Message-oriented Middleware Research Articles

Design of service-oriented asynchronous messaging middleware

Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) can offer open standards to integrate inter-enterprise applications, but it cannot fully support complex Internet applications characterized by asynchronous transfer and high reliability. Traditional Message-Oriented Middleware (MOM), being loosely coupled and asynchronously reliable, is suitable for enterprise integration. But it is too unscalable and inflexible to expand into large-scale network environment. This paper designed a structure of service-oriented Asynchronous Messaging Middleware (called s-AMM), which fully adopted the advantages of SOA and MOM, and analyzed some key technologies such as message transfer, service re-composition and security service. Furthermore, s-AMM is proved to be feasible and effective by mobile E-commence case.

Benchmarking and Performance Modeling of Event-Based SystemsModellierung und Bewertung von Ereignis-basierten Systemen

Abstract Event-based systems are used increasingly often to build loosely-coupled distributed applications. With their growing popularity and gradual adoption in mission critical areas, the need for novel techniques for benchmarking and performance modeling of event-based systems is increasing. In this article, we provide an overview of the state-of-the-art in this area considering both centralized systems based on message-oriented middleware as well as large-scale distributed publish/subscribe systems. We consider a number of specific techniques for benchmarking and performance modeling, discuss their advantages and disadvantages, and provide references for further information. The techniques we review help to ensure that systems are designed and sized to meet their quality-of-service requirements.

Parametric performance completions for model-driven performance prediction

Performance prediction methods can help software architects to identify potential performance problems, such as bottlenecks, in their software systems during the design phase. In such early stages of the software life-cycle, only a little information is available about the system’s implementation and execution environment. However, these details are crucial for accurate performance predictions. Performance completions close the gap between available high-level models and required low-level details. Using model-driven technologies, transformations can include details of the implementation and execution environment into abstract performance models. However, existing approaches do not consider the relation of actual implementations and performance models used for prediction. Furthermore, they neglect the broad variety of possible implementations and middleware platforms, possible configurations, and possible usage scenarios. In this paper, we (i) establish a formal relation between generated performance models and generated code, (ii) introduce a design and application process for parametric performance completions, and (iii) develop a parametric performance completion for Message-oriented Middleware according to our method. Parametric performance completions are independent of a specific platform, reflect performance-relevant software configurations, and capture the influence of different usage scenarios. To evaluate the prediction accuracy of the completion for Message-oriented Middleware, we conducted a real-world case study with the SPECjms2007 Benchmark [ http://www.spec.org/jms2007/]. The observed deviation of measurements and predictions was below 10% to 15%.

Performance evaluation of message-oriented middleware using the SPECjms2007 benchmark

Message-oriented middleware (MOM) is at the core of a vast number of financial services and telco applications, and is gaining increasing traction in other industries, such as manufacturing, transportation, health-care and supply chain management. Novel messaging applications, however, pose some serious performance and scalability challenges. In this paper, we present a methodology for performance evaluation of MOM platforms using the SPECjms2007 standard benchmark. SPECjms2007 is based on a novel application in the supply chain management domain, designed to stress MOM infrastructures in a manner representative of real-world applications. In addition to providing a standard workload and metrics for MOM performance, the benchmark provides a flexible performance analysis framework that allows users to tailor the workload to their requirements. The contributions of this paper are: (i) we present a detailed workload characterization of SPECjms2007 with the goal to help users understand the internal components of the workload and the way they are scaled, (ii) we show how the workload can be customized to exercise and evaluate selected aspects of MOM performance, (iii) we present a case study of a leading JMS platform, the BEA WebLogic server, conducting an in-depth performance analysis of the platform under a number of different workload and configuration scenarios. The methodology we propose is the first one that uses a standard benchmark, providing both a representative workload as well as the ability to customize it to evaluate the features of MOM platforms selectively.

Improving the performances of JMS-based applications

In the Java world, a standardised interface exists for Message-Oriented Middleware (MOM): Java Messaging Service or JMS. Like other middleware, some JMS implementations use clustering techniques to provide some level of performance and fault tolerance. In this paper, we analyse the efficiency of various clustering policies in a real-life cluster and the key parameters impacting the performances of MOMs. We show that the resource efficiency of the clustering methods can be very poor due to local instabilities and/or global load variations. To solve these issues, we describe the rules that control these parameters for optimal performances and propose a solution based on autonomic computing to (1) dynamically adapt the load distribution among the servers (load-balancing aspect) and (2) dynamically adapt the replication level (provisioning aspect). We present an evaluation that shows the impact of these rules on the performances and behaviour of the dynamic provisioning of replicated queues.

