You can configure any of three main types of Java Message Service (JMS) providers in WebSphere® Application Server: The WebSphere Application Server default messaging provider (which uses service integration as the provider), the WebSphere MQ messaging provider (which uses your WebSphere MQ system as the provider) and third-party messaging providers (which use another company's product as the provider).
Your applications can use messaging resources from any of these JMS providers. The choice of provider is most often dictated by requirements to use or integrate with an existing messaging system. For example, you might already have a messaging infrastructure based on WebSphere MQ. In this case, you can either connect directly by using the WebSphere MQ messaging provider, or configure a service integration bus with links to a WebSphere MQ network and then access the bus through the default messaging provider.
If you mainly want to use messaging between applications in WebSphere Application Server, perhaps with some interaction with a WebSphere MQ system, the default messaging provider is a logical choice. This provider uses service integration functions and is part of the WebSphere Application Server runtime environment.
To use the default messaging provider, your applications connect to a service integration bus. You can assign JMS queues (for point-to-point messaging) or JMS topics (for publish/subscribe messaging) as destinations on the service integration bus.
To configure and manage messaging with the default messaging provider, see the information on managing messaging with 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.
You can use WebSphere Application Server to configure WebSphere MQ resources for applications (for example queue connection factories) and to manage messages and subscriptions associated with JMS destinations. You administer security through WebSphere MQ.
For more information about the WebSphere MQ messaging provider, see Interoperation using the WebSphere MQ messaging provider. To configure and manage messaging with this provider, see Managing messaging with the WebSphere MQ messaging provider.
You can configure any third-party messaging provider that supports the JMS Version 1.1 specification. You might want to do this, for example, if you have existing investments.
To administer a third-party messaging provider, you use either the resource adaptor (for a Java EE Connector Architecture (JCA) 1.5-compliant messaging provider) or the client (for a non-JCA messaging provider) that is supplied by the third party. You use the WebSphere Application Server administrative console to administer the activation specifications, connection factories and destinations that are within WebSphere Application Server, but you cannot use the administrative console to administer the JMS provider itself, or any of its resources that are outside of WebSphere Application Server.
To use message-driven beans, third-party messaging providers must either provide an inbound JCA 1.5-compliant resource adapter, or (for non-JCA messaging providers) include Application Server Facility (ASF), an optional feature that is part of the JMS Version 1.1 specification.
To work with a third-party provider, see Managing messaging with a third-party JCA 1.5-compliant messaging provider or Managing messaging with a third-party non-JCA messaging provider.