Having worked with Websphere ESB, one can not help considering whether one ought to switch to IBM’s new strategic integration platform, the IBM Integration Bus (IIB). I had a look at the latest version of the Integration Toolkit for the Integration Bus and would like to share my insights. The two issues that I will address are, (1) the main differences when building mediation and service integration, and (2) how to migrate from Websphere ESB to Integration Bus.
The main differences:
Let’s start with what is basically the same:
- Both tools are Eclipse based, though arranged a differently (server now moved to the left), also you see different artifacts,
- Mapping has the same look & feel; both can use xpath.
What is totally different:
- No assembly diagram in IIB,
- Different palette, some different icons and many more primitives with the IIB’s toolkit,
- The IIB has no fan out / fan in to build aggregations; instead, it has a RouteToLabel. For data aggregation scenarios when calling several services, one needs to install MQ since the aggregation would be using queues,
- View of data flow when testing: how far you have come is shown in flow, so you can see better where you are (I like the new approach).
The how-to:
DEVELOPER TOOLKIT | Good news: the developer toolkit is available for free.
Below are links for download, terms and conditions.
There is an integrated conversion tool to migrate from WESB:
https://developer.ibm.com/integration/docs/ibm-integration-bus/wesb-conversion/
Check here to set-up MQ for IIB:
Installing WebSphere MQ for use with IBM Integration Bus for Developers
NOTE | Don’t forget to apply fixes, e.g.:
https://www-945.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/swg/downloadFixes?product=ibm/WebSphere/WebSphere+MQ&release=All&platform=All&function=fixId&fixids=8.0.0-WS-MQ-Windows-FP0008&includeRequisites=1&includeSupersedes=0&downloadMethod=http
HINT | Check out this lab (it helped me):
[iib10] Lab MQ: Build and run an integration solution that uses WebSphere MQ
My conclusions:
- The IIB is a very powerful platform,
- Converting complex mediation from WESB to IIB will take time,
- To be ready for the strategic platform, I suggest to start using it now for new applications, and see with that experience what you want to move from WESB to IIB.
Andreas Bühlmeier, PhD.
December 2017
Disclaimer applies:
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