Service oriented integration server architecture

• US 7,490,168 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2003
• Issued: 02/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Watt, Stephen James
• Primary Examiner(s): Lin; Wen-Tai
• Application Number:
  US10/738,713
• Publication Number:
  US 20050138208A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,882 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/246
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

An integration server architecture (ISA) that facilitates communication between processes that do not share a common message format or use a common communication protocol. The ISA comprises a combination of adapters and a Queuing and Translation Engine (QTE). Every process that uses the ISA must have an adapter designed to understand that process'"'"'s native message format. The adapter forwards the message to the QTE. The QTE places the forwarded message in an incoming message queue (IMQ). The QTE then retrieves messages from the IMQ in the order they arrive, identifies the sender, and locates an entry for the sender in a Configuration Database (CDB). The CDB entry designates a translation map that enables the QTE to properly translate messages into the receiving process'"'"'s native format. The QTE uses the map to translate the messages into the receiving process'"'"'s native format, and then forwards the translated message to the appropriate adapter.

Claims

1. A method of translating messages sent on a communication channel from a sending process to a receiving process where the sending process and the receiving process do not share a common message format or use a common communication protocol and where each communication between the sending process and the receiving process takes the form of a message sent through an integration service architecture, comprising:

providing the integration service architecture with a plurality of adapters and a queuing and translation engine;

providing the queuing and translation engine with an incoming message queue, a message translation module, and a configuration database;

wherein the configuration database stores a plurality of gateway profiles;

wherein each gateway profile is described using extensible markup language and comprises;

a target uniform resource locator (URL);

a designation of a translation map; and

a designation of a failure queue to which all errors are reported;

wherein the translation map is an extensible style language file;

for each process sending a plurality of messages through the integration server architecture, providing an adapter designed to understand a native message format of the process and a communication protocol for the process;

for each adapter provided, providing an incoming message gateway and an outgoing message gateway;

connecting each process that uses the integration server architecture to the queuing and translation engine through an appropriate adapter;

when a process sends a message to the appropriate adapter, the message is routed to the appropriate adapter'"'"'s incoming message gateway and to the queuing and translation engine which places the message in the incoming message queue;

when the message translation module detects the forwarded message in the incoming message queue, the message translation module searches the configuration database to locate a gateway profile that matches both the sending process and target URL;

identifying an appropriate translation map for the receiving process using the located gateway profile that enables the message translation module to translate the message into a native format of the receiving process; and

forwarding, by the message translation module, the translated message to the appropriate outgoing message gateway, wherein the appropriate outgoing message gateway uses the receiving process'"'"'s native protocol to transmit the translated message to the receiving process.