IBM APP Connect Enterprise technical overview
IBM App Connect Enterprise enables information packaged as messages to flow between different business applications, ranging from large traditional systems through to unmanned devices such as sensors on pipelines.
Message routing
Messages can be routed from sender to recipient based on the content of the message.
The message flows that you design control message routing. A message flow describes the operations to be performed on the incoming message, and the sequence in which they are carried out.
Each message flow consists of the following parts:
- A series of steps used to process a message;
- Connections between the nodes, defining routes through the processing;
Message transformation
Messages can be transformed before being delivered:
- They can be transformed from one format to another, perhaps to accommodate the different requirements of the sender and the recipient.
- They can be transformed by modifying, combining, adding, or removing data fields, perhaps involving the use of information stored in a database. Information can be mapped between messages and databases. More complex manipulation of message data can be achieved by writing code, for example in Extended SQL (ESQL) or Java™, within configurable nodes.
Configure integration servers
The work of routing and transforming messages takes place in one or more integration servers.
You can configure multiple integration servers, each with their own identity, and deploy them either to containers in the cloud or in an on-premises environment. By setting up multiple integration servers, you can isolate message flows that handle sensitive data such as payroll records, security information, or unannounced product information, from other non-sensitive message flows.
Develop your integration solutions
Your application developers can create and modify integration solutions, as message flows and resources, by using the IBM App Connect Enterprise Toolkit.
Different perspectives in the IBM App Connect Enterprise Toolkit are used to develop message flows, message model schema files, and other related resources; see IBM App Connect Enterprise Toolkit.