SensorBus ‑ A Policy-Based Middleware for Wireless Sensor Networks

The use of middleware to develop distributed applications liberates the programmer of the concerns (communication and coordination among software components) imposed by the distributed network environment. Besides these concerns, in wireless sensor networks are considered, also, their specific characteristics (address, mobility, amount and limited resources of the sensor nodes). This paper describes the implementation and performance evaluation of SensorBus, a message-oriented adaptive middleware for wireless sensor networks that uses policies to assist to the several characteristics of the wireless sensor networks. Policies are implemented in an application profile, through metadata, encoded in XML documents. Performance evaluation of SensorBus is made through their two main services: application and context. We used measurement techniques and simulation to carry out the experiments. Experiments show that using metadata to incorporate policies in the middleware does not imply undue overheads.

The impact of research on the development of middleware technology

The middleware market represents a sizable segment of the overall Information and Communication Technology market. In 2005, the annual middleware license revenue was reported by Gartner to be in the region of $8.5 billion. In this article we address the question whether research had any involvement in the creation of the technology that is being sold in this market? We attempt a scholarly discourse. We present the research method that we have applied to answer this question. We then present a brief introduction into the key middleware concepts that provide the foundation for this market. It would not be feasible to investigate any possible impact that research might have had. Instead we select a few very successful technologies that are representative for the middleware market as a whole and show the existence of impact of research results in the creation of these technologies. We investigate the origins of Web services middleware, distributed transaction processing middleware, message-oriented middleware, distributed object middleware and remote procedure call systems. For each of these technologies we are able to show ample influence of research and conclude that without the research conducted by PhD students and researchers in university computer science labs at Brown, CMU, Cambridge, Newcastle, MIT, Vrije, and University of Washington as well as research in industrial labs at APM, AT&T Bell Labs, DEC Systems Research, HP Labs, IBM Research, and Xerox PARC we would not have middleware technology in its current form. We summarise the article by distilling lessons that can be learnt from this evidenced impact for future technology transfer undertakings.

Enhanced cross-layer based middleware for mobile ad hoc networks

The middleware developed for traditional mobile wireless networks cannot be directly applied to mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) due to MANET's salient characteristics such as node mobility and limited resources. Most existing message-oriented middleware for mobile networks rely on infrastructure or assume the existence of reliable and continuous connections among communicating entities. These schemes do not take advantage of cross-layer optimization. Publish/subscribe middleware has been widely used to provide asynchronous communication functionality in distributed application environments. Due to frequent node disconnections, asynchronous publish/subscribe message middleware is a proper communication model for mobile ad hoc networking environments. This paper presents mobility aware and a cross-layer based middleware (MOBCROSS) for MANETs. MOBCROSS is based on the publishing and subscription of topics. The main features of MOBCROSS are mobility awareness, network reconfiguration, message caching, and cross-layer interaction support. The performance of the middleware is evaluated in a simulation environment. MOBCROSS is compared with middleware without cross-layer (MWCL) scheme. MWCL provides caching but does not employ cross-layering. The simulation results indicated that MOBCROSS achieves higher performance as compared to MWCL with respect to packet delivery ratio with slightly lower message overhead.

Flexible Self-Management Using the Model-View-Controller Pattern

A self-management infrastructure requires a self-representation to model system functionality concerns. The model-view-controller design pattern can improve concern separation in a self-representation. Future computing initiatives such as ubiquitous and pervasive computing, large-scale distribution, and on-demand computing will foster unpredictable and complex environments with challenging demands. Next-generation systems will require flexible system infrastructures that can adapt to both dynamic changes in operational requirements and environmental conditions, while providing predictable behavior in areas such as throughput, scalability, dependability, and security. Successful projects, once deployed, will require skilled administration personnel to install, configure, maintain, and provide 24/7 support. Message-oriented middleware is one of the foundations of distributed systems.

