Dynamic Message Routing Using Processes

Abstract

The Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) is composable middleware that provides applications with services such as message routing and transformation, service composition, dynamic discovery, transactional support, coordination, security features, and others. In an ESB supporting SOAP message exchange, routing algorithms typically follow the sequential SOAP message processing model, where SOAP headers are the main artefacts used to specify the message route and the processing of the payload by intermediaries along that route. This model supports neither alternative nor parallel message routes. In the case of a failing intermediary node this leads to a failure in the message delivery. Moreover, the execution order of services on SOAP message payloads at the intermediaries cannot be prescribed. In this paper, we demonstrate how these deficiencies of the SOAP message processing model can be addressed. We introduce an approach that allows for specifying SOAP message routing logic in terms of BPEL processes. We show that parallel and alternative routes for SOAP messages can be modelled and executed, and the order of services that process a message at intermediaries can be predefined to accommodate the correct processing sequence as required by the concrete application domain. Features like dynamic discovery of services and flexible service composition are leveraged to enable flexible SOAP message routing.