Hy,

I am currently discovering webMethods 6 platform and i as wondering if the following assumptions were correct:

1- Enterprise Server is Document centric
2- Integration Server is Service centric
3- ES Adapters use IS to interact with resources (or generally speaking EIS)
3- Enterprise Adapters can be created using IS FLOW language

Am i right?

Thanks for your help!

Regards

Jean-Baptiste

Not quite.

Enterprise Server (ES) is typically used to create internal integrations that perform data-level or function-level integration between enterprise applications. For example, when an order is taken in Siebel, send appropriate data to the XYZ warehousing system and the PeopleSoft financials.

Integration Server (IS) is typically used to create business-to-business integrations using the FLOW language (created using the IS Developer tool). For example, when a loan application is submitted, order the appraisal from ABC Appraisal Services by posting the appropriate XML document over an HTTPS connection.

webMethods 6.0 does blur the lines between the two somewhat, but primarily because the architecture for creating Enterprise adapters changed with this release. In the future, adapters will be created using the webMethods IS Adapter Development Kit and will execute inside a webMethods Integration Server using the webMethods Adapter Runtime (wMArt) package. A single IS server can host multiple resource adapters or lightweight IS serves can be installed on or near the server where the resource (application) is running.

When the product releases (around the end of March at this writing) only the JDBC adapter and possibly one other adapter will be available using this new approach. Therefore, companies who need to use an adapter that does not yet exist in the new architecture will need to use the existing Enterprise adapter and create their integrations using the version 5.0 development tools (Enterprise Integrator). This will be the case until the new versions of the adapters are all released (and performing well). See the adapter roadmap document on the webMethods Advantage site for first quarter adapter plans: [url=“http://advantage.webmethods.com/cgi-bin/advantage/main.jsp?w=0&s=3223822579&targChanId=-536881230”]http://advantage.webmethods.com/cgi-bin/advantage/main.jsp?w=0&s=3223822579&targChanId=-536881230[/url]
There is another adapter roadmap slide or two from the Integration World presentation that should be available somewhere on WM Advantage, but I couldn’t find it quickly.

Going forward you will create the integration business logic for an adapter purchased from webMethods or created using the WM ADK using Developer to write Flow or Java services.

Clear as mud?

Regards,

Mark

1. Yes. Documents used to be referred to as events or messages.

2. Yes. Using the Trading Networks package makes processing document centric.

3. Sort of. ES adapters in their current form will cease to exist. As Mark pointed out, they are being migrated/rehosted in the IS environment. Thus, in the future (6.0) there will only be adapters (not ES and IS adapters) and they will run in (not connect to) the IS environment.

4. Adapters in the 6.0 suite will be written and run in the IS environment. The ES distinction will be dropped.

I would offer that if you haven’t done any work with Enterprise Server yet that you don’t. Use Integration Server and Trading Networks and your current/new integrations will have a much easier transition to 6.0.

Slides 19 - 21 of the “In-Depth Technical Overview of
webMethods 6” presentation (originally given at Integration World 2002) cover the adapter plans for the first half of 2003.

You can get a copy of that presentation on the Advantage website at:

[url=“http://advantage.webmethods.com/IW2002/webMethods_6_Advantage.ppt”]http://advantage.webmethods.com/IW2002/webMethods_6_Advantage.ppt[/url]

Rob’s point is valid, if you have not yet started developing with webMethods, I would use Developer and Integration Server rather than Enterprise unless you absolutely need the functionality of a particular Enterprise adapter prior to when it will be released (and tuned for performance).

Mark