WebSphere Message Brokers
File: ac55740_
Writer: Michael Gibson

Concept topic

This build: July 31, 2007 21:21:11

Web services architecture

The Web services architecture is based upon the interaction between three components: a service provider, a service requester, and an optional service registry.

The service provider
The collection of software that provides a Web service. It includes:
  • The application program
  • The middleware
  • The platform on which they run
The service requester
The collection of software that is responsible for requesting a Web service from a service provider. It includes:
  • The application program
  • The middleware
  • The platform on which they run
The service registry
A place where service providers publish descriptions of the services they provide, and where service requesters find them.

The registry is an optional component of the Web services architecture, because service requesters and providers can communicate without it. For example, the organization that provides a service can distribute the service description directly to the users of the service, using an attachment in an e-mail, a download from an FTP site, or a CD-ROM distribution.

Figure 1. Web service components and interactions

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Insert Figure 1

WebSphere Message Broker provides direct support for implementing the requester and provider components. You need additional software to deploy a service registry in WebSphere Message Broker. Because the Web service architecture is platform independent, you can, if you need a service registry, deploy it on another platform.

The interactions between the components involve the following operations:
Bind
The service requester uses the service description to bind with the service provider and interact with the Web service implementation.
Publish
When a service registry is used, a service provider publishes its description in a registry so that the requester can find it.
Find
When a service registry is used, a service requester finds the service description in the registry.
Related concepts
Service publication
Web services description
Web services terminology
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Copyright IBM Corporation 1999, 2007Copyright IBM Corporation 1999, 2007. All Rights Reserved.
This build: July 31, 2007 21:21:11

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