| Sun ONE Application Server 7 J2EE CA Service Provider Implementation Administrator's Guide |
Chapter 1
Introduction to J2EE Connector ArchitectureThis guide is written for administrators that need to deploy and use J2EE CA resource adapters with the Sun ONE Application Server. This guide provides instructions for assembling and deploying J2EE CA resource adapters.
This chapter describes the following topics:
J2EE CA OverviewThe J2EE Connector Architecture defines a standard architecture for connecting the J2EE platform to heterogeneous EISs. Examples of EISs include ERP, mainframe transaction processing, database systems, and legacy applications not written in the Java programming language. By defining a a set of scalable, secure, and transactional mechanisms, the J2EE Connector Architecture enables the integration of EISs with application servers and enterprise applications.
The J2EE Connector architecture enables an EIS vendor to provide a standard resource adapter for its EIS. The resource adapter plugs into an application server, providing connectivity between the EIS, the application server, and the enterprise application. If an application server vendor has extended its system to support the J2EE Connector architecture, it is assured of seamless connectivity to multiple EISs. An EIS vendor needs to provide just one standard resource adapter that has the capability to plug in to any application server that supports the J2EE Connector architecture. Multiple resource adapters are pluggable into an application server. This capability enables application components deployed on the application server to access the underlying EISs. The following diagram illustrates the J2EE Connector architecture.
Application Server - implements the J2EE CA server side contracts, such as transaction, pooling (connection) and security.
Resource Adapter- hooks into the application server using the server side contracts. You can use the Sun One Connector Builder to generate a resource adapter.
Enterprise Information System - is the backend system that connects to the Application Server via the system contracts.
Application Component - can be a server-side component, such as an EJB, MDB, JSP, or Servlet, that is deployed, managed, and executed on an application server. It can also be a component executed on the web-client tier but made available to the web-client by an application server. Examples of the latter type of application component include a Java applet and DHTML page.
