How an ESB supports an SOA across a series of abstract endpoints. Endpoints can represent applications and services of any size and scope. An integration architect connects endpoints into process flows.
The details of an ESB container as a managed environment for services, and why it is a key component of an ESB architecture.
The comparisons between an ESB container and an application server container.
The next chapter will discuss the concept of itinerary-based routing and the role it plays in enabling a highly distributed SOA across independently deployed services. We will also discuss service reusability and examine some core ESB services, such as content-based routing and XSLT transformation, as well as some advanced ESB capabilities, such as an XML persistence service and an orchestration service.