There are three main types of Java Message Service (JMS) provider that can be configured in WebSphere Application Server: The WebSphere Application Server default messaging provider (uses service integration as the provider), the WebSphere MQ messaging provider (uses your WebSphere MQ system as the provider) and 3rd party messaging providers (use another company's product as the provider). For backwards compatibility with earlier releases, there is also support for the Version 5 default messaging 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 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.
A service integration bus comprises messaging engines that run in WebSphere Application Server processes and dynamically connect to one another using dynamic discovery. A messaging application connects to the bus through a messaging engine. Messaging engines use WebSphere Application Server clustering to provide high availability and scalability, and they use the same management framework as the rest of WebSphere Application Server. Bus client applications can run from within WebSphere Application Server (JMS), or run as stand alone Java clients (using the J2SE Client for JMS) or run as non-Java clients (XMS).
To configure and manage messaging with the default messaging provider, see Managing messaging with the default messaging provider.
If your business also uses WebSphere MQ, and you want to integrate WebSphere Application Server messaging applications into a predominately WebSphere MQ network, choose the WebSphere MQ messaging provider, which allows you to define resources for connecting to any queue manager on the WebSphere MQ network.
WebSphere MQ is characterized as follows:
In a Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) environment, WebSphere MQ benefits from a Java EE Connector Architecture Version 1.5 resource adapter interface. In a non-Java EE environment, WebSphere MQ provides direct delivery to a ready-consumer (no disk write).
To configure and manage messaging with the WebSphere MQ messaging provider, see Managing messaging with the WebSphere MQ messaging provider. For more information about scenarios and considerations for using WebSphere MQ with WebSphere Application Server, see the White Papers and Red books provided by WebSphere MQ; for example, through the WebSphere MQ library Web page at http://www.ibm.com/software/ts/mqseries/library/.
The generic messaging provider supports the JMS Version 1.1 unified connection factory and allows you to use 3rd party JMS providers, for example because of existing investments.
To work with a 3rd party provider, see Managing messaging with a 3rd party messaging provider.
This provider is identical to the WebSphere Application Server Version 5 default provider. Only the name has changed. It provides backwards compatibility that enables WebSphere Application Server Version 6 applications to connect to WebSphere Application Server Version 5 resources in a mixed cell. It also allows WebSphere Application Server Version 5 applications to connect to WebSphere Application Server Version 6 resources in a mixed cell. To configure and manage messaging to interoperate with WebSphere Application Server Version 5, see Maintaining Version 5 default messaging resources.