Posted: November 19th, 2022

Designing an E-Commerce Application Layer Protocol

Designing an E-Commerce Application Layer Protocol
This paper dwells majorly on the e-commerce design descriptions related to the Client-Server Architecture. That is, all the requirements involved when customers order for items from the e-commerce back end until the time the items are delivered to them. The e-commerce client-server architecture should contain the following components; database, servers and users/clients/customers. Other components contained in the three major components enlisted above are payments systems, enquiry modes, mail links et cetera.
1. E-Commerce Protocol Architecture
Basically, e-commerce relies on client-server architecture. A client may be an application utilizing the GUI which sends request to servers for special services. The servers function is generally to provide services that the client has requested. In e-commerce, the client is the customer whereas the server refers to the commercial application through which the requested services are provided. Such e-commerce business applications are deployed on web servers (Menasce, 2000). Web servers are generally computer programs providing web services by providing requested information on HTML files or pages.
E-commerce follows two-tier, three-tier or four tier architectures. In the two-tier architecture, the client side contains the user interface whereas the server side contains the database components. Business application can be installed on either the server or the client. In the same manner, the user application can either be on the server or client side. Client side processes are allowed to run separately from the processes on the server, on different computers. The client side provides an e-commerce application interface to the customer hence this application part is known as presentation layer. The server side gives an interface with the business data storage and is called the data layer. Various commercial logics which monitors security, validates data, and other rules in business can either be on the server side or client side.
In three-tier Architecture, the database servers are independently maintained in a separate module. The three tier architecture includes the user interface allowing users to access services such as text input, session, and display management. The middle application issues process management duties and finally the third tier gives a database management processes (Mizrah & Authernative, 2014).
The fourth-tier in an e-commerce is the application server. Application server executes certain business rules such as user authorization. It also formulates queries depending on the information it receives from the web server and sends them to the database for information retrieval. Finally, the formatted response is sent back to the server (Mizrah & Authernative, 2014).
Components of the e-commerce Architectures
a. The database
The database system allows the management of data through data storage, updating and querying from the database system. In e-commerce perspective, the database can be designed to store information about the staff, orders, products, suppliers and delivery branches. All the products in the database have proper descriptions, names, prices, images, quantity, and color among others. A robust and secure database must be integrated with e-commerce website. This should also include custom queries to enable business owners to get to know the purchase behaviors of their customers. In particular, it may be vital to how sells occur between certain dates, specific weekdays as well as the most ordered items, among others. In database design, the following systems can be used; Oracle, MSQL server, and MySQL.
b. The server
The server is always based on a separate computer. Servers obtains clients’ or customers’ requests, interprets the requests, processes the requests and finally returns the results to the clients. Servers used may be Internet Information Server or Apache Web Server. The server derives the information from the e-commerce database servers in case of any product enquiries from the customer at the front end.
c. The Client
This is a user interface based at the front end and is majorly the lead in the communication among all the three components. The client side architecture allows the customer to request product information, processes it, sends queries to the server and gives the feedback to the customer. The e-commerce front end must have an appealing graphical user interface designed in a manner that attract customers and suit the intended platforms of delivery (Menasce, 2000). The design interface used must allow easy store navigation to order for the products of interest. The client side must contain dynamic pages of HTML that can be accessed by a number of web browsers installed.
Multi-tier architecture diagram applied in e-commerce:

