This page provides a starting point for finding information about the use of asynchronous messaging resources for enterprise applications with WebSphere® Application Server.
WebSphere Application Server supports asynchronous messaging based on the Java Message Service (JMS) and the Java EE Connector Architecture (JCA) specifications, which provide a common way for Java programs (clients and Java EE applications) to create, send, receive, and read asynchronous requests, as messages.
JMS support enables applications to exchange messages asynchronously with other JMS clients by using JMS destinations (queues or topics). Some messaging providers also allow WebSphere Application Server applications to use JMS support to exchange messages asynchronously with non-JMS applications; for example, WebSphere Application Server applications often need to exchange messages with WebSphere MQ applications. Applications can explicitly poll for messages from JMS destinations, or they can use message-driven beans to automatically retrieve messages from JMS destinations without explicitly polling for messages.
WebSphere Application Server supports the following messaging providers:
The default messaging provider is installed and runs as part of WebSphere Application Server, and is based on service integration technologies. For messaging between application servers, perhaps with some interaction with a WebSphere MQ system, you can configure your messaging applications to use messaging resources provided by the default messaging provider.
Through the WebSphere MQ messaging provider in WebSphere Application Server, Java Message Service (JMS) messaging applications can use your WebSphere MQ system as an external provider of JMS messaging resources. To enable this approach, you configure the WebSphere MQ messaging provider in WebSphere Application Server to define JMS resources for connecting to any queue manager on the WebSphere MQ network.
For messaging between application servers, most requirements are best met by either the default messaging provider or the WebSphere MQ messaging provider. However, you can instead use a third-party messaging provider (that is, use another company's product as the provider). You might want to do this, for example, if you have existing investments. For backwards compatibility with earlier releases, there is also support for the V5 default messaging provider.
You can manage the Java EE Connector Architecture (JCA) Version 1.5-compliant message-driven beans that you deploy as message endpoints, and you can manage the message listener resources for non-JCA message-driven beans that you deploy against listener ports.