Glossary · System coordination, integration and orchestration
Content-based routing
Also known as: content-based router
German: Inhaltsbasiertes Routing
In systems integration, content-based routing is a messaging pattern in which an intermediary inspects the content of each message, such as a message type, product code or plant ID, and forwards it to the recipient or channel determined by rules.
- System integration
In one sentence
Content-based routing forwards each message to a recipient chosen by rules that evaluate its content, such as product type or plant ID.
Example
The integration broker forwards quality results for product family A to the laboratory system and those for family B to the supplier portal, based on a field in each message.
How it applies
- Integration: Content-based routing keeps senders independent of recipients: the sender publishes, and routing rules decide where the message goes. New recipients can be added by changing rules instead of senders.
- Engineering: Routing rules are logic and need the same care as code: version control, tests and a defined behavior for messages that match no rule or several rules.
- Documentation: Keep a readable overview of routing rules with the fields they evaluate. When a message “disappears,” this overview is where support teams start.
Content-based routing vs. topic-based routing
In topic-based publish-subscribe, the sender chooses a topic and subscribers pick topics. In content-based routing, the router evaluates message fields, which is more flexible but makes routing depend on the message schema.