Syndeia FAQs, Part 2: Do I Need Syndeia Cloud and Syndeia Client?

Syndeia may be best considered as a set of services with their own open REST API embedded in your integrated design environment, plus a set of user interfaces (UIs), each of which can execute a particular set of those services. It can be difficult to keep track of which UIs call which services to support which use cases, especially as each UI has evolved in response to customer needs.

Some questions come up repeatedly as our users become more familiar with Syndeia, so I’ve decided to start a blog series to answer them.

Do I need Syndeia Cloud and Syndeia Client?

Customers evaluating Syndeia frequently ask if they need both Syndeia Cloud and the Syndeia Client, e.g the Syndeia Cameo or Rhapsody Plug-ins? The answer depends on the specific integration and customer use case(s).

A simplified view of the Syndeia architecture is shown in Figure 1. Note that the Syndeia plugin client inside a SysML modeling tool has potential direct connections with both local and network-enabled (virtualized) applications as well as indirect connections via Syndeia Cloud. Originally, the Syndeia plugin client was a standalone capability; Syndeia Cloud wasn’t introduced until version 3.0. And the plugin can still function to some extent without Syndeia Cloud.

And that depends on

• Where do I store the inter-model connections?
• What tools can I connect to?
• What functions do I want?

Storing Connections

With the Syndeia plugin clients for Cameo or Rhapsody, I can store the inter-model connections in the active SysML model or in Syndeia Cloud. The advantage of the SysML model is that I don’t need to set up Syndeia Cloud, which means getting my IT department involved and can slow down an initial evaluation. The disadvantage is that the SysML model isn’t a good place to store a lot of connection data. Syndeia Cloud’s database is graph-based, scalable, configuration-managed, and more easily accessible to all the other clients and users via the Syndeia Cloud REST API.

Available Integrations

The second question deals with what tools you need to connect to. Referring back to Figure 1, you have two categories of models you want to access

• Those in on-line repositories such as JIRA, DOORS NG, Windchill or Teamwork Cloud where models are accessible through the repository API, and
• Those loaded on local applications, such as NX CAD, Simulink, Excel or Cameo itself

Connecting to the latter set requires an application running locally, such as the Syndeia plugin client. So there are three scenarios laid out in Figure 2

• The models running in the local tools, the first category, are only available from the plugin clients,
• Some on-line repositories, the second category, can be accessed directly from the plugin clients without Syndeia Cloud (although Syndeia Cloud can also access them), and
• Some other on-line repositories, the final category, the client accesses via Syndeia Cloud, which must be installed for these integrations to function

The main difference between the second and third categories is that some integrations were built before Syndeia Cloud was introduced and some after.

Similar considerations have determined what functions are available from which interface. The plugin client dashboard was designed primarily for SysML modelers with functions such as model transforms, custom mapping and widgets from inside Cameo or Rhapsody. Other functions, including graph analysis and the digital thread explorer, aren’t available through the plugin, only through clients like the Syndeia Web Dashboard which were intended for more general users to query and visualize an existing digital thread. Expect new capabilities to appear in both those interfaces as customer demand evolves.

Bottom Line

Syndeia Plugin Clients without Syndeia Cloud may work for organizations seeking only a few specific point-to-point integrations but are not a viable long-term solution for most. Syndeia Cloud is where new capabilities will be built and older capabilities will be transferred. When we build new plugins for tools, they will rely on the Syndeia Cloud REST API. But Syndeia Plugin Clients will remain an important user interface for SysML modelers or where specialized functionality, e.g. local application access or ease of installation, is required.

Other Parts in this series:

• Part 1: Syndeia FAQs, Part 1
• Part 2 : Do I need Syndeia Cloud and Syndeia Clients? (This Part)
• Part 3: What is a Data Map connection?
• Part 4 : What is the Syndeia Standalone Client? (To be released)