Software Architect's Handbook

Service registries

A service registry contains information about the available services and is a key component of SOA governance. It helps to make systems interoperable and facilitates the discovery of web services. Although some organizations may find that a service registry is not needed, many SOA implementations can benefit from having a service registry. As an organization begins to publish and use more and more web services, some of which may be outside the organization, the need for a centralized registry becomes more apparent.

There are numerous benefits to using a service registry. By promoting the discovery of web services, organizations can facilitate reuse and avoid building multiple web services that perform similar tasks. Developers ...