White Paper

ECCAIRS RIT Data Bridge Configuration

Version 3.0 May 2016

ABSTRACT

The ECCAIRS Data Bridge is an XML based, and XSD compliant, way to feed data into an ECCAIRS system.

The RIT/E5X data format is a file format implementing the Reduced Information taxonomy (RIT) defined by the aviation community in Europe. RIT/E5X is based on a subset of the ECCAIRS taxonomy (the so-called RIT domain) and uses the E5X Data Bridge, as introduced in version 5.4.1.16 of the ECCAIRS Common Framework, to pass data from industry into an ECCAIRS environment.

This White Paper describes how to configure an ECCAIRS system (using the AVIATION extension 4.0.0.5 or higher) in order for it to accept E5X files.

This White paper is targeted at system administrators in the national Points of Contact running the ECCAIRS 5 system.

Contents

1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 2

2. Occurrence identification .......................................................................................................... 4

2.1. In the E5F format ............................................................................................................. 4 2.2. In the E5X format ............................................................................................................. 4 2.3. Matching E5X and E5F IDs in the RIT/E5X case ............................................................. 4

3. Configuration ............................................................................................................................ 6

3.1. Number generator tunnel profile ...................................................................................... 6 3.2. Data Bridge profile ........................................................................................................... 8 3.3. Data Manager Profile ..................................................................................................... 10

4. Usage .................................................................................................................................... 13

White Paper - ECCAIRS RIT Data Bridge Configuration

May 2016 © Joint Research Centre of the European Commission 2

1. INTRODUCTION

The ECCAIRS Data Bridge (part of the ECCAIRS software) is able to accept occurrence data provided in an XML based, and W3C compliant, format. This XML data is converted internally into the standard ECCAIRS E5F format1.

A full description of the ECCAIRS Data Bridge is given in a separate White Paper2. Though the configuration of a repository as described in this document does not require a detailed knowledge of the ECCAIRS Data Bridge, we recommend to read the mentioned White Paper in order to get an idea of how it works.

In Figure 1 the ECCAIRS architecture is depicted. The ECCAIRS Common framework is the standard software used in any ECCAIRS instance. The standard ECCAIRS Extension (e.g. the Aviation Extension) provides 4 features: The taxonomy, the user interface, if required some extra functions and the XSD schema derived from the taxonomy.

Figure 1 The ECCAIRS architecture

The native ECCAIRS storage format (E5F) is supported in the database and in the E5F files. These formats can be read as well as written by the ECCAIRS software. The Data Bridge storage format is supported in the E5X file, which can only be read. E5X files are validated by the ECCAIRS Common Framework (Starting with version 5.4.1.16) using the XSD.

1 See the White Paper: ECF E5F FILE FORMAT (Version 2.0 February 2013)

2 See the White Paper: ECCAIRS Data Bridge (Version 2.0 June 2015)

ECCAIRS Common Framework

Base

Taxonomy

UI Extras

Custom

Taxonomy

Custom

UI

Custom

Extras

E5F DB

E5F

file

E5X

file

XSD

file Standard ECCAIRS Extension

Optional customisation

Related

White Paper - ECCAIRS RIT Data Bridge Configuration

May 2016 © Joint Research Centre of the European Commission 3

In the Aviation version of ECCAIRS the so called Reduced Interface taxonomy (RIT) has been defined which comprises a subset of attributes (data-fields) of the ECCAIRS Aviation Taxonomy. To implement Regulation 376/2014 of the European Union it was agreed to use this subset of attributes to report occurrences from organisations (i.e. the industry) to the national points of contact. These reports would be transferred electronically in the so-called E5X format. In this document the name for the files used is thus called RIT/E5X, referring both to the data contents and the physical format of these files.

In the ECCAIRS reporting system (versions supporting the E5X, i.e. Release 5.4.1.16 and higher), the Data manager application is able to open and convert the RIT/E5X files. Though the E5X format is universal (i.e. its definition is identical for any taxonomy used), the domain part (i.e. RIT in this case) is specific for each deployment. This implies that a configuration is required to tell the ECCAIRS system how to interpret the E5X files which are to be loaded.

This document will describe how this configuration should be done for the AVIATION version of ECCAIRS. The configuration consists of different parts:

Configuration of the new Data Bridge Profile

Configuration of the Data Manager profile

Configuration of the Number Generator Tunnel profile

Assigning the configured profiles to roles and users

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May 2016 © Joint Research Centre of the European Commission 4

2. OCCURRENCE IDENTIFICATION

2.1. In the E5F format

In the native E5F format there are two attribute which uniquely identify an occurrence within the context of the file or database in which the occurrence exists. This means that in a file (or in a database) only one occurrence can have a particular combination of these two attributes, which are File Number (452) and Responsible Entity (453).

This approach limits the responsibility for assigning file numbers to just the organisation that creates the occurrence reports (i.e the responsible entity). This way, when integrating occurrences from different responsible entities there is no risk on overlapping identifications. Both in the file and in the database both attributes are mandatory. If a new occurrence is added with the same combination of these attributes, the system will ask what to do (ignore, overwrite or merge).

2.2. In the E5X format

Contrary to the E5F files and databases, in the E5X format, there is no protection against double identification. In fact, there are no identifying attributes in the E5X approach.

2.3. Matching E5X and E5F IDs in the RIT/E5X case

The conversion of a RIT/E5X file into an ECCAIRS 5 occurrence is a straightforward process for practically all attributes and their values. There are however a few considerations to be made:

1. In RIT/E5X both attributes File Number (452) and Responsible Entity (453) can be present,

however these attributes are not mandatory. In the end, it is the responsibility of the Point of

Contact to assign these values following its own numbering system.

2. In RIT/E5X there are two similar attributes: Report Identification (438) and Reporting Entity

(447). These attributes refer to the organisation reporting the occurrence in RIT/E5X format and

they represent normally the identification of the occurrence inside this reporting organisation.

Also these attributes are not mandatory, but in order to be able to perform a follow-up later (i.e. a

new report with the same values will need to overwrite or merge with the initial version), they

should be present. It is the responsibility of the originator of the report to assign these values (if

considered necessary).

The behaviour of the ECCAIRS for AVIATION system with respect to these four attributes is as follows:

1. If both attributes File Number (452) and Responsible Entity (453) are present in the RIT/E5X

they will be transferred 1:1 into the ECCAIRS native occurrence and this occurrence will be

inserted in the Repository database/file in the configured way (ignoring/replacing/merging/etc.)

2. If one or both of attributes File Number (452) and Responsible Entity (453) are not present in

the RIT/E5X a mechanism must give the values to be placed in the E5F database. This

mechanism is implemented via the Data Manager profile and works as follows:

If both attributes Report Identification (438) and Reporting Entity (447) are present in

the RIT/E5X then the add-in identifies the occurrence in the ECCAIRS repository

database, which has the same combination of values for these two attributes.

If found, the add-in retrieves the File Number (452) and Responsible Entity (453) values

from this occurrence and uses these in the RIT/E5X. If more than one occurrence is found

having the same Report Identification (438) and Reporting Entity (447) then only the

first instance will be taken into account. Then this occurrence will be inserted in the

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May 2016 © Joint Research Centre of the European Commission 5

Repository database/file in the configured way (replacing/merging/etc). If not found, the

system will generate these values in the usual way (e.g. Number Generator or User

Interaction).

If one or both of attributes Report Identification (438) and Reporting Entity (447) are

not present in the RIT/E5X the system will generate the values for File Number (452) and

Responsible Entity (453) with the configured Number Generator.

An additional remark needs to be made on the entity Reporting History (53). This entity is of type multiple instance in ECCAIRS (and thus in the RIT/E5X). In the RIT/E5X only the LAST instance of this entity is used for the identification of Report Identification (438) and Reporting Entity (447). In normal cases (industry reporting to their Authority) there should preferably be only one instance of this entity.

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May 2016 © Joint Research Centre of the European Commission 6

3. CONFIGURATION

In this chapter the configuration required to read RIT/E5X files is described. This configuration exists of the configuration of three profiles: The Number Generator Tunnel profile, the Data Bridge Profile and the Data Manager profile

3.1. Number generator tunnel profile

TheBefore configuring the Data Manager profile (see next chapter) you will need to add a Tunnel Service profile, if you do not have this yet configured. If you already have this then you can skip the rest of this section and move to section 3.2.

The "Number Generator" service runs on the Server and requires the creation of a specific "Number Generator" Tunnel Service that will listen and execute requests coming from the corresponding Add-In in the client applications.

The Tunnel Service for the Number Generator should be added in the Repository Manager under the Tunnel Service node (you can add a new one or start with the one distributed with the AVIATION extension).

On the form which opens when opening this profile (Figure 2) select the second tab (Tunnel Service) and click on the Edit… button

Figure 2 Tunnel service profile

Now a form pop-ups on which you can configure the profile (Figure 3). Give the Tunnel Service a name and select the Number Generator Service Assembly/Class. Then click on the configuration button to link the service to the database that maintains your Numbering System (Figure 4). In almost all cases, this will be the standard database, which is also used for storing your occurrences.

Should you have questions about this setup please look in the appropriate White Paper called ÉCCAIRS 5 Number Generator Add-In, section 2.1.

