This proof-of-concept technology enables IBM® WebSphere® MQ 6.0 to be used as a custom transport channel within the Windows® Communication Foundation framework, as available in the .NET Framework 3. This technology enables Windows Communication Foundation clients and services to be configured for communication using WebSphere MQ in the same manner that they would the built-in channels provided by Microsoft®.

Messages are carried using the SOAP over JMS (Java™ Message Service) message format described in WebSphere MQ 6.0, enabling interoperability with services and clients hosted by other compatible environments, such as CICS (Customer Information Control System) and WebSphere Application Server.

How does it work?

The custom channel is built using the extensibility framework provided within the Windows Communication Foundation, which allows it to be integrated and used within the framework in the same way as the built-in transports offered by Microsoft.

Service applications can be configured to use the new custom channel in the normal way, with client application being generated using standard tools such as the Microsoft Service Metadata Utility Tool (Svcutil.exe). Service metadata descriptions can either be published directly from a running service (provided it is exposed via an additional HTTP endpoint) or using WSDL (Web Service Description Language).

The current implementation supports the core messaging functions with the following restrictions (see the included Readme.txt file for further details):

• Message exchanges are restricted to the one-way and request-reply channel shapes (service methods cannot use callbacks by default).
• Advanced messaging features such as transactions and security are not supported.

Charlie Martin is a developer within the IBM WebSphere MQ development team, which is based in Hursley in the U.K. Mr. Martin graduated in 1992 and, after first working developing applications and embedded software for the industrial market, he joined IBM in 2003, where he has since specialized in the design and development of messaging middleware systems.

Randy Villa is a senior IT specialist with IBM Global Business Services, based in the New York area. He joined IBM in 2000 and has worked on projects in various industries, platforms, and technologies. Mr. Villa specializes in application design and development on the Java and .NET platforms, with hands-on development in messaging and gateway applications, mobile and pervasive systems, front-end UI technologies, and Web-based server applications. He has over 15 years of experience in the IT industry.