SDM Tasks
SDM Tasks
System Definition Model (SDM) enables you to author models of technology for use with the Distributed System Designers in Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition for Software Architects and Visual Studio Team System 2008 Architecture Edition. These models may extend other SDM models or stand alone. Future releases of SDM will use models in the ongoing management of distributed systems. Be aware that in the current release of the Distributed System Designers, application and logical datacenter models can be created that use the model extensions created with SDM but there is no support in the Distributed System Designers for generating code or configuration from these extended models.
This topic describes some of the common scenarios that require using SDM to create new or extend existing SDM technology models.
Scenario 1: Authoring SDM Systems that represent Logical Servers
See code at How to: Create an SDM Logical Server System.
You can author a logical server system that models a server configuration and can be used in Logical Datacenter Designer. The logical server can model hosting SDM application systems and contain settings, endpoints, and resources. By containing endpoints, the logical server system can have communication relationships with other systems. You can create settings on the logical server system that model the behavior of a real server, such as the minimum version of an application or an operating system that the server will host.
Scenario 2: Authoring SDM Systems that represent Applications
See code at How to: Create an SDM Application System.
SDM systems can be used to model types of applications and logical servers. Application models can then be used within Application Designer. These SDM application systems can contain all other SDM building blocks, including SDM resources, endpoints, settings, and other SDM systems. For more information, see SDM Architecture. For use in Deployment Designer, SDM application systems must be hosted by a logical server in Logical Datacenter Designer.
Scenario 3: Authoring Resources and Endpoints Using the SDM SDK
See code at How to: Create an SDM Resource and How to: Create an SDM Endpoint.
SDM-authored resources and endpoints can be added to new or existing SDM systems. A resource can model a real world entity or a group of settings; for example, modeling a certificate and certificate store as a resource. Endpoints are used to model communication between systems using a proxy; for example, using FTP to allow two logical server systems to communicate with each other. For more information about endpoints and resources, see SDM Architecture. Resources and endpoints may be designed for use in Application Designer or Logical Datacenter Designer, which model their use on an application system or logical server system.
SDM can be used to author new endpoints. For example, an FTP endpoint can be created for use by a Web application system (with the display name ASP.NET Web Application). Adding this endpoint allows a user of Distributed System Designers to model the existence of FTP endpoints on ASP.NET Web applications.
SDM can be used to author new resources. An example of using resources to describe a group of settings is the IISWebServer model that ships with Distributed System Designers. The IIS metabase settings are represented in a hierarchy of resources with settings.
Scenario 4: Authoring Constraints and Flows Using the SDM SDK
See code at How to: Create a Custom Constraint on a Setting and How to: Create an SDM Flow.
You can author your own constraints and flows that operate on settings. A flow calculates a setting value based on inputs from other settings. Constraints can evaluate whether setting values satisfy a desired condition and return feedback and errors to users of Distributed System Designers on validation. For example, a resource can have a constraint on its setting values, depending on what SDM system contains (uses) the resource.
See Also
Using the System Definition Model (SDM) SDK
Getting Started in SDM
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Build date: 10/2/2007