webMethods Broker

Agenda

• Overview
• Broker Server and Broker Server Administration
• Client Administration
• webMethods Broker Administration
• Messaging Models
• Q&A
Overview

• The Broker Server mediates requests to and from network

information resources. All webMethods Broker components
communicate with a Broker Server, not with each other. Client
applications publish and subscribe to information in the form of
documents. The Broker Server manages the flow of documents
among clients, Brokers, and various applications. To do this, the
Broker Server automatically routes, queues, and filters documents

• webMethods Broker Server Host holds:

• Broker
• Documents
• Client groups
• Territories
• Client state
• Broker Clients
Broker

• Configured entities that reside on Broker Server

• Client queues and subscriptions - monitored and stored
on these Brokers
• Documents-Filtered, Routed, and queued by Brokers
• Clients- communicate through a Broker, not directly to
each other
• When a Broker Client publishes a document, the Broker
determines which Broker clients have subscribed to that
document and places the document in the matching
Broker client queues.
Multiple Brokers Scenario

Order Management Customer Support

System System

Trouble
Inventory
Ticket

Customer
Customer

Order
Personnel

Broker #1 Broker #2
Territory 1
Documents

• A structured message (containing data) that

flows through the Enterprise Server system
• Each document is a instance of document type
• Maximum Size of the document is 1 GB

• The maximum number of documents types that a

Broker supports is 65533
Broker Client

• Broker client is an object that is used by client

programs.
• A Broker client represents a connection to a
particular Broker.
• Client programs may use one or more Broker
clients.
Territory

• Broker can share information about their

document type definitions and client groups by
joining a territory
• Documents can travel from clients on one Broker
to clients on another Broker in the same territory.
• Territories can be linked by territory gateways to
create larger topologies.
Client State

• Client state is the information about a Broker

client that the Broker maintains.
• This information includes:
• Client ID
• Application name
• Client group
• Subscription list
• Queue of documents not yet acknowledged.
Client Group

• One or more per Broker

• The foundation for security within the Enterprise
Server
• Client Groups determine:
 Documents that may be published, subscribed
to
 The client lifecycle and queue storage type
Broker Server Administration

• The webMethods Broker management tools

consist of the Broker Administrator and
command line utilities.
• Broker Administrator uses the browser on the
local machine and the Integration Server,
which can be anywhere in the network, to
connect to a Broker Server.
• The Broker Administrator allows you to
configure administrative websites from which
you can monitor webMethods Broker Servers,
territories, Adapters, Brokers, and clients
from any browser-equipped workstation in
your organization’s network.
Broker Administrator Page
Broker Server Administration

• command line utilities:

• awcert
• broker_create
• server_config
• broker_start
• broker_ping
• broker_stop
• broker_delete
• broker_load
• broker_status
Broker View
Saving and Restoring Data and Config

• Broker Server configuration information includes:

• Broker Server description
• Logging configuration
• SSL configuration
• Access Control List

• Broker configuration information includes:

• Broker description
• Document type Definitions
• Client group definitions
• Territory information
• Gateway information, including shared document types,
Access Control Lists for client groups, territories, and
territory gateways
Client Administration

• Managing Client Groups

• Managing Document Types
• Managing Broker Clients
Managing Client Groups

Life Cycle Properties

• How the Broker maintains information on the
Broker clients when:
• A Broker client disconnects from the Broker
• The Broker restarts

• Two types of lifecycle:

• Explicit Destroy
• The state of a Broker client exists until it is destroyed by a program
using the Broker client
• Destroy on disconnect
• The state of a Broker client exists for the duration of the Broker client’s
connection to the Broker
Managing Broker Client
Managing Document Types
webMethods Broker Administration

• Monitoring and Managing Transactions

• Territories and Gateways
• Managing Broker Security
Monitoring and Managing Transactions

• You use the transaction controls in the Broker

Administrator to monitor and manage transactions
running under the transaction manager on the
Broker.
• These controls allow you to monitor the activity of
transactions as they execute and take action
against transactions that do not appear to be
running correctly.
• State The current state of the transaction:
• Started The Broker has received a request to start a transaction and has given a
transaction ID to the client.
• Open The transaction is in progress and has not yet been prepared or committed.
• Prepared The transaction has been prepared, but has not yet been committed or rolled
back.
• Committed The transaction is in the process of being committed.
• Rolled Back The transaction is being rolled back.
Monitoring and Managing Transactions
Territories and Gateways

• Each territory contains one or more Brokers and is

essentially managed as a single entity
• Territory gateways are used to provide control over
documents that pass from one territory to another,
and therefore allow clients to communicate even
though they may not be part of the same
administrative domain.
Territories and Gateways
Territories

• Enable communication between Brokers

• Allow integrations to be spread around an organization
and still behave as one
• All Brokers in a territory share the same document types
and client groups
• You cannot merge territories
• To create a single territory where two existed before, the Brokers
in one territory must leave it and join the second territory
Territory Gateways

• Territories can be grouped - using a territory gateway

• A gateway allows for the transferring of documents
between territories
• Only one gateway is allowed between any two territories
• A single Broker can be a gateway to multiple territories
Territory Gateways

• A connection between two Brokers in different

territories
• allowing transfer of documents between the territories

• Each Broker belongs to its own territory but can

share document types with its companion Broker
across the gateway
• There can be only one gateway between any two
territories
• A Broker can be a gateway to multiple territories
Gateway Example

Sales
COBOL

Support

Production

Human Resources
Territory Rules

• A Broker that is not part of a territory does not have

knowledge of any Brokers in that territory
• Brokers within a territory have knowledge only of
the other Brokers currently in the same territory
• Once a Broker leaves a territory, it loses knowledge
of any Brokers in the territory
• A Broker can be a member of only one territory at a
time
• Operations on document types and client groups
affect all Brokers in the territory
Gateway Rules

• Each Broker in a territory gateway is configured and

maintained independently
• It is possible to create a firewall between territories
• For the gateway Broker, the following configuration
information is needed
• Name and location of the remote Broker (on the other side
of the gateway)
• A list of shared document types
• A list of publish and subscribe permissions
Messaging Models

• There are four ways of exchanging information

between resources:

• Publish - broadcast documents via the Broker

• Subscribe - retrieve documents from the Broker
• Publish-Reply - request a service from any resource
• Request-Reply - request a service from a specific resource
Publishing

• Sending documents to the Broker

broker
• Clients who publish documents 1
Document 1
do not know who receive them P
1
• Clients must subscribe to Document 2
receive published documents
• Published documents are
routed by the Broker to the
subscribed clients

To: Everybody
From:
RSVP: Not Required
Subscribing

• Receiving documents from the

Broker Broker
• Clients subscribe to receive specific 1
documents S1
Document 1

• When a client publishes a

document, the Broker will place a
pointer to the document in the
queues of all subscribers 1 S2
Document 2

• Each subscriber uses its pointer to

extract a copy of the document
from the Broker
Publish/Reply

• Documents are published as

usual but replies are expected
from subscribing clients
• Replies are delivered (not 1
published) to the publisher Document 1

P
1
Document 2
Request/Reply

• Documents are published to a

specific client, and a reply is
expected from that client
1
S1
• That client does not have to Document 1
subscribe to receive the
incoming request P
• The Reply is delivered (not 1
published) to the publisher Document 2