&EPA
~ Service Registry
What is a Service
Registry?
In the world of shared services
it is not only important to
know what is available for use
(i.e. catalog of services), but also how to discover and connect to
those services. A service registry serves the latter purpose. More
precisely, a service registry locates an actively running service and
then directly connects the user to it. In the past, a service was
typically accessible at only one location (e.g. one well-known
server) making secure connections relatively straightforward.
Service registries were created to act as a central point for
registering and keeping track of when services are available and
where they are running. Users (primarily systems, applications and
developers) of shared services simply query a service registry to
complete their connections.
Additional Information
For additional information, contact: Steve Newman,
newman.steve@epa.gov. (202) 566-2134.
What is the Distinction
Between a Service Catalog
and a Service Registry?
A service catalog contains
information about an item. By
contrast, a service registry tracks
when/where any given service is
actively running. In other words, a
service catalog may include
information about how to connect
and/or utilize a service, but does not
keep track of which services are
active nor where they are running. It
is the job of a service registry to track
when/where any given service is
actively running and available for
connection. For more information on
service catalogs see the Service
Catalog fact sheet.
1
September 2018

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