RFC 2552 (rfc2552) - Page 2 of 30

Architecture for the Information Brokerage in the ACTS Project GAIA

RFC 2552                          GAIA                        April 1999


   - search for a particular "product" (information, content or
     services) that he/she is interested in
   - locate the product, i.e. find supplier(s) from whom the product is
     available
   - order the product from the supplier
   - receive delivery of the product by digital means

   All these actions are carried out by the broker in response to
   requests from the customer.  Broker services are accessible to the
   customer through the unified user interface.  The customer system
   does not have to support all the protocols involved in the trading
   process.

   Full specification of the GAIA Architecture is available in the GAIA
   Standard [1].  The GAIA Standard includes a description of the GAIA
   Reference Model, GAIA Functional Architecture, GAIA Standard
   Profiles, and specification of the GAIA interfaces.

   This memo does not aim to include the whole text of the GAIA
   Standard, but to present the basic ideas and concepts of this
   standard.

   The structure of this memo follows the structure of the GAIA
   Standard:

   1.  The GAIA Reference Model provides a common basis for the
       description and specification of brokerage systems, including the
       GAIA system.

   2.  The GAIA Functional Architecture defines functional elements of
       the GAIA Broker, their roles and relationships.

   3.  The GAIA Brokerage System Interfaces describes internal and
       external interfaces of the GAIA brokerage system.

   4.  The GAIA Standard Profiles specifies mandatory and optional
       profiles to which brokerage systems may conform.

2.  The GAIA Reference Model

   The Generic Architecture for Information Availability (GAIA)
   Reference Model outlines the operations and actors involved in
   finding, ordering, and delivering physical and digital objects and
   services ("Products") in a global brokered distributed information
   environment.  It provides an overall view of the GAIA environment,
   and illustrates the respective roles of and relationships between its





Blinov, et al.