Middleware

What is Middleware?
• Middleware is computer software that connects software components or
applications.
• The software consists of a set of services that allows multiple processes
running on one or more machines to interact across a network.
• This technology evolved to provide for interoperability in support of the
move to coherent distributed architectures, which are used most often to
support and simplify complex, distributed applications.
• It includes web servers, application servers, and similar tools that support
application development and delivery.
• Middleware is especially integral to modern information technology based on
XML,
SOAP,
Web services, and
Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA).

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 Middleware Providers
• IBM, Red Hat, and Oracle Corporation are major vendors
providing middleware software.

• Vendors such as Axway, SAP, TIBCO, Mercator Software,

Crossflo, 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.

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 Uses of Middleware’s
Middleware services provide a more functional set of
API’s to allow an application to:
• Locate transparently across the network, thus providing
interaction with another service or application
• Be independent from network services
• Be reliable and always available when compared to the
operating system and network services.

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 Types of Middleware’s
Hurwitz's classification system organizes the many types of middleware that are
currently available. These classifications are based on scalability and
recoverability:

• RPC’s — Client makes calls to procedures running on remote systems. Can be

asynchronous or synchronous.
• MOM’s — Messages sent to the client are collected and stored until they are
acted upon, while the client continues with other processing.
• ORB’s — This type of middleware makes it possible for applications to send
objects and request services in an object-oriented system.
• SQL-oriented Data Access — middleware between applications and database
servers.
• Embedded Middleware — communication services and integration interface
software/firmware that operates between embedded applications and the real
time operating system.

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 Other Middleware’s
Additional classification includes:

• TP Monitors — Provides tools and an environment to

develop and deploy distributed applications
• Application Servers — software installed on a computer
to facilitate the serving (running) of other applications.
• Enterprise Service Bus — An abstraction layer on top of
an Enterprise Messaging System.

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 Where does Middeware lies?
CLIENT MIDDLEWARE SERVER

SERVICE SPECIFIC
ODBC TxRPC MAIL ORB HTTP OBJECTS

WEB BROWSER WEB

DSM
SNMP CMIP TIVOLI/ORB
GUI/OOGUI GROUPWARES

NOS
DSM OS Directory Security Distributed File
OLTP
RPC Messaging Peer-to-Peer

DBMS
TRANSPORT STACK
NetBIOS TCP/IP IPX/SPX SNA

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