A Nonprofit Case Study: OpenShift, JBoss, and Amazon Web Services

Last night, I submitted my abstract to the Red Hat JBoss Summit 2012 call for proposals. Below is my abstract:

A Nonprofit Case Study: OpenShift, JBoss, and Amazon Web Services

In the real estate industry, buyers and sellers are constantly researching listing property information such as status, price, and location. A Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is a localized database which association members, salespersons and broker salespersons, access to update their clients with relative property information. However, this process has become slow and outdated because of the Internet and the Web.

The Global Real Estate And Technology Consortium (GR8C) is a scientific nonprofit located in Orlando, Florida. Its mission is to promote the education, operation, and use of the World Wide Multiple Listing Service (WWMLS) to its fullest potential by developing protocols, specifications, and standards for the benefit of all people throughout the world.

This case study will provide a low-level look at the Multiple Listing Service Network Protocol (MLSN), a new request-response messaging protocol developed by the GR8C for querying property information on user reserved port 32801. The session will discuss how OpenShift is used to build, deploy, and monitor configured JBoss Application Servers as MLSN Servers to Amazon's Web Services Platform. In addition, the presenter will share key lessons learned and technical issues dealing with OpenShift. Finally, an MLSN client to MLSN server messaging demonstration will be provided.

--Corey

Happy First Birthday WWMLS

Last Saturday marked the first birthday for the World Wide MLS (WWMLS). Since then, the follow progress has been made towards WWMLS:

• Presented Multiple Listing Service Network (MLSN) Protocol at the University of Central Florida 2011 Research Fair


• Ongoing data research and collection of legacy mls numbers on the World Wide Web (WWW)


• Development integration with Red Hat's Openshift Platform as a Service (PaaS)


• Accepted Exhibition of MLSN Protocol at Nonprofit Technology's (NTEN) 2012 Confernece and Science Fair in San Francisco
  
• Accepted MLSN Abstract Paper for presenting at American Real Estate Society (ARES) in April of 2012

As MLSN is presented to different groups such as academics and technologists, I am confident with the two upcoming presentations in 2012, especially in St. Petersburg at ARES, that the MLSN Protocol and WWMLS framework will alter others' thought processes of not only the dysfunctional aspect of today's legacy MLS, but also future directions in how real estate consumers interact and expect a specific quality of service (QoS) from real estate professionals. The main intention is integrate WWMLS in every aspect of the future of real estate.

Moving foward, the second phase for WWMLS will be the introduction of the messaging language called Real Estate Metadata Language (Remetal). This XML language will be used to markup properties in a self-describing, yet simple language for sending and receiving between the main OpenMLS Registry and accredited OpenMLS Registrars. I plan to propose Remetal to additional call for papers (CFP) on the academic and technical levels in 2012.

The third yet most important phase will be for the Real Estate Transport Protocol (RETP). This protocol defines the type of messaging, the distribution channels, error correction system, etc. Again, RETP papers will be proposed along with exhibitions at national and if necessary global science fairs.

The future of real estate is bright and changing.

And as the cliche goes, please stay tuned...

--Corey

MLSN Abstract for ARES Conference

Today I submitted my abstract for the American Real Estate Society (ARES) conference in April next year:

Title: MLSN: A Request and Response Internet Protocol for Real Estate Property Listings

Abstract:

Sellers list their properties with real estate professionals who enter property information into private databases called Multiple Listing Services (MLS). These MLS's attempt to store and index data listings with serialized numbers that only members of the local real estate association have access to query, insert, and update. In the United States alone, there are over 900 MLS's which unfortunately create redundant, localized MLS numbers causing confusion over specific properties and their respective listing information on the Internet. These duplicated MLS numbers can be anywhere from five to ten digits long or more relaying no meaningful or geographical information to real estate professionals, sellers, and buyers alike.

