see, there are a lot!
4. Search down the table under the 'Reference and Status' column to locate the entry 'X/Open XX' . This is the UNIX 98 Product Standard. Click on the 'X/Open XX' hyperlink.
5. The next table displayed shows all the products registered as conformant to the UNIX 98 Product Standard, organized by vendor. Select a vendor's registered product and click on the hyperlink.
6. The next table shows details of the product registration, and links to a range of further information. Options at this point:
   1. Click the vendor's company name to go the vendor's own web site, either for general information on the vendor, or for information on the specific registered product.
   2. Click the 'Brand Certificate' link to display a copy of the actual Brand Certificate (in PDF).
   3. Click the 'Go to the Completed Conformance Statement' hyperlink. (The Conformance Statement is a document, compiled from the answers to a Conformance Statement Questionnaire (CSQ), that the vendor supplies as part of the registration process, giving full details of the conformance of the product to the relevant Product Standard.)
      • The resultant table offers three levels of detail, available from the three icons in the left-hand column. (If required, click on the 'Help' button for an explanation of the icons, in addition to other help information; then return to this table.) Click one of the icons.
      • The next table shows the Conformance Statement for the overall Product Standard, most of which is effectively a compilation of the Conformance Statements for each of the individual Open Group standards that the Product Standard comprises. Select a particular question, and click on an icon.
      • The final table shows the full details of the Conformance Statement for that Open Group standard.
   4. Click the 'Manual Search of the CSQ System' hyperlink.
      • The resultant search form provides access to the complete Conformance Statement Library.
      • Clicking the 'Search the Completed Conformance Statements' hyperlink enables you to search the complete library by individual Product Standard and/or by vendor, and to select how you want the results organized, and the level of detail displayed. Options now:
        • Select a particular Product Standard, and leave the vendor column as 'Any' , to show all the vendor products registered as conforming to that Product Standard.
        • Select a particular vendor, and leave the Product Standard column as 'Any' , to show all the Product Standards for which that vendor has registered a conforming product.
        • Select a particular Product Standard, and a particular vendor, to show whether that vendor has a product registered as conforming to that Product Standard.
        • Click the 'Select Here for an Extended Selection' hyperlink for an even more detailed search form, allowing selection of individual vendor products as well as Product Standards and vendors.
      • Clicking the 'View the Conformance Statement Questionnaires' hyperlink provides access to a complete list of (blank) Conformance Statement Questionnaires, so you can see the questions that vendors have to answer as part of the product registration process.
   5. Click the 'More Information about UNIX 98' hyperlink to display details of the UNIX 98 Product Standard, including:
      • The full text of the Product Standard definition
      • A list of all the component standards
      • Links to each of the individual specifications
      • Links to the corresponding Conformance Statement Questionnaires
      • Links to information on the test suites used as the indicator of compliance

As you can see, there is a wealth of information underpinning the entries for standards developed by The Open Group, particularly the Product Standards.

For this reason, Open Group Product Standards should be the first point of departure when considering open industry standards for architecture specifications and procurements.

Where Open Group Product Standards do not exist, individual Open Group standards will often be the next best thing.

Summary of Open Group Databases and Resources

A summary of URLs to key Open Group resources relevant to the architect is given below.

Footnotes

1.

For example, as defined in ISO/IEC TR 14252 (IEEE Std 1003.0) and IEEE Std 1003.23.

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The TOGAF document set is designed for use with frames. To navigate around the document:

• In the main Contents frame at the top of the page, click the relevant hyperlink (Part I, Part II, etc.) to load the Contents List for that Part of the TOGAF document into the Secondary Index frame in the left margin.
  
  
• Then click in that Contents List to load a page into this main frame.
  
  

Downloads of the TOGAF documentation, are available under license from the TOGAF information web site. The license is free to any organization wishing to use TOGAF entirely for internal purposes (for example, to develop an information system architecture for use within that organization). A hardcopy book is also available from The Open Group Bookstore as document G063.