What is a Messaging Server?
A messaging server is an application that handles messages between two or more applications. These messages are passed to the middleware application using a messaging API (MAPI). Messaging servers are able to store messages in a queue until they can be delivered to the recipient application(s). A typical example of a messaging server application in many organizations is Microsoft Exchange. Exchange sits on a server and waits for messages to be routed to its queue. From there, the middleware determines one message at a time if the message is to be routed locally or if it needs to be sent to another messaging server for delivery. If the message belongs to a local recipient, the message is delivered to the local mailbox almost immediately. If the message belongs in a remote message store, the Exchange server will query other application servers in an environment, such as DNS, to locate the messaging server where the message belongs. If there are connectivity issues between two messaging s
