What is a Message Broker?
A message broker is a middleware application that translates an email message from one proprietary format to another. This application helps aid in the smooth transition of messages between one messaging architecture and another. For example, if one company uses Microsoft Exchange® as its email server software and Outlook® as the client, the message broker employed by Exchange® is used to communicate with external mail servers as the need to route messages arises. When email is sent out, Exchange® uses the standard Simple Message Transfer Protocol (SMTP) to send the message to the recipient server. By doing this, the message sent using Outlook® and Exchange® can be received by someone at an organization running Lotus Domino® and Lotus Notes®. To the users of Outlook® or Lotus Notes®, the interaction is unnoticeable. This is all because of the message broker determining where the message is going and a standard protocol for sending the message to another server. Message brokers are a pa
