CONTRACT-ORIENTED DIGITAL TWIN OF A MICROSERVICE SYSTEM: MODEL, METAMODEL, OPENAPI/ASYNCAPI ARTIFACTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32689/maup.it.2025.3.16Keywords:
contract-oriented modelling, information system, digital twin, microservice architecture, API contract, modelling, automationAbstract
The study aims to develop a contract-oriented digital twin of a microservice-based system, grounded in a modeland meta-model of service interactions defined by their API contracts.Methodology. The study adopts an API-first approach: formal service interface specifications (OpenAPI for REST APIsand AsyncAPI for event-driven APIs) are used as artifacts to automatically construct the digital twin model. Additionally, a comparative analysis with existing approaches was conducted.Scientific novelty. The concept of a «contract-oriented» digital twin is proposed, focusing the virtual model of the system on its API contracts; this approach is novel in enabling automated generation and updating of the twin from OpenAPI/AsyncAPIartifacts. This effectively merges the API documentation process with the maintenance of a live system model.Conclusions. The contract-oriented approach ensures the digital twin remains up-to-date as microservices evolve, andit simplifies compatibility testing and behavioral analysis of the system without impacting the production environment.The proposed approach was validated on a simplified microservice scenario; the results confirm the feasibility of automatictwin generation and its effectiveness for integration testing of new service versions. The outcomes can be applied in DevOpspractice to automate regression testing of microservices and ensure that their implementations conform to specified contracts.Overall, using a contract-oriented twin helps improve the quality and reliability of microservice-based software systems andreduces the time required for integration testing. A simplified prototype of the digital twin was implemented to demonstratethe approach, which showed its viability in a realistic scenario.
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