JOnAS and the Connector Architecture

The content of this guide is the following:

  1. Target Audience and Rationale
  2. Introducing the Connector Architecture
  3. Using a Connector Architecture Resource Adapter with JOnAS

Target Audience and Rationale

This chapter is provided for advanced JOnAS users concerned with EAI (Enterprise Application Integration). The Java Connector Architecture (Connectors) defines a way for enterprise applications (based on EJB, servlet, JSP or J2EE clients) to communicate with existing external Enterprise Information Systems (EIS). This requires the use of a third party software component called "Resource Adapter" for each type of EIS, which should be previously deployed on the application server. This chapter describes the way such a Resource Adapter should be deployed with JOnAS as the application server, and how a J2EE application can use it.

Introducing the Connector Architecture

The Java Connector Architecture allows the connection of different Enterprise Information Systems (EIS) to an application server such as JOnAS. It is based on the Resource Adapter (RA), an architecture component comparable to a software driver, which connects the EIS, the application server, and the enterprise application (EJB components in the case of JOnAS as application server). The RA is generally made available by an EIS vendor, and it provides an interface (the Common Client Interface or CCI) to the enterprise application (EJBs) for accessing the EIS. The RA also provides standard interfaces for plugging into the application server, so that they can collaborate to keep all system-level mechanisms (transactions, security, and connection management) transparent from the application components.

JCA Architecture

The resource adapter plugs into JOnAS and provides connectivity between the EIS, JOnAS, and the application. The application performs "business logic" operations on the EIS data using the RA client API (CCI), while transactions, connections (including pooling), and security on the EIS is managed by JOnAS through the RA (system contract).

Using a Connector Architecture Resource Adapter with JOnAS

Using a Connector Resource Adapter with JOnAS involves the following steps: