Comparison of WAS and WebSphere MQ messaging

Comparison of WAS and WebSphere MQ messaging

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If not already an established user of either WAS or WebSphere MQ, and we are considering whether the service integration platform or MQ better meets the messaging needs, use this table to compare the main features of the two platforms.

Service integration
messaging provider WebSphere MQ
Closely integrated with WAS, and is a natural fit if we are using the Java EE. Can connect to almost anything. It provides a very heterogeneous environment .
Supports multiple languages through XMS clients, and multiple platforms. Supports multiple languages and multiple platforms.
Single process, pure Java implementation. Many Independent Software Vendor (ISV) tools.
Strong performance for both persistent and non-persistent messages for JMS. Supports JMS and non-JMS messaging interfaces, and provides strong performance for non-JMS applications.
Designed for a maximum message size of about 40 megabytes on a 32-bit operating system (subject to heap usage). Supports large message sizes up to about 100 megabytes.
Tightly integrated with some Web services implementations. Natural fit if we are using WebSphere Message Brokers.
Included in a single admin model for...

Application Server
Enterprise Service Bus
Process Server
Can integrate existing infrastructure and apps (for example CICS).
Service Integration Bus clustering is integrated with WAS clustering for high availability and scalability. Selective parallelism of clustered queues.

The messaging platform that you choose for a given task does not necessarily determine which JMS messaging provider you should use. For example:

If we have to handle large messages, you should probably use the MQ messaging provider.
If using WebSphere Message Brokers, we can use either the default messaging provider or the MQ messaging provider.

Related concepts
Interoperation with MQ
Interoperation with MQ: Comparison of key features

Related tasks
Choose messaging providers for a mixed environment

Service integration messaging provider	WebSphere MQ
Closely integrated with WAS, and is a natural fit if we are using the Java EE.	Can connect to almost anything. It provides a very heterogeneous environment .
Supports multiple languages through XMS clients, and multiple platforms.	Supports multiple languages and multiple platforms.
Single process, pure Java implementation.	Many Independent Software Vendor (ISV) tools.
Strong performance for both persistent and non-persistent messages for JMS.	Supports JMS and non-JMS messaging interfaces, and provides strong performance for non-JMS applications.
Designed for a maximum message size of about 40 megabytes on a 32-bit operating system (subject to heap usage).	Supports large message sizes up to about 100 megabytes.
Tightly integrated with some Web services implementations.	Natural fit if we are using WebSphere Message Brokers.
Included in a single admin model for... Application Server Enterprise Service Bus Process Server	Can integrate existing infrastructure and apps (for example CICS).
Service Integration Bus clustering is integrated with WAS clustering for high availability and scalability.	Selective parallelism of clustered queues.