LinuxHPC.org/Cluster Builder 1.3
Middleware
Middleware
By LinuxHPC.org and Cluster Resources
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Middleware is computer software that connects software components or applications. It is used most often to support complex, distributed applications. It includes web servers, application servers, content management systems, and similar tools that support application development and delivery. Middleware is especially integral to modern information based on XML, SOAP, Web services, and service-oriented architecture.
In addition to the existing vendors updating their wares to address the newly expanded vision, vendors such as Mercator, Vitria, and webMethods were specifically founded to provide Web-oriented middleware tools. Groups such as the Apache Software Foundation and the ObjectWeb Consortium encourage the development of open source middleware.
ObjectWeb defines middleware as "the software layer that lies between the operating system and the applications on each side" of a distributed computing system.
Middleware is the enabling technology of Enterprise application integration. The term middleware is sometimes considered a buzzword.
Application Servers
See Main article: Application server
Message Oriented Middleware
Message queuing or Message Oriented Middleware is one type of a middleware product. Middleware is an industry buzzword that describes a piece of software that allows two or more software applications to connect together so that they can exchange data.
Middleware is a relatively new addition to the computing landscape. It emerged in the 1980’s as a solution to the problem of how to link new applications to older legacy systems. It also facilitated distributed processing – the connection of multiple applications together to create a larger application, usually over a network.
See Main article: Message Oriented Middleware
Other types of middleware
- Transaction processing (TP) monitors
- Remote Procedure Call (RPCs)
- Object Request Brokers (ORBs)
- Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)