J2EE Application Server Support

In J2EE architecture, EJB containers are hosted by J2EE application servers. An application server provides resources needed by the various containers: transaction managers, persistence managers, name services, and, in the case of messaging and MDBs, a JMS provider.

In the Sun Java System Application Server, JMS messaging resources are provided by Sun Java System Message Queue:

• For Sun Java System Application Server 7.0, a Message Queue messaging system is integrated into the application server as its native JMS provider.

• For the Sun J2EE 1.4 Application Server, Message Queue is plugged into the application server as an embedded JMS resource adapter.

For future releases of the Application Server, Message Queue will be plugged into the application server using standard resource adapter deployment and configuration methods.

For information about J2EE architecture, see the J2EE Platform Specification located at http://java.sun.com/j2ee/download.html#platformspec.

JMS Resource Adapter

A resource adapter is a standardized way of plugging additional functionality into an application server that complies with J2EE 1.4. The standard, defined by the J2EE Connector Architecture (J2EECA) 1.5 specification, allows an application server to interact with external systems in a standard way. External systems can include enterprise information systems (EIS), as well as messaging systems: for example, a JMS provider. Message Queue includes a JMS resource adapter that allows application servers to use Message Queue as a JMS provider.

Plugging a JMS resource adapter into an application server allows J2EE components deployed and running in the application server to exchange JMS messages. The JMS connection factory and destination administered objects needed by these components can be created and configured using J2EE application server administration tools.

Other administrative operations, however, such as managing a broker and physical destinations, are not included in the J2EECA specification and can be performed only through provider specific tools.

The Message Queue resource adapter is integrated in the Sun J2EE 1.4 application server. However, it has not yet been certified with any other J2EE 1.4 application servers.

The Message Queue resource adapter is a single file (imqjmsra.rar) located in a directory that depends on the operating system (see Chapter 17, JMS Resource Adapter Property Reference, in Sun Java System Message Queue 3.7 UR1 Administration Guide). The imqjmsra.rar file contains the resource adapter deployment descriptor (ra.xml) as well as the JAR files needed by the application server in order to use the adapter.

You can use the Message Queue resource adapter in any J2EE-1.4-compliant application server by following the resource adapter deployment and configuration instructions that come with that application server. As commercial J2EE 1.4 application servers become available and the Message Queue resource adapter is certified for those application servers, Message Queue documentation will provide specific information on the relevant deployment and configuration procedures.