Other NetWeave Solutions

Secure, Reliable File Transfer

NetWeave for the Web

Secure Communications

Interactive (Transactional) Messaging

API/Ancillary Services

Queued Messaging (Workflow)

Many distributed processing requirements involve communication between peer applications, in which neither application is a server to the other. Unlike transactional messaging, these applications do not need interaction. Instead, they only require a guarantee that each message will be delivered ultimately to the receiving application even if the receiving platform or communication network is currently down.

Such applications are called workflow applications. They communicate through message queues and move information along an assembly line of processes that do not directly interact with each other. Workflow applications can deliver individual messages or batches of information via file exchanges.

Typical examples of workflow applications include:

• an order entry system that must pass invoicing and receivable transactions to a financial system.
• a train control system that passes trains to a neighboring rail system.
• A manufacturing control system that sends pick-and-pack orders to an independent warehouse management system.

Workflow applications that utilize NetWeave’s Queued Messaging services typically do not require an immediate response to their transaction requests -- as a matter of fact, they may not want or need a response at all. All they demand is an assurance that the message will be delivered and will not be lost. Workflow application peers may not even be active at the same time. NetWeave Queued Messaging provides that guarantee and thereby allows workflow applications to focus on the business process at hand.

With NetWeave, each message is safely stored in a FIFO (first-in, first-out) file by the sending application, from which the message can be read at the receiver's convenience. The FIFO file may be located on any platform in the network, but it is typically located on the sending platform or on some other fault-tolerant platform.

Queued messaging guarantees that all messages sent within the transaction will arrive exactly once if they can be delivered and in the order that they were sent. When messages are retrieved within a transaction, all the messages are either removed from the queue or are placed back in the queue in their original position. A transaction can encompass multiple sending and receiving operations. In a case where a transaction consists of sending multiple messages, either all the messages are transmitted in the order in which they were sent (if the transaction is committed), or none of the messages are transmitted (if the transaction is aborted).

Workflow applications using NetWeave’s Queued Messaging services may create or delete queues anywhere in the network and may place messages in a queue, fetch messages from a queue, and peek at the contents of a queue.