Interoperation with other WS-ReliableMessaging providers: use pattern

Web services enable interoperability between heterogeneous platforms. This requirement arises whenever an organization finds itself with applications on one platform (for example WebSphere® Application Server) that must work with applications on another platform, whether as a result of merger and acquisition activity, of a deliberate multi-vendor strategy, or as a result of independent software purchasing decisions taken in different parts of the business.

The existing technical solution

A variety of technical solutions exist for application-to-application integration between WebSphere Application Server and other environments. Most of these involve the use of additional third-party or IBM® software to facilitate the integration.

More recently, the introduction of web services support has made interoperability possible without the use of additional components.

The business problem

Basic web services support (using SOAP over HTTP) does enable interoperability, but has the following limitations:
  • Reliability: The absence of a WS-ReliableMessaging implementation means that the application logic needs to be extended to handle lost or duplicated messages.
  • Flexibility: The absence of asynchronous support for web services means that support is limited to synchronous interactions.
Note: Although both request and reply and one-way messaging are supported in earlier version of WebSphere Application Server, they were implemented in a synchronous fashion. This meant that when a web services client invoked a service it did not receive control back from the middleware until after the service application endpoint had been invoked.

The absence of asynchronous, reliable support for web services often leads you to use one of the other approaches, involving additional components. The additional components often use proprietary communication channels or APIs.

The solution by using WS-ReliableMessaging

The addition of WS-ReliableMessaging support to WebSphere Application Server and to other environments enables you to develop reliable asynchronous web services on both platforms. These services should interoperate without additional IBM or third-party components or proprietary bindings.

Concept topic    

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Last updated: April 18, 2014 05:01 AM CDT
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