Oracle Endeca Server Web services

The Oracle Endeca Server is installed with a set of versioned SOAP Web services for loading, configuring, and querying the data, as well as for managing data domains and administering the Endeca Server cluster. These Web services provide the interface to the Oracle Endeca Server.

Web services available for data domains

Once you install the Oracle Endeca Server and create a data domain in it, you can use the following Web services to send requests:
  • Data Ingest Web Service, ingest (Documented in the Oracle Endeca Server Data Loading Guide)
  • Configuration Web Service, config (Documented in this guide)
  • Conversation Web Service, conversation (Documented in this guide)
  • Transaction Web Service, transaction (Documented in this guide)
  • Cluster Web Service, cluster (Documented in the Oracle Endeca Server Cluster Guide)
  • Manage Web Service, manage (Documented in the Oracle Endeca Server Cluster Guide)
In addition to these listed Web services, additional Web services are available with the Oracle Endeca Server:
  • The LQL Parser Web Service, lql_parser — a Web service for parsing Endeca Query Language queries and filters. For more information on this Web service, see the Oracle Endeca Server API Reference and the Oracle Endeca Server EQL Guide.
  • The Entity Configuration Web Service, sconfig, used by Integrator and Studio to create and manage views. For more information on using this Web service, see this guide and the Oracle Endeca Information Discovery Studio User's Guide, the section on creating views.
  • Several private Web services also exist in the Oracle Endeca Server. These interfaces are used for internal communication.
Note: Each Web service is assigned its own version, consisting of major and minor versions. The supported versions are listed in its WSDL document. If you are planning to use Web service calls directly or use client-side code created with stubs generated from a Web service, ensure that you use a supported version of the Web service. For detailed information on Web service versions, see About Web Service Versions.

In addition to these listed Web services, the Bulk Load Interface is also included. It does not use Web services technology. Together with the Data Ingest Web Service, the Bulk Load Interface loads the records into the Oracle Endeca Server. For more information on the Bulk Load Interface, see the Oracle Endeca Server Data Loading Guide (if you are planning to use this interface directly), or the Oracle Endeca Information Discovery Integrator User's Guide (if you are planning to use components in Integrator that utilize calls to the Bulk Load Interface).

Flow for using the Web services

As you build your application, you use these Oracle Endeca Server Web services through various tools. The usage pattern is as follows:
  1. Use the Manage Web Service to create and manage Endeca data domains hosted in the Endeca Server cluster. For information, see the Oracle Endeca Server Cluster Guide.
  2. Use the Data Ingest Web Service and the Configuration Web Service to load data and configuration into the data domain hosted by the Oracle Endeca Server.
  3. Use the Transaction Web Service to group individual requests from other Web services into a single outer transaction. Typically, the Transaction Web Service is useful for sending multiple data loading requests in a single outer transaction.
  4. Use the Configuration Web Service to configure the records schema and Oracle Endeca Server features.
  5. Use the Conversation Web Service and the Configuration Web Service to send requests and obtain results from the Oracle Endeca Server for your data domain. These results can subsequently be rendered in the front-end application used by the end users.
  6. Use the Cluster Web Service to configure an Endeca Server Cluster that can host multiple Endeca data domains. For information on the Endeca Server Cluster, see the Oracle Endeca Server Cluster Guide.

How each Web service interacts with the Oracle Endeca Server

Each Web service can be described in the context of how it interacts with the Oracle Endeca Server:

Web service Function
Data Ingest Web Service Used to load data into the data domain hosted in the Oracle Endeca Server. It serves as the basis for various batch processes, and is designed for easy integration with ETL tools.
Entity Configuration Web Service Used to create and manage entities, known as views in Studio.
Configuration Web Service Supports the process of refining the records schema for the data domain and adjusting your configuration in the development environment.
Conversation Web Service Used to query the index stored by the Oracle Endeca Server for each data domain and to provide summarizations. Unlike the Data Ingest and Configuration Web Services, it is not used to update the index for the data domain.
Transaction Web Service Controls outer transactions in the Oracle Endeca Server, allowing you to send multiple Web service requests (such as, for data loading), inside a single outer transaction.
Manage Web Service Used to create and manage data domains hosted in the Endeca Server cluster.
Cluster Web Service Used to configure an Endeca Server Cluster that can host multiple data domains.

A note on performance and interaction with the front-end application

Performance of the Endeca Server depends on the number of distinct query requests sent to it through its various web service interfaces, including updating and non-updating query requests, such as those sent from Studio or other front-end clients (if they are used instead of Studio). Performance is not affected by the processing that occurs in the front-end client. For example, the number of front-end application's pages generated to create a query has no impact on performance of underlying queries processed by the Endeca Server.