Managing message listener resources for message-driven beans
Manage the resources used by the message listener service to support message-driven beans, typically for use with a messaging provider that does not have a Java EE Connector Architecture (JCA) 1.5 resource adapter.
For WebSphere Application Server Version 7 and later, listener ports are stabilized. For more information, read the article on stabilized features. You should plan to migrate the WebSphere MQ message-driven bean deployment configurations from using listener ports to using activation specifications. For more information about how to configure activation specifications for non-ASF mode, see Configure activation specifications for non-ASF mode. However, you should not begin this migration until you are sure the application does not have to work on application servers earlier than WebSphere Application Server Version 7. For example, if we have an application server cluster with some members at Version 6.1 and some at a later version, you should not migrate applications on that cluster to use activation specifications until after you migrate all the application servers in the cluster to the later version. Also, when you migrate to activation specifications on the z/OS platform, enable the Control Region Adjunct (CRA) process of the application server (either by selecting Enable JCA based inbound message delivery on the JMS provider settings panel, or using the manageWMQ command to include starting the CRA process as part of starting an application server).
To use message-driven beans with a messaging provider that does not have a JCA Version 1.5 or 1.6 resource adapter, we cannot use activation specifications and therefore configure the beans against a listener port. There are also a few scenarios in which, although you could use activation specifications, you might still choose to use listener ports. For example, for compatibility with existing message-driven bean applications.
If we have existing message-driven beans that use the WebSphere MQ messaging provider (or a compliant third-party JMS provider) with listener ports, and instead to use EJB 3 message-driven beans with listener ports, these new beans can continue to use the same messaging provider.
For more information about when to use listener ports rather than activation specifications, see Message-driven beans, activation specifications, and listener ports.
The message listener service is an extension to the JMS functions of the JMS provider and provides a listener manager, which controls and monitors one or more JMS listeners. Each listener monitors either a JMS queue destination (for point-to-point messaging) or a JMS topic destination (for publish/subscribe messaging). A listener port defines the association between a connection factory, a destination, and a deployed message-driven bean. When you deploy a message-driven bean, you associate the bean with a listener port. When a message arrives on the destination, the listener passes the message to a new instance of a message-driven bean for processing. For more information, see Message-driven beans - listener port components.
- Configure the message listener service.
Before configuring message listener resources, consider the message listener service implementation on the z/OS platform, which affects how you should configure the listener port. For more information, see (zos) Message listener service on z/OS.
- Administer listener ports.
We can complete any of the following administrative tasks:
- Create or configure a listener port.
- Start or stop a listener port.
- Delete a listener port.
- (zos) If the message-driven bean uses a queue hosted by WebSphere MQ as a JMS provider, optimize performance by configuring the queue destination properties to best fit the message-driven bean.
For more information about performance, see Tune messaging destinations for the WebSphere MQ messaging provider.
- Configure security for message-driven beans that use listener ports.
Results
You have configured the resources needed by the message listener service to support message-driven beans.
Subtopics
- Configure the message listener service
To support message-driven beans deployed against listener ports, configure the properties of the message listener service for the application server.
- Administer listener ports
We can use the WAS console to administer listener ports, which each define the association between a connection factory, a destination, and a message-driven bean.
Related concepts
Message-driven beans - listener port components Message-driven beans, activation specifications, and listener ports
Related tasks
Migrate a listener port to an activation specification for use with the WebSphere MQ messaging provider Tune messaging destinations for the WebSphere MQ messaging provider Configure security for message-driven beans that use listener ports
(zos) JMS provider settings
manageWMQ command