This paper proposes and discusses a new internet protocol called Multiple Listing Service Network (MLSN) Protocol for registering, assigning, and distributing property listings on the Internet. Similar to the WHOIS protocol, MLSN is an application publicly available on the Internet, however instead of port 43, MLSN is accessible from reserved port 32801. The numbering scheme is comprised of two parts separated by an '@' symbol: (1) a triple-dotted notation of three decimal integers ranging from 1 to 65,535 and (2) a double-dotted notation number composed of a postal code and country code standardized by ISO 3166-1. Taking in consideration for expired listings, MLSN offers a reusable feature which allows assigning a new, double-dotted notation number to a preexisting triple-dotted number thereby creating a new MLSN property listing number. Together with a standard protocol and unique numbering schema, MLSN provides a uniform resource locator (URL) to users for conducting a more efficient and convenient real estate property searching on the Internet.

Keywords: internet, multiple listing service, protocol, internationalization

--Corey

Building the World Wide MLS(tm)

Falling under the real estate science's discipline umbrella is the World Wide MLS(tm). What exactly is the World Wide MLS(tm) you ask? The World Wide Multiple Listing System (WWMLS) is a global registry listings application layered, nice and neatly, on top of the Internet.

Using reserved ports 32801 and 32811, WWMLS will allow public access to registry listings to users and accredited OpenMLS(R) registrars. Somewhat like the WHOIS protocol, the Multiple Listing Service Network Protocol binds to port 32801 using tcp and udp. Users or registrars request a listing's information by sending a message to an MLSN server which returns listing information or a "no match" response.

The other half of WWMLS involves the Real Estate Transport Protocol (RETP). RETP distributes listings from registrar to registry to registrars. The messaging protocol uses reserved port 32811 and tcp only. In a later blog post, I will expound more on RETP, its workings and significance to the World Wide MLS(tm).

--Corey

The Birth of Real Estate Science

Throughout my travels, I have noticed a change. A change residing within the Real Estate Industry. In years past, Real Estate was generally accepted as a "financial" type of industry where economics, finance, and sales concepts and methodologies have ruled.

Enter the Internet and the World Wide Web. All of sudden, Real Estate changed. It had to change because everyone went from using offline tools, calculators and spreadsheets, to using online tools such as Google Apps, the Social Web, and online banking.

Because of these changes, Real Estate was no longer just a "financial" industry, but also a "computer science" industry deeply embedded into the industry. Having realized this, I began researching this phenomenon by reading, listening, and discovering the new ways real estate users (buyers, sellers, agents, consultants, etc.) now do business.

My observations have given way to new research I call:

Real Estate Science: A New Scientific Body of Knowledge and Academic Discipline

A brief explanation and upcoming paper of what Real Estate Science is follows:

The Internet and World Wide Web have been immensely influential components on the Real Estate Industry. From the brokerage enterprise to daily salespersons' activities, computers are involved in every facet of a real estate project or transaction. With millions of mobile devices connected to the Web, the real estate industry has fully embraced the world of computing. Therefore, one can say that the Real Estate Industry has literally transformed itself from a one-dimensional financial industry into a technology dependent juggernaut overnight.

To better understand this evolution, I propose a new discipline and body of knowledge to better understand, analyze, study, and document technology related concepts so we may be able to educate future real estate users along with existing ones. This paper discusses the needs and justifications for a new academic discipline or academic field called Real Estate Science (Re-Sci). Real Estate Science will combine theories and concepts from both the Real Estate Industry and the Computer Science field, respectively. Real world use cases will be used to demonstrate why this new body of knowledge is necessary to implement and move forward into the twenty-first century and beyond.

-- Corey, "the Father of Real Estate Science"

Grant Search Abstract

My grants and contracts course involves the delivery of a research topic paper within the duration of the semester course. Since online grant search was barely discussed in our required readings, I chose the topic title, "Using Advanced Google Search Algorithms for Grant Searching."

