Modernize Your Middleware with REST
Updated: Mar 26
Are you still using old middleware technology like RSC or Picolo to support your mission-critical applications on your NonStop Systems? If so, it is time for a change!
Surprisingly, there are still many users using old proprietary technology like RSC or Piccolo for their middleware. These tools may still be able to perform the basic functions that they were designed for over 20+ years ago, but continuous usage of these “mature” products opens up unnecessary risks and hinders system performance.
There are many good reasons why you should switch to a modern middleware solution like REST.
1. Standardize with Web Service for Interoperability
Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) has been around for over 20 years and has been proven to be the superior architectural style that aligns with the NonStop architecture. Almost all computing platforms support SOA in the form of web services, implemented in SOAP or REST. Adopting RESTful API will help position NonStop as an enterprise ready platform, instead of a proprietary system. In contrast, continuing to use a proprietary middleware product limits the Nonstop’s interoperability in the enterprise and acceptance. With REST, your NonStop applications can communicate with Windows, Linux, mainframe, mobile, tablet and other platforms.
2. Security and Compliance
Old middleware products were not built with security in mind. Even if security was available in some cases, mostly likely it is proprietary in nature and does not comply with industry standards. Web Services like RESTful API have been used frequently and proven in its acceptance in the enterprise. By leveraging HTTP and HTTPS (TLS 1.3) as transport, REST provides the standard security protection of the data in flight, and the compliance to firewall standard.
3. Performance and Scalability
You would want a product that leverages the latest NonStop hardware and software. That includes taking advantage of the faster processor and communication controller. More importantly, the product should continue to be scalable like the NonStop architecture. LightWave product suite leverages the latest NonStop features to provide high performance and scalability that old middleware products cannot compete with.
4. Support
If you have an RSC problem, you will need someone who understands the proprietary protocol to diagnose the problem for you. With REST, anyone who has a passing knowledge of HTTP will be able to analyze the protocol and the JSON payload easily. Most importantly, REST will continue to be enhanced and supported by many organizations, not just a single proprietary source.
5. Manageability
If you pick a REST product like LightWave, you will gain the benefit of ease of managing your middleware environment. The LightWave Dashboard is a browser-based GUI that allows you to manage the design time and run time via a point and click. Its intuitive interface requires no learning curve, and allows both developers and support staff to be productive very quickly.
Conclusion
Your NonStop applications are mission critical, and so you shouldn’t run them using “mature” proprietary tools. Migrating the middleware to using REST will open up your Nonstop applications to interoperate with a modern world of web, mobile, cloud and other services. LightWave product suite from our partner NuWave is a proven top-of-the-line REST solution for the NonStop platform. We at TIC Software can help you migrate your middleware applications to LightWave painlessly and easily, while reaping all the benefits of the products’ modern features.
Contact TIC Software at sales-support@ticsoftware.com today for a demo or a free evaluation!
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Phil Ly is the president of TIC Software, a leading provider of software and services for the NonStop community focused on NonStop application modernization. Under Phil's guidance, TIC Software has a proven track record of helping clients seamlessly integrate NonStop with next-generation technologies. A recognized technical leader, Phil is passionate about empowering organizations to unlock the full potential and longevity of their NonStop platform through innovative solutions.