HubThe Hub's job is to broadcast requests sent by QEPs to the Adapters in the network. The Hub also buffers the responses from the Adapters before returning the collection of results back to the QEP. Upon receiving a request from a trusted QEP, the Hub will duplicate and forward that request to all of its downstream nodes and await their responses. As the responses are received, the Hub collects them into a result buffer that is then sent back to the calling QEP. AdapterThe Adapter is the component that acts as a facade or entry point to an institution's i2b2 hive. The Adapter receives requests from the Hub and then translates them into local terminology. The type of translation depends on the nature of the request. The most obvious translation occurs during a query and involves translating the central SHRINE network terms into local i2b2 terms. Other types of translation include mapping between network and local IDs for query masters and query results. After translating the request, the Adapter will either service the request itself or contact the i2b2 hive to service the request. When the request has been serviced, it will return the result and status to the Hub. |