Transactions on Computer Science and Technology

June 2014, Volume 3, Issue 2, PP.81-85

Research on Integration of Workflow System

and ESB System
Chuan Zhang #, Yanping Yang, Jiangjiang Wu, Yuehua Wang, Jun Li
School of Electronic Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China
#

Email: 15802536434@163.com

Abstract
Introduced the relevant knowledge of workflow system and ESB system, discussed the necessity of integration between workflow
system and ESB system from two perspectives: perspective of improving workflow flexibility and perspective of system
integration. Based on the trigger relation between workflow system and ESB system, two typical scenarios of system integration
are analysed. Selected the open source workflow and ESB system: Activiti and Mule ESB, listed the deployment process of two
engines of systems, implemented the integration of Activiti and Mule ESB in an example of a specific business application,
demonstrated the scenarios of system integration. Finally, the existent problems of two scenarios of system integration are listed
and the potential research direction is pointed out.
Keywords: Workflow; ESB; System Integration

ESB

410073
ESBESB
ESB
ESBActivitiMule ESBActivitiMule
ESB
ESB

Workflow

[1] ESB
Enterprise Service Bus SOAService Oriented Architecture
XMLWeb ESB
[2]ESB
ESB
ESB

61174159
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SOA SOA
ESB [3]

ESB
[4][5] Web Service
SOA ESB

ESB

1.1 ESB
ESB ESB

ESB
ESB ESB

ESB
1

2
4

1 ESB

1 ESB

1 2
1 1
1 1 1 1
2 2
ESB
2 ESB ESB
2
ESB 2 2
ESB 2

ESB
SOA
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1.2 ESB
ESB

2 ESB

ESB ESB

ESB 2 ESB
ESB
ESB
ESB ESB

ESB
ESB
ESB ESB
ESB

ESB Activiti Mule ESB

Activiti Mule ESB

2.1
ESB Activiti
Mule ESB
Activiti Mule ESB Spring
JVMJava Activiti Mule ESB
JVM Mule ESB Activiti REST API
Activiti Activiti Web Service Mule ESB

(1) Jar
Activiti Mule ESB Java Jar activitymule.jar mule-module-activiti.jar Mule ESB Activiti Java
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 Mule ESB Activiti Java

(2)

Activiti activiti-application-context.xml Spring bean Activiti

<bean id=processEngineConfiguration
class=org.activiti.spring.SpringProcessEngineConfiguration>
</bean>
Mule ESB mule-project.xml Spring bean Activiti

<Spring: beans>
<spring: import
Resource="activiti-application-context.xml" />
</spring: beans>
Mule ESB Activiti Activiti ConnectorActiviti Mule
Mule ESB Activiti
<activiti: connector name="actServer"
repositoryService-ref="repositoryService"
RuntimeService-ref="runtimeService"
TaskService-ref="taskService"
HistoryService-ref="historyService" />
Activiti Mule ESBActiviti
Mule ESB Mule ESB Activiti

2.2
3 Activiti
Mule ESB

Activiti

Mule ESB
HTTP

1
2

HTTP Mule ESB 1

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 Activiti

Mule ESB 2
Mule ESB 3

ESB

ESB Activiti Mule ESB

Activiti Mule ESB
ESB
ESB ESB

REFERENCES
[1]

Workflow Management Coalition, The Workflow Reference Model Document Number WfMC-TC-1003,19-Jan-95,1.1,Workflow
Management Coalition(1995)

[2]

IBM, Patterns: Implementing an SOA Using an Enterprise Service Bus.2004-7. http://www.redbooks.ib m.com/abstracts/
sg246346.html

[3]

Jun Peng,Huai Cai. Research on Workflow Management System Architecture Based on BPEL and ESB[J],JISUANJI YU
XIANDAIHUA, 2008(8): 25-28

[4]

YingBo Liu, Li Zhang, YaHui Lu. Component based open workflow integration framework[J]. Computer Integrated
Manufacturing Systems.2007(7) 50-54

[5]

HongXu, Qian Wang. Research and Implementation of Web Service based Workflow Management System

Email: ypyang1980@gmail.com

Email: 15802536434@163.com

1989-

1980-

1982-

Email: jiang_wu_820@sina.com
4

1973-

Email: junli@nudt.edu.cn
5

1989-

Email: 631959321@qq.com

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