Comparison between Mule ESB and Anypoint Platform

Introduction:

Mule

Mule, the runtime engine of Anypoint Platform, is a lightweight Java-based enterprise service bus (ESB) and integration platform that allows developers to connect applications together quickly and easily, enabling them to exchange data. It enables easy integration of existing systems, regardless of the different technologies that the applications use, including JMS, Web Services, JDBC, HTTP, and more. The ESB can be deployed anywhere, can integrate and orchestrate events in real time or in batch, and has universal connectivity.

Anypoint Platform

Anypoint Platform is an enterprise integration platform that offers tools that architects and developers across the enterprise can adopt quickly to design, build, and manage the entire lifecycle of their APIs, applications and products. With Mule as its core runtime engine, Anypoint Platform is built with open technologies to promote reusability, modularity and collaboration – increasing developer productivity and project speed.

Overview of the differentiation

What does Mule ESB + Mule Management Console have?

Mule ESB provides the runtime required to deploy and run mule flows. We also have a Mule Management Console which centralizes management and monitoring functions for all your on-premise Mule ESB Enterprise deployments, whether they are running as standalone instances, as a cluster, or embedded in application servers. 

After software developer teams create Mule applications using Anypoint Studio or another IDE, they typically pass the Mule application to another team who deploys the application in a simulated environment for more rigorous testing. Afterwards, the application is run in production with strict requirements like constant availability, better performance, and continually working as expected. Moreover, additional Mule instances and applications may be introduced into the infrastructure, increasing the level of complexity inherent to managing and monitoring all systems.

This is where MMC comes in. MMC is an enterprise management and monitoring tool designed specifically for Mule ESB instances. MMC provides a comprehensive set of functionality for managing and monitoring running Mule instances, Mule clusters, applications within Mule instances, and the flows within those applications. It also provides ways of looking at specific transactions through pre-defined business events, as well as transactions in flight.

MMC provides a centralized, convenient, and intuitive web-based interface to monitor, manage, and administer the run-time aspects of Mule ESB.

What does Anypoint Platform have?

Anypoint Platform is a suite of tools to provide a complete enterprise integration solution. It is cloud-based or can be on-premises too.

Anypoint Platform Tools include:-

1)      Mule Runtime Engine

2)      Anypoint Design Center

            a)      Anypoint Studio

            b)      API Designer

            c)       DevKit

            d)      APIKit

            e)      MUnit

            f)       RAML SDKs

3)      Anypoint Management Center

            a)      Anypoint Runtime Manager

            b)      Anypoint API Manager

            c)       Anypoint Analytics

            d)      Anypoint Access Management

4)      Anypoint Connectors

5)      Anypoint Exchange

6)      Runtime Service

            a)      Anypoint Fabric

            b)      Anypoint MQ

            c)       Anypoint Enterprise Security

            d)      Anypoint Virtual Private Cloud

            e)      CloudHub

Conclusion

Mule ESB alone merely provides the Mule Runtime Engine which can allow different applications to communicate with other by acting as a transit system for carrying data between applications within the enterprise or across the Internet. Mule ESB can be used for Service creation and hosting, Service mediation, Message routing and Data Transformation.

Mule Management Console (MMC) can provide centralized management and monitoring functions but only for on-premise Mule ESB Enterprise deployments, whether they are running as standalone instances, as a cluster, or embedded in application servers.  

Both Mule ESB and Anypoint Platform can be deployed on premise or cloud as a server, for example on AWS. However, MuleSoft offers an “all inclusive” cloud-based Anypoint Platform – integration platform as a service (iPaaS) solution. With iPaaS one benefits from cloud hosting with a full management and support of servers included, instant deployment of updates and monitoring capabilities. Anypoint Platform provides the complete package for integration solution including access to a multitude of specialized connectors. In effect the Mule ESB and MMC are also part of the Anypoint Platform.