SIF 2 Enabled Application
Product Standard

NAME

SIF 2 Enabled Application

LABEL FOR LOGO

SIF 2 Enabled Application

DESCRIPTION

The SIF 2 Enabled Application Product Standard defines the requirements for an application to be considered conformant to the SIF Implementation Specification (see below). The following definitions are used in this document:

• The SIF Implementation Specification is one of any release of the Schools Interoperability Framework Implementation Specification in the 2.x major release cycle for which a sanctioned test suite is provided for use in certification, supplemented by any Interpretations applicable to this particular version and revision of the Specification. For a description of Interpretations, see Section 9 of the Schools Interoperability Framework Certification Policy.
• A SIF-enabled Application is a software product or service that communicates with a SIF Zone Integration Server (see below). See Section 3.3 of the SIF Implementation Specification.
• A SIF Zone Integration Server (ZIS) manages SIF-enabled Applications within a logical entity known as a Zone. See Section 3.3 of the SIF Implementation Specification.
• TLS is version 1.0 of the Transport Layer Security protocol, as specified in IETF RFC 2246.
• SSL3 is version 3.0 of the Secure Sockets Layer protocol, as specified in the IETF Internet Draft The SSL Protocol Version 3.0. For a discussion of TLS backward compatibility with SSL3, see Appendix E to IETF RFC 2246.
• SSL2 is version 2.0 of the Secure Sockets Layer protocol, as specified in the Netscape Draft RFC The SSL Protocol. For a discussion of TLS backward compatibility with SSL2, see Appendix E to IETF RFC 2246.
• HTTP is version 1.1 of the Hypertext Transport Protocol, as specified in IETF RFC 2616.
• The SIF HTTPS Protocol defines a transport protocol that combines a subset of HTTP with TLS, SSL3 and/or a limited subset of SSL2. See Section 3.3.7 of the SIF Implementation Specification.
• XML is version 1.0, Third Edition, of the Extensible Markup Language, as specified in the W3C Recommendation of 4 February 2004.
• The SIF Messaging Protocols define the sequencing and processing of SIF messages. See Section 4 of the SIF Implementation Specification.
• The SIF Message Specification defines an XML Schema (XSD) for messages exchanged between a SIF ZIS and a SIF-enabled Application. See Section 5 of the SIF Implementation Specification.
• The SIF Data Model defines an XML Schema (XSD) for data exchanged between a SIF ZIS and a SIF-enabled Application. See Section 6 of the SIF Implementation Specification.
• A GUID is a Globally Unique Identifier (also known as a UUID or Universally Unique Identifier), as specified in the IETF RFC 4122.

CONFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

The conformance requirements of the SIF 2 Enabled Application Product Standard for a SIF-enabled Application are derived from the SIF Implementation Specification. A SIF-enabled Application must demonstrate that it can:

• Register with the ZIS and, if applicable, request data objects via the ZIS using version 2.* or equivalent (*).
• Encrypt, transport, and authenticate encapsulated SIF messages in a manner that conforms with the SIF HTTPS protocol.
• Exchange messages that are uniquely identified by a GUID and sequenced and processed in a manner that conforms with the SIF Message Handling Protocols.
• Produce messages that conform to the data definitions of the SIF Message Specification in the one SIF Implementation Specification version referenced by the test suite. Required and mandatory elements must be supported; optional and conditional elements may be supported at the discretion of the implementer.
• Produce messages containing data objects that conform to the SIF Data Model in the one SIF Implementation Specification version referenced by the test suite. Required and mandatory elements must be supported; optional and conditional elements may be supported at the discretion of the implementer.
• Receive/process messages that conform to the data definitions of the SIF Message Specification in any SIF Implementation Specification version in the 2.x major release cycle.
• Receive/process messages containing data objects that conform to the data definitions of the SIF Message Specification in any SIF Implementation Specification version in the 2.x major release cycle.

There are no requirements placed upon a SIF-enabled Application that constrain the way that the conformance requirements are met, and in particular there are no requirements concerning how any software components are integrated together to constitute a conforming product or service.

OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

None.

PORTABILITY ENVIRONMENT

None.

OVERRIDING STANDARDS

None.

INDICATORS OF CONFORMANCE

A test report from a currently approved formal release of the SIF 2 Enabled Application Test Suite is required. The Test Suites will be hosted on SIFA’s web server and accessed over the Internet.

MIGRATION

There are no migration issues from prior versions of this Product Standard.

Revision History: