Introduction

QMF (Qpid Management Framework) is a set of APIs, in multiple programming languages, that provide an abstraction for object-oriented and service-oriented remote management. It is layered on top of AMQP messaging and implemented using the Apache Qpid messaging APIs.

Architectural Components and Operations

There are two central components in the architecture of QMF: The Agent and the Console. An agent is a software component that is managed via QMF and a console is a component that manages agents. The distinction will become clearer as we discuss operations.

A better way to describe console and agent is to call them roles. For example, a software program may perform the role of QMF Agent, and therefore become manageable via QMF. Another program may act in the role of QMF Console and manage some number of agents. It is also possible for a software program to act in both roles simultaneously and can do so using a single connection into the AMQP messaging infrastructure.

        +-----------+    +-----------+
        |  Console  |    |  Console  |
        +-----+-----+    +-----+-----+
              |                |
              |                |
     +--------+----------------+-------------------------+
     |                                                   |
     |             Standard AMQP Messaging               |
     |                                                   |
     +----------+--------------+--------------+----------+
                |              |              |
                |              |              |
           +----+----+    +----+----+    +----+----+
           |  Agent  |    |  Agent  |    |  Agent  |
           +---------+    +---------+    +---------+

In QMF, there may be any number of agents and any number of consoles. Agents and consoles may appear and disappear dynamically.