A framework of models for QoS-oriented adaptive deployment of multi-layer communication services in group cooperative activities

This paper presents a framework of architecture-centric models to support the automated and adaptive deployment of communication services for QoS-enabled end-to-end group communication systems. The Transport level (TCP, UDP level) and the above messaging Middleware level are considered as the two communication levels targeted by the QoS-driven adaptation process. Application to crisis management systems (CMS) is considered as a case study from the more general domain to which our results apply: cooperative activity support systems. The adaptation rules rely on graph matching and graph rewriting. The adaptation enactment is based on the dynamic composition of micro-protocols at the Transport level and on the dynamic binding of software components and services at the Middleware level. The deployment model is used as a central feature of service provisioning. The influence of the cooperation and the communication contexts is expressed and maintained consistent by automated graph-based model refinement and transformation.

Responsive systems: An introduction

This paper introduces responsive systems: systems that are real-time, event-based, or time-dependent. There are a number of trends that are accelerating the adoption of responsive systems: timeliness requirements for business information systems are becoming more prevalent, embedded systems are increasingly integrated into soft real-time command-and-control systems, improved message-oriented middleware is facilitating growth in event-processing applications, and advances in service-oriented and component-based techniques are lowering the costs of developing and deploying responsive applications. The use of responsive systems is illustrated here in two application areas: the defense industry and online gaming. The papers in this special issue of the IBM Systems Journal are then introduced. The paper concludes with a discussion of the key remaining challenges in this area and ideas for further work.

Harmony: Holistic messaging middleware for event-driven systems

In this paper, we present Harmony, a holistic messaging middleware for distributed, event-driven systems. Harmony supports various communication paradigms and heterogeneous networks. The key novelty of Harmony is the unified provision of end-to-end quality of service, security, and resiliency, which shields the applications from the underlying network dynamics, failures, and security configurations. We describe the Harmony architecture in the context of cyber-physical business applications and elaborate on the design of its critical system components, including routing, security, and mobility support.

A generic application sharing architecture based on message-oriented middleware platform

Previous application sharing systems have no unified communication protocols. The well known application sharing protocols include RFB (Remote FrameBuffer), RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) and ITU-T T.128. A generic application sharing architecture is proposed for providing the capability of connecting various application sharing servers with the same application sharing client. A communication standard for application sharing systems is defined based on the Message-Oriented Middleware (MOM). To compare with previous application sharing systems, there are many advantages including easy to use, easy to connect, easy to integrate, higher scalability and less bandwidth consumption.

Remote control of data acquisition devices by means of message oriented middleware

The TJ-II autonomous acquisition systems are computers running dedicated applications for programming and controlling data acquisition channels and also integrating acquired data into the central database. These computers are located in the experimental hall and have to be remotely controlled during plasma discharges. A remote control for these systems has been implemented by taking advantage of the message-oriented middleware recently introduced into the TJ-II data acquisition system. Java Message Service (JMS) is used as the messaging application program interface. All the acquisition actions that are available through the system console of the data acquisition computers (starting or aborting an acquisition, restarting the system or updating the acquisition application) can now be initiated remotely. Command messages are sent to the acquisition systems located in the experimental hall close to the TJ-II device by using the messaging software, without having to use a remote desktop application that produces heavy network traffic and requires manual operation. Action commands can be sent to only one or to several/many acquisition systems at the same time. This software is integrated into the TJ-II remote participation system and the acquisition systems can be commanded from inside or outside the laboratory. All this software is integrated into the security framework provided by PAPI, thus preventing non-authorized users commanding the acquisition computers. In order to dimension and distribute messaging services some performance tests of the message oriented middleware software have been carried out. Results of the tests are presented. As suggested by the tests results different transport connectors are used: TCP transport protocol is used for the local environment, while HTTP protocol is used for remote accesses, thereby allowing the system performance to be optimized.

A formal framework for middleware behavioural specification

The number of open specifications of middleware systems and middleware services is increasing. Despite their complexity, they are traditionally described through APIs (the operation signatures) and informal prose (the behaviour). This fact often leads to ambiguities, whilst making difficult a better understanding of what is actually described. This paper presents a formal framework, specified in LOTOS (Language Of Temporal Ordering Specification), for the specification of middleware systems. The framework consists of a set of basic/common middleware components and some guidelines on how to compose them. The components of the framework facilitate the formal specification of different middleware systems. In order to illustrate how the framework may be used, it is adopted to specify procedural (synchronous) and message-oriented (asynchronous) middleware systems.

