Intelligent Routing

Intelligent routing, sometimes referred to as flow control or content-based routing, builds on the capabilities of both the rules layer and the message transformation layer. An integration server can "intelligently route" a message by first identifying it as coming from the source application and then routing it to the proper target application, translating it if required. For example, when a message arrives at the integration server, it is analyzed and identified as coming from a particular system and/or subsystem. Once the message is identified and the message schema is understood, the applicable rules and services are applied to the processing of the message, including transformation. Once the information is processed, the integration server, based on how it is programmed, routes the message to the correct target system (see Figure 9.7). This all takes place virtually instantaneously, with as many as a thousand of these operations occurring at the same time.

Figure 9.7. Intelligent routing means identifying the message and sending it to the proper destination.