Sun Java System Message Queue 4.3 Administration Guide

Message Delivery Steps

  1. The message is delivered from producing client to broker.

  2. The broker reads in the message.

  3. The message is placed in persistent storage (for reliability).

  4. The broker confirms receipt of the message (for reliability).

  5. The broker determines the routing for the message.

  6. The broker writes out the message.

  7. The message is delivered from broker to consuming client.

  8. The consuming client acknowledges receipt of the message (for reliability).

  9. The broker processes client acknowledgment (for reliability).

  10. The broker confirms that client acknowledgment has been processed.

Since these steps are sequential, any one of them can be a potential bottleneck in the delivery of messages from producing clients to consuming clients. Most of the steps depend on physical characteristics of the messaging system: network bandwidth, computer processing speeds, message service architecture, and so forth. Some, however, also depend on characteristics of the messaging application and the level of reliability it requires.

The following subsections discuss the effect of both application design factors and messaging system factors on performance. While application design and messaging system factors closely interact in the delivery of messages, each category is considered separately.