An integration strategy for large enterprises

Integration is the process of enabling a communication between disparate software components. Integration has been the burning issue for large enterprises in the last twenty years, due to the fact that 70% of the development and deployment budget is spent on integrating complex and heterogeneous back-end and front-end IT systems. The need to integrate existing applications is to support newer, faster, more accurate business processes and to provide meaningful, consistent management information. Historically, integration started with the introduction of point-to-point approaches evolving into simpler hub-and spoke topologies. These topologies were combined with custom remote procedure calls, distributed object technologies and message-oriented middleware (MOM), continued with enterprise application integration (EAI) and used an application server as a primary vehicle for integration. The current phase of the evolution is service-oriented architecture (SOA) combined with an enterprise service bus (ESB). Technical aspects of the comparison between the aforementioned technologies are analyzed and presented. The result of the study is the recommended integration strategy for large enterprises.

AMIRoLoS an active marker internet-based robot localization system

SAURON (Surveillance AUtonomous Robots Over Network) is a research project focused on the use of autonomous patrolling robots for surveillance purposes. This paper presents the structure of SAURON localization module AMIRoLoS (Active Marker Internet-based Robot Localization System). It provides on demand the robot position in indoor and outdoor environments using active markers and commercial off-the-shelf web-cams. The system has a client-server architecture, and is now part of a message-oriented middleware that is under development at the University of Brescia. The functionality of the localization module has been demonstrated with real-world experiments.

Increasing MOM Flexibility with Portable Rule Bases

Message-oriented middleware (MOM) provides an effective integration mechanism for distributed systems, but it must change frequently to adapt to evolving business demands. Content-based routing (CBR) can increase the flexibility of MOM-based deployments. Although centralized CBR improves a messaging solution's maintainability, it limits scalability and robustness. This article proposes an alternative, decentralized approach to CBR that uses a portable rule base to maximize MOM-based deployments' maintainability, scalability, and robustness

Service-Oriented Architecture for Distributed Publish/Subscribe Middleware in Electronics Production

The Computer Aided Manufacturing using XML (CAMX) framework enables integrating electronics production systems using message-oriented middleware, offering standards-based communication among machines and control software applications. CAMX frameworks implement publish/subscribe of XML messages through an entity called the message broker (MSB), which provides the messaging service using a web-based interface. A challenge for MSB-based systems is that they must scale to handle large volumes of messaging traffic, which is a characteristic of modern information-intensive manufacturing systems. This paper first tackles this challenge by presenting an array of architecture patterns for creating distributed MSB frameworks, focusing mainly on globally distributed federations and locally distributed clusters. A unified architecture is subsequently presented that leverages the different patterns by combining federated frameworks with locally distributed clusters into a unified set of architecture elements and interactions. A service-oriented approach is followed to provide a uniform interface for distributed MSB elements, whether federated or locally distributed. The service-oriented approach is also used to dynamically discover resources and automatically invoke the (re)configuration and messaging services. The services are enriched with semantics in order to facilitate automatic discovery and selection of services using the semantic web services formal ontology. Semantic service advertisements are propagated using a peer-to-peer discovery protocol. The approach presented in this paper is not limited to the CAMX case and is generally applicable to distributed event-based manufacturing systems

Database Challenges in Enterprise Information Sharing

Since they first became commercially available, database systems have played a well-defined role in enterprises: managing business-critical information and making it accessible to clients. During the past few years, the database research community has worked to significantly improve data storage, organization, management, and access, as reflected in many of today's most popular database management systems. Enterprises have been moving their critical data to (mainly relational) databases, and the number of databases, applications, and domains within each enterprise has multiplied. Moreover, by enabling cross-enterprise communication, the Internet has helped convert closely controlled environments into highly distributed, dynamic, large-scale information spaces. In today's global marketplace, most enterprises must actively share information with their partners, suppliers, and customers to achieve their business goals. The use of message-oriented middleware has become a popular approach to supporting enterprises' information-sharing needs. Increasingly, database systems must interact with MOM technologies to share and consume information. This has recently inspired the idea of implementing messaging features directly at the database. In this column, the author discusses some of the research issues involved in integrating database and messaging functionalities