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May 2016 © Joint Research Centre of the European Commission 7

Figure 3 Editing the tunnel service

Figure 4 Configuring the database connection for the Number Generator.

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May 2016 © Joint Research Centre of the European Commission 8

3.2. Data Bridge profile

Now that the Tunnel profile for the Number Generator has been configured, you need to configure a Data Bridge profile. The Data Bridge profile can be found in the Repository Manager application as a node under the Profiles (see Figure 5)

Figure 5 Position of the Data Bridge profile in the Repository Manager

A Data Bridge profile tells the system how, for specific version(s) of the XSD (and thus the related taxonomies) a mapping from the E5X file to the related E5F structure should be done.

The Data Bridge profile is identified by a string, which is constructed by concatenating and capitalising Taxonomy Name, Taxonomy Version and Domain. This implies that when an E5X file is read a matching Data Bridge profile should be available in the system in order to successfully convert the included occurrences.

Figure 6 Data Bridge profile

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May 2016 © Joint Research Centre of the European Commission 9

The identifier in the picture above is constructed from the following (start of an) E5X file:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <SET TaxonomyName="ECCAIRS Aviation" TaxonomyVersion="3.4.0.2" Domain="RIT" Version="1.0.0.0" xmlns="http://eccairsportal.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ECCAIRS5_dataBridge.xsd"> <Occurrence> <ATTRIBUTES> <Local_Date>2015-04-03</Local_Date>

The Data Bridge profile has a second tab, called Data Bridge File:

Figure 7 Data Bridge File tab

From this tab, it is possible to Import and Export the profile as an .edb file and to Export the XSD schemes and relates files if required.

Data Bridge profiles are created and maintained in the Repository Manager. The easiest and by far best way to create a Data Bridge profile is by just importing it from the zip file which is distributed together with an AVIATION extension and which can be found (for 64 bits systems) in:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Eccairs5\Extensions\AVIATION\Profiles\Data Bridge:

After creating the Data Bridge profile as indicated, no further action on this profile is required apart from, as always, associated the profile to a particular role and assign that role to the relevant user(s).

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May 2016 © Joint Research Centre of the European Commission 10

3.3. Data Manager Profile

Now that a Number Generator Tunnel profile and a Data Bridge profile have been created, the Data Manager application has to be told how to use these when loading E5X data. This is done in a new tab of the Data Manager profile, which can also be found in the Repository Manager application.

Figure 8 Data Manager profile - Data Bridge to DB configuration

This new tab in the Data manager profile configuration allows the definition of a series of processors, which can perform some post processing on each occurrence of the E5X file after it, is internally converted in an E5F and will be sent to the database.

For the basic handling of the RIT/E5X we just need to create one processor which checks the E5X contents and based on that makes decisions on what to do to create the mandatory E5F attributes File Number (452) and Responsible Entity (453) since these are required for a successful storage in the ECCAIRS database.

By clicking on the top button at the right you can add this Data Bridge to DB Processor and the form that you can see in Figure 9 will pop-up.

You should give the processor a name (as you like), select the Data Bridge Add-In as Assembly / Class and click on the Configuration button. Then the form of Figure 10 will open in which the detailed configuration will be done.

White Paper - ECCAIRS RIT Data Bridge Configuration

May 2016 © Joint Research Centre of the European Commission 11

Figure 9 Form to add a processor to the Data Bridge Add-In

Figure 10 Data Bridge Add-In configuration form

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May 2016 © Joint Research Centre of the European Commission 12

The configuration of the Data Bridge Add-In consists of two parts:

The values to give to File Number (452) and Responsible Entity (453) in the case that there is no other way to establish them (see also chapter 2.3.). Typically, this will mean that a number generator3 function needs to be present and that the responsible entity is set to the relevant value. This is done by configuring the two fields on the top of the Add-In configuration form (see Figure 10).

The query required to find occurrences from which File Number (452) and Responsible Entity (453) will need to be inherited. Note the usage of (Value to ask)! This query will find occurrences with matching Report Identification (438) and Reporting Entity (447) in the database.

Now you have completed the configuration. As always, assign all three configured profiles to the role of the users, which should use this functionality.

3 For a detailed description of how the number generator works and the configuration syntax please see White Paper: ECCAIRS 5 Number Generator Add-In.

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May 2016 © Joint Research Centre of the European Commission 13

4. USAGE

Loading of E5X files becomes possible in the Data Manager application if the configuration has been done as indicated in Chapter 3.

Loading E5X files is started from the Data Exchanger section of the Data Manager.

Figure 11 Loading E5X files with the Data manager

Usage and configuration are very much in line with the other functions of the Data Exchanger module in the Data Manager application, an should not lead to issues.