Using simulators instead of the old Public Registry server

Using simulators instead of the old Public Registry server

With the old Public Registry server reaching end of life we are directing users to XDS Toolkit as its replacement.

The Public Registry server had a single Registry, Repository, and Responding Gateway. Many of the newer features were never added. XDS Toolkit is being kept up to date. But, it operates in a different way. This note describes how to transition from using the Public Registry to XDS Toolkit.

Download vs public server

The preferred way to use XDS Toolkit is to download it and run locally. It requires Java and Tomcat. Instructions are here. We do run a public copy. The URL can be found on our home page.

Using simulators

In Toolkit most everything is a simulator. We define a dozen or so simulator types and to do some testing you need to create a private copy of a simulator type. The simulator-related tools are as follows. These names can be seen on the left side of a running copy of toolkit. To use simulators you also need to understand Test Sessions.

Test Session - A test session is a type of user account. Instead of having a displayable name and a private password the name itself is private. So once you create a test session to work in you need to write down its name. It is a six character hex number. No one can enter your test session without this name/key. Simulators are created within a test session and are only visible to the holder of that test session.

Simulators are controlled through a couple of panels.

Simulators - this is the main control panel where simulators can be created, deleted, configured, and you can view the logs. Each simulator has a unique set of endpoints that are used for its services. Look in the simulator configuration (the pencil icon) to see its endpoints and the configuration options you can set. An example of a configuration option, on a Document Registry, is whether it accepts Metadata Update transactions.

Simulator Logs - this can also be navigated to through the main Simulators panel. Every simulator has a private log of the transactions send and received. Here you can view them as raw messages. Their content can also be viewed using the Inspector using the buttons on the lower left.

Manage Patient Ids - a Document Registry must be notified of a Patient before documents related to that Patient can be registered. This tool will send Patient Identity Feed message. It can be used to send to a simulator or an implementation.

I think the rest of the tools listed are self explanatory.

Note that the Public Registry had tests defined for it for evaluating Document Source and Document Consumer actors. These tests are being rebuilt for use with simulators and will be released late fall 2018.