 - An enterprise service bus (ESB) is a software architecture for middleware that provides fundamental services for more complex architectures. For example, an ESB incorporates the features required to implement a service-oriented architecture (SOA). In a general sense, an ESB can be thought of as a mechanism that manages access to applications and services (especially legacy versions) to present a single, simple, and consistent interface to end-users via Web- or forms-based client-side front ends.
In essence, ESB does for distributed heterogeneous back end services and applications and distributed heterogenous front-end users and information consumers what middleware is really supposed to do: hide complexity, simplify access, allow developers to use generic, canonical forms of query, access and interaction, handling the complex details in the background. The key to ESB's appeal, and possibly also its future success, lies in its ability to support incremental service and application integration as driven by business requirements, not as governed by available technology.
One of the major vendors of ESB, IBM, promotes it as a way to meet the challenges of integrating applications and provide a single, unified architecture —- built around IBM WebSphere —- that can:
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Distribute information across an enterprise quickly and easily.
- Mask differences among underlying platforms, software architectures, and network protocols.
- Ensure information delivery even when some systems or networks may go off-line from time to time.
- Re-route, log, and enrich information without requiring applications to be rewritten.
- Provide incremental solution implementations so all enterprise services and applications need not change immediately or all at once.
According to IBM, "ESB is not a new software product – it's a new way of looking at how to integrate applications, coordinate resources, and manipulate information."
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Getting started with enterprise service bus |
| To explore how the enterprise service bus is used in the enterprise, here is an additional resource: |
| ESB Tutorial: This tutorial introduces you to the Enterprise Service Bus (ESB), a service-oriented methodology for enterprise application integration. This collection, which includes articles, expert advice, white papers and much more, will get you up to speed on how ESBs are changing the way we do integration. |
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Learn more about Enterprise Services Bus (ESB) |
| ESB Tutorial: Our new ESB tutorial provides the expert advice, definitions, implementation examples, trends and news you need to get started with or optimize the performance of an enterprise service bus. |
| How ESBs can bring about a change in rip and replace thinking: Existing systems need to work together for SOA success. This article addresses the need for application and system equality and how the enterprise service bus can make it happen. |
| Oracle mixes extreme transaction processing with SOA: Following advances in complex event processing in SOA applications, Oracle Corp. is now pushing into extreme transaction processing as David Chappell explains in this interview. |
| Using an ESB to simplify the complexity of SOA: Using an ESB to simplify the complexity of SOA |
| ESB Tutorial: Our new ESB tutorial provides the expert advice, definitions, implementation examples, trends and news you need to get started with or optimize the performance of an enterprise service bus. |
| OSGi Mini Tutorial: It arose as a component standard in the embedded world, now it's poised to join the enterprise. Find the latest OSGi articles, tips, and expert responses with the OSGi mini-guide. |
| Podcast: Why does the ESB matter in SOA?: Mulesource CEO Dave Rosenberg discusses why he thinks enterprise service bus (ESB) is a critical piece of middleware for those pursuing an SOA strategy. |
| Quiz #6: Servers: Take our fun quiz on servers to see how your IT knowledge stacks up. |
| Programmers wanted: Message-oriented mind shift needed: Message-oriented middleware helps developers make applications with asynchronous functionality. But programmers must cede control over orchestration to the messaging architecture. |
| LAST UPDATED: |
13 Nov 2008
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