Today I submitted the abstract to my professor which follows:

These days nonprofit organizations more than ever need help finding new opportunities in grant funding for their organizations to continue to operate and ultimately complete their mission statements. An obvious choice is searching online. However, developing search criteria such as using relative keywords, including specific sites, or even excluding superfluous search terms can be complex and time consuming process. With this in mind, would nonprofit organizations benefit from developing advanced search algorithms when searching online for new and available grants?

This research project will attempt to answer this question using the Google search engine along with various supporting online tools. Methods for searching and data collection will involve experimenting with order, exclusion, phrases, and other specific Google search parameters. Even though the main key search terms for this research project will be "technology" and "real estate", these terms can be simply replaced with alternative industry terms to satisfy other nonprofit organizations' search requirements. Results from the experimental searches will hopefully provide a clearer picture into the world of grant searching on the Internet using a search engine. Finally, a conclusion will summarize findings along with commentary for using advanced search algorithms by nonprofit organizations when searching for online grant funding.

I look forward to beginning the experimental search algorithms for data collection followed by publishing results for the research paper.

--Corey

Abstract for CyberCrime Course Paper

This semester I'm taking a graduate course in cybercrime, "CyberCrime and Criminal Justice". For my course paper I chose the topic of firewalls in the enterprise. Below is my paper's title and abstract:

Defending Against Cybercrime with Firewalls

From mission critical web applications to customer databases, businesses must ensure their information technology services are secure from potential hackers. Battling cybercrime is an ongoing war for all organizations these days. One approach to combating unauthorized network access is the use of firewalls.

This paper discusses the basics of firewalls, hardening of servers, and software specific firewalls such as iptables. In addition, I will discuss different network architectures scenarios involving public network services or DeMilitarized Zone (DMZ), private network services, and honeypots. Finally, I will cover tools for detecting possible intrusions and system log monitoring.

--Corey

Graduate Research Presentation

A couple of weeks ago, I submitted my continuing research for the Multiple Listing Service Network (MLSN) Protocol to the University of Central Florida's Graduate Research Forum.

Below is an image of a conceptual drawing of my poster board presentation I sketched on the back of a napkin.

From UCF Graduate Research Forum 2011

And below is the finished product:

From UCF Graduate Research Forum 2011

As a side note, I added QR Codes for others to scan with their mobile phones and visit the presentation and specification online.

Related Links

• http://wiki.coreyleong.org/Academics/Research/2011/MLSN


• http://wiki.gr8c.org/MLSN

--Corey

MLSN Research Abstract

Next week, I will submit the following research abstract to the Graduate Research Forum at UCF. I am currently working on my Master's in Nonprofit Management in the College Public Administration. In addition to the abstract below, I will also follow up with a white paper explaining the Multiple Listing Service Network (MLSN) Protocol and system in detail.

Abstract

Sellers list their properties with real estate professionals who enter property information into private databases called Multiple Listing Services (MLS). These MLSs attempt to index listings with serialized numbers that only members of the local real estate association have access to query, insert, and update. In the United States alone, there are over 900 MLSs which unfortunately create redundant, localized MLS numbers causing confusion over specific properties and their respective listing information on the Internet. These duplicated MLS numbers can be anywhere from eight digits or more relaying no meaningful or geographical information to real estate professionals and real estate buyers alike.

In this paper I introduce a public, standardized numbering system and protocol called Multiple Listing Service Network (MLSN). Similar to the Web, MLSN is an application publicly available on the Internet, but instead of port 80, MLSN is accessible from port 32801. The numbering scheme is comprised of two parts separated by an '@' symbol: (1) a triple-dotted notation of three decimal integers ranging from 1 to 65,535 and (2) a double-dotted notation number composed of a postal code and country code defined by ISO 3166-1. Taking in consideration for expired listings, MLSN numbers have a reusable feature which allows assigning a new, double-dotted notation number to a preexisting triple-dotted number thereby creating a new MLSN number. Together with a standard protocol and unique numbering schema, a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is available to users for searching for property listings on the Internet.

--Corey