What is the Difference Between ActiveMQ and RabbitMQ

The main difference between ActiveMQ and RabbitMQ is that ActiveMQ is an open-source multi-protocol supported message broker written in Java language while RabbitMQ is an open-source multi-protocol supported messaged broker written in Erlang language.

A message broker is an intermediate computer program module that helps to convert a sender’s message from the formal message protocol to the receiver’s formal messaging protocol. Furthermore, message brokers help in computer and telecommunication networks to allow various applications to communicate with each other by exchanging defined messages. In overall, ActiveMQ and RabbitMQ are two common message brokers.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is ActiveMQ
     – Definition, Functionality
2. What is RabbitMQ
     – Definition, Functionality
3. Difference Between ActiveMQ and RabbitMQ
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

ActiveMQ, ActiveMQ 5 “Classic”, ActiveMQ Artemis, Message Broker, RabbitMQ

Difference Between ActiveMQ and RabbitMQ - Comparison Summary

What is ActiveMQ

ActiveMQ is an open source message broker. In 2004, LogicBlaze initially developed ActiveMQ as an open source message broker. In 2007, Apache Software Foundation got the ActiveMQ trademark and the code.

ActiveMQ consists of Java Message Service (JMS) client. It is capable of supporting more than one client or server. Moreover, its features like computer clustering help it to manage communication. Also, there are two versions of ActiveMQ; ActiveMQ 5 “Classic” and ActiveMQ Artemis. 

ActiveMQ 5 “Classic” is a pluggable architecture with JMS 1.1 full client implementation, including JNDI. Also, there are KahaDB and JDBC options available for persistence. Moreover, there is a network of brokers for a distributed load.

ActiveMQ Artemis is a high performance, non-blocking architecture for event-driven messaging applications. It contains JMS 1.1 and 2.0 with full client implementation, including JNDI. Also, there is a flexible clustering for distributing the load. Furthermore, there is a powerful protocol agnostic addressing model, and it also provides easy migration.

ActiveMQ provides multiple advantages. It supports various languages and platforms. Some of them are C, C++, Python and .NET.  Moreover, it is possible to integrate multi-platform applications using the Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP). Also, another important advantage of it is its ability to exchange messages between the web applications with the help of Streaming Text Oriented Messaging Protocol (STOMP) over web sockets. Besides, it also helps in managing IoT devices. In overall, it provides support to any messaging requirement.

What is RabbitMQ

RabbitMQ is an open source message broker. Initially, it was designed to implement the Advanced Message Queuing Protocol. Later, it was extended with a plugin architecture to support various protocols such as STOMP and MQTT.

Difference Between ActiveMQ and RabbitMQ

Some common features of RabbitMQ are as follows.

Synchronous messaging – There is support for multiple messaging protocols, message queuing and delivering acknowledgement.

Developer experience – Allows developing cross-language messaging with various languages such as Java, PHP,.NET and Python. Additionally, the developer can deploy the applications with Docker, Puppet and Chef.

Distributed deployment – It supports a distributed environment with various zones and regions. Moreover, deploying as clusters is possible, for high availability and throughput. 

Enterprise and cloud support – There are pluggable authentication and authorization support. Also, it is possible to deploy the applications easily to public and private cloud.

Tools and plugins – There are tools for contiguous integration and integration of other enterprise systems. Thus, they help to extend the RabbitMQ functionality. 

Management and monitoring – Moreover, there is HTTP-API, command line tool and UI for managing and monitoring RabbitMQ.

Difference Between ActiveMQ and RabbitMQ

Definition

ActiveMQ is an open source message broker written in Java and consists of a full Java Message Service (JMS) client. On the other hand, RabbitMQ is an open source message-broker that originally implemented the Advanced Message Queuing Protocol. So, this is the fundamental difference between ActiveMQ and RabbitMQ.

Developer

Apache Software Foundation is the developer of ActiveMQ while Pivotal Software is the developer of RabbitMQ.

License

Moreover, ActiveMQ has the Apache License 2.0 whereas RabbitMQ has the Mozilla Public License.

Language

Above all, the main difference between ActiveMQ and RabbitMQ is that the ActiveMQ is written in Java while the RabbitMQ is written in Erlang.

Conclusion

In brief, ActiveMQ and RabitMQ are two widely used message brokers. The main difference between ActiveMQ and RabbitMQ is that ActiveMQ is an open-source multi-protocol supported message broker written in Java language while RabbitMQ is an open-source multi-protocol supported messaged broker written in Erlang language. Overall, they both support industrial protocols. Therefore, users get benefits in a broad range of languages and platforms.

References:

1.“Apache ActiveMQ.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 24 May 2019, Available here.
2.“RabbitMQ.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 May 2019, Available here.
3.“ActiveMQ.” ActiveMQ, Available here.
4.“What’s New InRabbitMQ 3.8.” RabbitMQ, Available here.
5.“Message Broker.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Feb. 2019, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1.” RabbitMQ logo” By RabbitMQ – RabbitMQ web (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia

About the Author: Lithmee

Lithmee holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Systems Engineering and is reading for her Master’s degree in Computer Science. She is passionate about sharing her knowldge in the areas of programming, data science, and computer systems.

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