# Product Overview

# Introduction and Roadmap

The following sections describe the contents, audience for, and organization of this guide— WebLogic RFID Edge Server Product Overview.

- Document Scope and Audience
- Guide to This Document
- Related Documentation
- New Features in This Release

## Document Scope and Audience

This document provides descriptive information about WebLogic RFID Edge Server, including:

- Use cases and key benefits
- Component architecture and functional overview
- RFID concepts and terminology
- Developer and RFID resources

The intended audience is developers, system administrators, operations staff, support engineers, and other personnel with an interest in WebLogic RFID Edge Server.

## Guide to This Document

This document is organized as follows:

- This chapter, Introduction and Roadmap, describes the scope of this guide, summarizes new features, and lists related documentation.
- Understanding WebLogic RFID Edge Server, provides an overview of WebLogic RFID Edge Server.
- WebLogic RFID Edge Server Architecture, provides a functional overview of the RFID Edge Server and describes its component architecture.
- RFID Terminology, defines key terms and acronyms.

## Related Documentation

This document is a part of the WebLogic RFID Edge Server documentation set. The other documents are:

- Installing WebLogic RFID Edge Server describes how to install and configure WebLogic RFID Edge Server.
- Using the RFID Edge Server Administration Console describes how to use the RFID Administration Console to configure ECSpecs, ECReports, RFID devices, filters, and workflows.
- Using the Reader Simulator describes how to use the reader simulator software included with RFID Edge Server. The Reader Simulator minimally simulates a ThingMagic Mercury4 RFID reader.
- Programming with the ALE and ALEPC APIs describes the Application Level Events (ALE) and Application Level Events Programming Cycle (ALEPC) programming interfaces (APIs) that you use to create applications that interact with WebLogic RFID Edge Server by reading and writing electronic product code (EPC) tags.
- RFID Reader Reference describes how to configure the RFID devices supported by the RFID Edge Server.
- Workflow Reference describes how to configure and use the workflow modules included with the WebLogic RFID Edge Server.
- ALE and ALEPC Javadoc provides reference documentation for the ALE and ALEPC Java packages that are provided with the WebLogic RFID Edge Server software.

## New Features in This Release

WebLogic RFID Edge Server includes the following new features:

- Integrated workflows—Coordinate the receipt of RFID data with other kinds of device input and output, and use the Electronic Product Code Information Service (EPCIS) interface to communicate to enterprise applications. Often, workflow applications interact with humans through stack lights, LEDs, and Console UIs. The purpose of a workflow is to provide some business context—it integrates raw RFID data into one step of an operational business process.

See Configuring Workflow Modules in Using the Administration Console and the RFID Workflow Reference.

- API support for advanced tag features, including all features of the EPCglobal Class-1 Generation-2 UHF RFID Air Interface Specification (commonly called Gen 2)—This specification includes changes to the ALE API and the ALE schema and WSDL.

Gen2 introduces a number of new Edge Server features including:

- Reading and writing multiple tag memories, such as the EPC, Tag Identifier (TID), and user memory banks.
- Locking and unlocking memory with a password.
- Killing tags with a password.

See Programming with the ALE and ALEPC APIs and the RFID Reader Reference.

For the EPCglobal UHF Class 1 Generation 2 specification 1.0.9, see EPC Radio-Frequency Identity Protocols Class 1 Generation 2 UHF Air Interface Protocol Standard Version 1.0.9.

- Supported tag formats have been expanded to include the United States Department of Defense "DoD construct" tag formats, in both 64- and 96-bit varieties. See the US DoD Suppliers' Passive RFID Information Guide.
- Enhanced ALE stop condition (stableCount)—Both an ECSpec's associated ECBoundarySpec, and a ReportSpec can contain an optional `<stableCount>` element, a BEA extension to the ALE. This element modifies the Stable Set Interval (SSI) stop condition on an event cycle by modifying the requirements that must be fulfilled before the SSI will cause an event cycle to terminate. See ECSpec in Programming with the ALE and ALEPC APIs.
- Support for new reader models—see the RFID Reader Reference.
- PLC stack light logical reader support—see Controlling RFID Devices via PLC in the RFID Reader Reference.
- Administration Console features:

- Real-time read functionality—Testing feature whereby the Edge Server reads tag data from any configured reader and displays the results in the Administration Console. See Reading Real-Time Tag Data in Using the Administration Console.
- Configuration export and import—Enables you to export RFID Edge Server configuration objects to an XML file, and to duplicate the configuration on another RFID Edge Server by importing that file. These objects include ECSpecs, ECSpec subscribers, PCSpecs, PCSpec subscribers, readers, composite readers, and workflows. See Exporting and Importing Edge Server Configuration in Using the Administration Console.
- Dynamic filter configuration—See Creating and Configuring Transient Filters in Using the Administration Console.
- Show/Hide feature in telemetry graphs—Collapsible graphs improve telemetry presentation and performance; only the expanded (non-collapsed) views are updated.