Hi Holm,
Thank you again for the detailed explanation - it was extremely helpful in understanding the differences between IS, MSR, and Edge Runtime. Your summary made everything much clearer.
To give you more context, these are the three use cases I am currently working on:
🔹 Use Case 1 – Certificate Orchestration (Zendesk + GitHub + Node.js)
Financial institutions upload digital certificates.
Scope includes IS on OpenShift (DEV single node / PROD 2-node cluster), Zendesk connector, GitHub connector, Node.js certificate service, orchestration workflow, E2E testing, and documentation.
🔹 Use Case 2 – Automated CSV Report Generation and Delivery to AWS S3
Extract data from PostgreSQL, generate CSVs, upload to S3, configure MFT Virtual Folder, perform testing, and prepare documentation.
🔹 Use Case 3 – Availability Monitoring and Alerts
REST/webhook Event Listener, alert-processing Flow Services, email and Teams notifications, outbound connectors, testing, and documentation.
I've attached the architecture diagrams for all three use cases, showing the components and integration flows involved.
Given your expertise, could you please share your feedback on:
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Which runtime (Full IS, MSR, or ERT) would be more appropriate for these scenarios?
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Any considerations, best practices, or risks I should keep in mind for each use case?
Your guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Best regards,
Jason
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Jason Rick Medina Arbi
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Original Message:
Sent: Thu December 11, 2025 10:44 AM
From: Holm Steinland
Subject: What are the key differences between Edge Runtime and Integration Server?
Hi Jason,
You have some very good and valid questions. I will try to answer shot, because the full details take me days to write up. 😁
First you have to look at the Integration Server, which exists in two flavors:
a) The full Integration Server (IS), and
b) The MSR – Microservices Runtime Integration Server
MSR = Integration Server designed for microservices (light, fast, cloud-native).
Full IS = Complete enterprise Integration Server with all features and adapters.
When you talk about Edge Runtimes (ERT), they are based on MSR containers.
In short, ERT is a special, restricted, SaaS-managed version of MSR designed specifically for the webMethods hybrid integration (IWHI) SaaS.
ERT does not allow: Arbitrary packages, Arbitrary code deployments, The full adapter framework (only certified connectors), Custom changes outside the SaaS management plane
It runs only what IWHI provisions.
The goal of using an ERT is local execution. ERT provides secure local connectivity (reverse-proxy concept).
It allows cloud SaaS Workflows / Flow Services to reach resources inside your private network, such as: On-prem databases, SAP systems, Mainframe, Internal REST/SOAP endpoints, Legacy systems
ERT acts like a secure tunnel + local execution engine.
When using ERT you benefit from automatic lifecycle management (auto-updates, auto-patches, auto-syncs with the cloud).
You don't manage the server manually. No upgrades, no patches to install. 🤠
ERT cannot replace a full IS for integration-heavy use cases (resource-heavy tasks, stateful clustering, etc.), because it is based on the MSR concept for "lightweight" workloads. Also, when you need BPM or complex orchestrations, you need the full IS.
ERT exists only as an execution node for SaaS → On-prem (ERT), not for on-prem → on-prem or IS → ERT nor ERT <=> ERT interaction.
ERT is stateless and designed to be disposable. This is a small but important operational best practice: No local state, No custom persistence, No long-running processes
Works best in container orchestration (AKS/EKS/GKE/Openshift/etc.)
For more details see https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/hybrid-integration
I recommend you reach out to the IBM Sales Team or/and Technology Expert Labs for more detailed consulting on your questions.
Best regards,
Holm.
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Holm Steinland
IBM
Böblingen
Original Message:
Sent: Thu December 11, 2025 10:07 AM
From: Jason Rick Medina Arbi
Subject: What are the key differences between Edge Runtime and Integration Server?
Hi everyone,
I'm currently working with webMethods and I want to better understand the functional and architectural differences between Edge Runtime and Integration Server.
From what I know, Integration Server is the main enterprise runtime for integrations, while Edge Runtime is a lightweight engine designed for edge/IoT use cases
What are the core capabilities of Edge Runtime compared to Integration Server?
Which components or features are not supported on Edge Runtime?
What are the typical use cases for each runtime?
In what scenarios should I choose Edge Runtime instead of Integration Server?
Are there any limitations or best practices when deploying both runtimes together?
I'm preparing internal documentation and would appreciate insights from experts who have implemented both in real projects.
Regards
Jason Medina
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Jason Rick Medina Arbi
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