Making Sense of Middleware

1. Making Sense of Middleware Andre Yee “Integrating Your eBusiness Enterprise”

2. Context is Everything • Personal background • Developed distributed middleware technology for the past 8 years. • Author of articles and books including “Integrating Your eBusiness Enterprise” (SAMS Publishing, April 2001) • Currently in the Internet Security arena w/ NFR Security. • Middleware synonyms • EAI (Enterprise Application Integration) • B2Bi (B2B Integration • e-Business Integration

3. Agenda • The Enterprise Integration Challenge • Making Sense of Middleware Technology • Evaluating Middleware - What’s right for you?

4. Trends Driving the EAI Challenge • Growing Adoption of Packaged Applications • Base of Business Critical “Legacy” Systems • Internet is driving Open B2B Collaboration • Complexity of Changing Business Processes • M&A, Consolidation, Re-engineering

5. The Need For Application Integration Source: Aberdeen Group, October 2000

6. The Integration Problem “70% of all code written today consists of interfaces, protocols and other procedures to establish linkages among various systems” “30% of entire IT budget is spent on building, maintaining, and supporting application integration”

7. Middleware - The Answer to the Integration Challenge What is Middleware? “Connectivity software that consists of a set of enabling services that allow multiple processes running on one or more machines to interact across a network.” CMU Software Engineering Institute “Middleware is software that connects applications, allowing them to exchange data”CIO article, May 2001.

8. Why Middleware? Preserve and leverage existing information technology systems Bridge diverse “islands of automation” Purchase and integrate “best of breed” offered by independent software vendors

9. Disorder Today Application Application Application Application Application Application Application

10. Order Tomorrow Application Application Application EAI Application Application Application Application But, what is EAI or Middleware Technology?

11. Integration Broker Vendors Say: Application Application Application Message Brokers Application Application Application Application

12. Application Server Vendors Say: Application Application Application Application Servers Application Application Application Application

13. Distributed Object Guys Say: Application Application Application Distributed Objects Application Application Application Application Let’s look at middleware taxonomy...

14. Business Application Business Process Data Data The Middleware Taxonomy Integration Brokers Object-Transactional Application Components Application Interface Messaging-Transport Asynchronous Protocol Application Messages Data-Access

15. Making Sense of Middleware - Data Access Middleware • Data Access Middleware • Focused on client-server data access • Synchronous Request/Reply model • ODBC, Database Gateways • Vendors: Merant/Data Direct, Information Builders EDA/SQL

16. Integration with Data Access Middleware Client SQL Request Database Gateway SQL Joins Distributed SQL Request SQL Request/Replay SQL Request/Replay SQL Request/Replay Oracle Sybase MS SQL Server Figure 2.2

17. Making Sense of Middleware - Messaging Middleware • Messaging Middleware • AKA Message Queuing Middleware or Message Oriented Middleware (MOMs) • Focused on transporting application data via asynchronous messaging protocols • Vendor/Products: IBM MQ Series, Microsoft MSMQ, Java Messaging Service (JMS)

18. Integration with Messaging Middleware Application Application Message Message Message created and sent to a message queue Message received from a queue and processed MQM/MOM Queue Message Message Message Figure 2.3

19. Making Sense of Middleware - Object Transactional Middleware • Object-Transactional Middleware • Focused on a distributed object, component or transactional model • Most products support all three • Requires custom component code to bind applications or data resources • CORBA, TP Monitors, Application Servers • Vendor/Products: BEA Weblogic, IBM Websphere, Microsoft MTS, BEA Tuxedo, IBM CICS

20. Integration with Application Servers Web Client Web Client HTTP Requests Application Server EJB EJB Integration Logic Integration Logic Transaction Management ERP CRM Legacy DB

21. Making Sense of Middleware - Integration Brokers • Integration Brokers • Focused specifically for application integration • Integration Broker components include messaging middleware, transformation engine, rules engine, adapters, integration design tools. • Content based routing is a distinctive feature from the basic messaging middleware • Parameterized data mapping approach rather than Code-driven approach • Vendors/Products: Webmethods, Vitria, SeeBeyond, Tibco, IONA

22. Integration with Integration Brokers Message Filter Transformer Hub AppA AppC Source Adapter Target Adapter Reply Adapter Link AppB

23. Variations on Theme • B2Bi/Web Services Brokers • Evolved from application servers or integration brokers • Utilize HTTP as primary protocol • Based on XML, XML Schema, XSLT, SOAP • Business Process Integration • Focused on business process rather than business data • State management of “long running transactions” • Extensions to application servers or integration brokers

24. Evaluating and Selecting Middleware • Consider the required integration model or pattern • Intra-enterprise or Inter-enterprise • Client/Server data access, inter-application data exchange, composite application integration • Consider scope and complexity • Simple integration or complex global multi-application integration • Consider use of standards • XML, XSLT, JMS, JCA

25. Evaluating and Selecting Middleware • Evaluate Technology Criteria *: • High Availability • Transactional • Performance • Scalability • Adapters • Integration Design Tools • Evaluate Vendor Criteria *: • Viability • 24x7 Support • Proven Case Studies on ROI * Partial listing only

26. Thanks! Andre Yee “Integrating Your eBusiness Enterprise” andreyee@aol.com