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.
If your business uses WebSphere MQ, and you want to integrate WebSphere Application Server messaging applications into a predominantly WebSphere MQ network, the WebSphere MQ messaging provider is a logical choice. However, there can be benefits in using another provider. If you are not sure which provider combination is best suited to your requirements, see Choosing messaging providers for a mixed environment.
The WebSphere MQ messaging provider supports JMS 1.1 domain-independent interfaces (sometimes referred to as "unified" or "common" interfaces). This enables applications to use the same interfaces for both point-to-point and publish/subscribe messaging, and also enables both point-to-point and publish/subscribe messaging within the same transaction. With JMS 1.1, this approach is considered good practice for new applications. The domain-specific interfaces are supported for backwards compatibility for applications developed to use domain-specific queue interfaces, as described in section 1.5 of the JMS 1.1 specification.
The WebSphere MQ messaging provider also supports the Java EE Connector Architecture (JCA) 1.5 activation specification mechanism for message-driven beans (MDBs) across all platforms supported by WebSphere Application Server.
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.
WebSphere Application Server Version 6.x contained a WebSphere MQ JMS client to facilitate interaction with WebSphere MQ. For WebSphere Application Server Version 7.0 and later this has been replaced with the WebSphere MQ resource adapter. The resource adapter is included with WebSphere Application Server and does not need to be installed separately. Service updates to the resource adapter are usually applied automatically through WebSphere Application Server fix packs. For more information about maintaining the resource adapter, see Maintaining the WebSphere MQ resource adapter.
To connect to multi-instance WebSphere MQ queue managers, you can provide host and port information in the form of a connection name list, which a connection factory or activation specification uses to connect to a multi-instance queue manager.
For more information about using WebSphere MQ with WebSphere Application Server, see the Product Connectivity Scenarios information center, which provides information that leads you through the key tasks required to connect WebSphere Application Server to WebSphere MQ in a variety of scenarios. Each scenario contains the instructions for implementing a solution in a business context, allowing you to learn as you go without needing to make use of other information resources.