Previously, I wrote a Wire Protocols post that outlined the common protocols that I’ve encountered when working with ESBs and SOA technology-especially DataPower. A primary function of an ESB is to provide the ability to convert service requests between these different protocols in a mostly transparent manner. I’d love to say that it is transparent, but nothing ever quite works that way🙂.
Most ESB products provide support for the protocols listed here and can convert between those protocols via a configuration-driven architecture-rather than programming.
The single most common protocol conversation that I have seen done with DataPower XI50/XI52s is HTTP<->WMQ (Websphere MQ). Note, that DataPower can only act as an MQ client; there is no Queue Manager (or persistence) on the appliance itself. This functionality is provided through a Multi-Protocol Gateway(MPG).
In the future, I will lay out the details involved in configuring a Protocol Transformation in DataPower.
