EXTENSIBLE MODELING AND SIMULATION FRAMEWORK (XMSF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS REPORT 2002 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Department of Defense(DoD)is engaged in warfighting and institutional transformation for the new millennium. In parallel, DoD Modeling Simulation(M&s)needs to identify and adopt transformational technologies providing direct tactical relevance to warfighters. The only software systems that composably scale to worldwide scope utilize World Wide Web technologies Therefore, it is evident that an extensible web-based framework offers great promise to scale up the capabilities of M&S systems to meet the needs of training, analysis, acquisition, and the operational warfighter. By embracing commercial web technologies as a shared-communications platform and a ubiquitous-delivery framework, DoD M&s can fully leverage mainstream practices for enterprise-wide software development In order to carefully consider these Dod transformation challenges for M&s, we are defining an Extensible Modeling and Simulation Framework(XMSF)to exploit web-based technologies. An exceptional group of government, academic, and industry experts worked together under the leadership of investigators from the Naval Postgraduate School, George Mason University, and SAIC for an exploratory workshop and a public symposium. This report describes the basis and initial requirements to achieve such transformational interoperability, through community development of the Extensible Modeling and Simulation Framework (XMSF) The Extensible Modeling and Simulation Framework(XMSF) is defined as a composable set of standards, profiles and recommended practices for web-based modeling simulation(M&s) XML-based markup languages, Internet technologies and Web Services will enable a new generation of distributed M&S applications to emerge, develop and interoperate XMSF integrates several high-level requirements derived from years of experience with M&s frameworks, and the challenges of their effective deployment across diverse networks and systems XMSF must enable simulations to interact directly and scalably over a highly distributed network, achieved through compatibility between a web framework and networking technologies. XMSF must be equally usable by human and software agents. Clearly XMSF must support composable reusable model components. XMSF use must not be constrained by proprietary technology or legally encumbering patents, since such barriers discourage the free, open, ad hoc development of interconnected tactical models and simulations The precepts of XMSf are Web-based technologies applied within an extensible framework will enable a new generation of modeling simulation(M&S)applications to emerge, develop and interoperate Support for operational tactical systems is a missing but essential requirement for such M&s applications frameworks An extensible framework of Extensible Markup Language(XML)-based languages can provide a bridge between forthcoming M&s requirements and open/commercial web standards, while continuing to support existing M&s technologies Compatible and complementary technical approaches are now possible for model definition, simulation execution, network-based education, network scalability, and 2D/3D graphics views Web approaches for technology, software tools, content production and broad use provides best business cases from an enterprise-wide (i.e. world wide) perspective XMSF Workshop Symposium Report, October 2002 page 3XMSF Workshop & Symposium Report, October 2002 page 3 EXTENSIBLE MODELING AND SIMULATION FRAMEWORK (XMSF) FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS REPORT 2002 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Department of Defense (DoD) is engaged in warfighting and institutional transformation for the new millennium. In parallel, DoD Modeling & Simulation (M&S) needs to identify and adopt transformational technologies providing direct tactical relevance to warfighters. The only software systems that composably scale to worldwide scope utilize World Wide Web technologies. Therefore, it is evident that an extensible web-based framework offers great promise to scale up the capabilities of M&S systems to meet the needs of training, analysis, acquisition, and the operational warfighter. By embracing commercial web technologies as a shared-communications platform and a ubiquitous-delivery framework, DoD M&S can fully leverage mainstream practices for enterprise-wide software development. In order to carefully consider these DoD transformation challenges for M&S, we are defining an Extensible Modeling and Simulation Framework (XMSF) to exploit web-based technologies. An exceptional group of government, academic, and industry experts worked together under the leadership of investigators from the Naval Postgraduate School, George Mason University, and SAIC for an exploratory workshop and a public symposium. This report describes the basis and initial requirements to achieve such transformational interoperability, through community development of the Extensible Modeling and Simulation Framework (XMSF). The Extensible Modeling and Simulation Framework (XMSF) is defined as a composable set of standards, profiles and recommended practices for web-based modeling & simulation (M&S). XML-based markup languages, Internet technologies and Web Services will enable a new generation of distributed M&S applications to emerge, develop and interoperate. XMSF integrates several high-level requirements derived from years of experience with M&S frameworks, and the challenges of their effective deployment across diverse networks and systems. XMSF must enable simulations to interact directly and scalably over a highly distributed network, achieved through compatibility between a web framework and networking technologies. XMSF must be equally usable by human and software agents. Clearly XMSF must support composable, reusable model components. XMSF use must not be constrained by proprietary technology or legally encumbering patents, since such barriers discourage the free, open, ad hoc development of interconnected tactical models and simulations. The precepts of XMSF are: · Web-based technologies applied within an extensible framework will enable a new generation of modeling & simulation (M&S) applications to emerge, develop and interoperate. · Support for operational tactical systems is a missing but essential requirement for such M&S applications frameworks. · An extensible framework of Extensible Markup Language (XML)-based languages can provide a bridge between forthcoming M&S requirements and open/commercial web standards, while continuing to support existing M&S technologies. · Compatible and complementary technical approaches are now possible for model definition, simulation execution, network-based education, network scalability, and 2D/3D graphics views. · Web approaches for technology, software tools, content production and broad use provides best business cases from an enterprise-wide (i.e. world wide) perspective