Netscape API
CGI
Microsoft API

How the Components Interact
From the client side, when a customer requests for an order from the online purchasing store, the information is sent to the server through the HTTP for interpretation. The web server then retrieves the necessary information from the database server and sends back the feedback in the form of HTML to the client.
Customers should be able to access the stores and make orders. The system should be able to identify customer’s location and direct the nearby warehouse to make deliveries. This method requires the certain information from the client. Therefore, a query form should be created at the back end to allow customers in put their addresses.
Customers need the ability to search for products and do comparisons in the e-catalogue, select a product preferred for buying, place orders using the carts, pay for the placed order, confirm the order and finally track the shipment of the orders. On the other hand, sellers utilizing e-commerce should ensure access to the up-to-date catalogue, allow clients to analyze products, provide e-shopping carts for buyers to assemble their purchases, process order at the rear end server, enable customer’s credit verification, process order at the back end, arrange for delivery, track shipment, provide site registration means to clients, answer customers questions, analyze purchases to enhance customers’ experience, measure site traffic, among others.
Payment methods that are employed in an e-commerce set up may vary. Various online payment systems retrieve client’s data from the particular registered financial institution. The e-payment systems may be through debit or credit cards, virtual credit cards, smart cards, e-purses or e-wallets, wireless payments, et cetera. Depending on the methods used, the online systems must ensure robust and secure transactions. If security is not ensured, the system may be prone to stealing or unauthorized transactions, personal data hacking, corrupting the personal data and money laundering. The system must be developed with security levels that eliminate such irregularities during transaction (Wang, Ge, Zhang, Chen, Xin & Li, 2013).
To summarize the process of ordering, the client-server protocols and the inbuilt communication techniques allows the messaging packets to communicate between the customers and businesses, and the business to business communication which ensures the closest warehouse makes the delivery (Wang et al., 2013).
2. E-Commerce Protocol Specifications
TCP/IP protocols are set of network rules that enable communication between the computers within an architecture (Elnikety, Nahum, Tracey and Zwaenepoel, 2004). TCP/IP protocol describes how the data is transmitted from the database server to the client. The set protocols determines the error checking method which will be used and how the devices will show that it has completed sending the message. The HTTP, HTTPS and FTP are the major protocols used to handle communication in e-commerce (Elnikety et al., 2004). HTTPS in the e-commerce design ensures a secure communication between the browser and the server. Credit cards and personal information communicated across the network servers must be secured and be free from malicious internet activities. FTP defines how files are transmitted between computers during browser downloads processes. The HTTP is a protocol where client enquiries and servers are enabled to use specific rules to communicate and post feedback. The two commands GET and POST are used. The browser users the GET command to enable retrieval of information by the server. However, after retrieval, the server uses a POST command to post the retrieved information from the database and serves the client in form of HTML (Elnikety et al., 2004). Particular protocols used in e-commerce include Open Trading Protocol (OTP), Open Financial Exchange (OFX) and Open Buying on the Internet (OBI).
OTP: is a protocol meant for interoperability of e-purchases on the internet. It encapsulates protocols of payments and offers receipts or invoices for imbursement and delivery. OTP focuses on interchanges among merchants, consumers and support services.
OFX: is a broad-based system for financial data exchange and instructions between financial institutions and their customers. This is an open specification on the e-commerce where anybody can implement depending on the set standards for formatting of data (such as SGML, XML), security (such as SSL) and connectivity (such as HTTP, TCP/IP). Open Financial Exchange is safeguarded by the Banking Industry Technology Secretariat.
OBI: provides flexible business-to-business framework for internet e-commerce solutions. This protocol enables transactions of low dollars amounts which is the main internet transaction dollar level. Most indirect materials such as scientific supplies, office supplies, PCs and maintenance supplies use OTP transactions.
In order to establish a secure transaction, e-commerce can be designed to utilize either the SSL or SET protocols. Below is an elaboration of each specification and therefore the best option to consider in e-commerce design.
a. Security Socket Layer (SSL)
This layer enables secure exchange environment over the internet. As a security protocol, SSL provides protection of the information passed from clients to server software operating on a TCP/IP, FTP, Telnet, Gopher, et cetera. SSL basically adds a layer beneath and on top of the existing protocols. This enables an intermediate secure transfer options to establish a connection in a network (Swe, & Kyaw, 2014). This would mean that the data passed between the client and the server on an SSL connection would be encrypted prior to transmission and later on decrypted prior to receiving it back to the system. SSL ensures transparency, simplicity to use by customers and has low complexity.
However, SSL may not be appropriate to be utilized in the current financial transactions. This is due to the fact that it has many serious setbacks in ensuring financial security. The merchant may be unable to identify the cardholder. The possessed certificates resulting from SSL may not be linked with the credit cards. Secondly, SSL only ensures protection of communication links between the merchant and the customer thereby allowing the merchants to access the payment details. This does not guarantee security since merchant’s intentions may not be known. Finally, without the third party, SSL will not be able to ensure non-repudiation (Swe, & Kyaw, 2014). Therefore, a design option that can be considered to ensure firm protection of transaction is Secure Electronic Transaction (SET).
b. Secure Electronic Transaction (SET)
This is a standardized industrial protocol specification designed to ensure secure financial transactions as well as authenticate the concerned parties in any network type such as internet. MasterCard and VISA developed the standards of SET and collaborated with software companies such as RSA, Microsoft, Netscape, VeriSign, et cetera. This protocol provides trust needed for customers. It utilizes digital certificates and cryptography to issue confidential information, authenticate merchants, cardholders, banks, and ensures integrity in payments during transactions in SET (Lu, & Smolka, 1999).
In SET specifications, RSA data public security key cryptography is used to encrypt as well as decrypt packets used in transactions, digital certificates and authentication signatures of the involved parties. It validates that the information has not been interfered with. SET ensure online transaction safety by use of digital certificates verifying that merchants and customers are legally allowed to accept and use VISA cards. Most worldwide e-commerce currently adopts the SET transactions. In the SET, the merchants are not able to read the details of the customer because of the incorporation of the cryptography key that protects the privacy on financial information. Customers’ transactions are protected up to the financial institution (Lu, & Smolka, 1999).

References
Lu, S. and Smolka, S.A., 1999. Model checking the secure electronic transaction (SET) protocol. In Modeling, Analysis and Simulation of Computer and Telecommunication Systems, 1999. Proceedings. 7th International Symposium on (pp. 358-364). IEEE.
Menasce, D.A., 2000. Scaling for e-business. In Modeling, Analysis and Simulation of Computer and Telecommunication Systems, 2000. Proceedings. 8th International Symposium on (pp. 511-513). IEEE.
Wang, F., Ge, B., Zhang, L., Chen, Y., Xin, Y. and Li, X., 2013. A system framework of security management in enterprise systems. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 30(3), pp.287-299.
Mizrah, L.L., Authernative, Inc., 2014. Multi-tier transaction processing method and payment system in m-and e-commerce. U.S. Patent Application 14/453,162.
Bahga, A. and Madisetti, V.K., 2013. Performance evaluation approach for multi-tier cloud applications. Journal of Software Engineering and Applications, 6(02), p.74.
Swe, A.T. and Kyaw, K.K.K., 2014. Formal analysis of secure e-cash transaction protocol. In International Conference on Advances in Engineering and Technology, Singapore.
Elnikety, S., Nahum, E., Tracey, J. and Zwaenepoel, W., 2004, May. A method for transparent admission control and request scheduling in e-commerce web sites. In Proceedings of the 13th international conference on World Wide Web (pp. 276-286). ACM.

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