Glossary Updates12 new terms added to the glossaries · October 2, 2026, 22:44 CEST
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Glossary · System coordination, integration and orchestration

Message routing

German: Nachrichtenrouting

In software and communication architecture, message routing is the determination of the path or recipients of a message, based on addresses, topics, content or rules, so that each message reaches the components that need it.

  • System integration

In one sentence

Message routing decides which recipients or paths a message takes, based on addresses, topics, content or rules.

Example

An integration layer routes quality alarms from all lines to the quality system, but sends order confirmations only to the ERP interface.

How it applies

  • Engineering: Routing can be topic-based (subscribers choose topics on a Message broker), content-based (rules inspect the message) or address-based (as in network routing). Keep routing rules in configuration rather than scattered through code, so they can be reviewed.
  • Commissioning: Test that messages reach every intended recipient and no unintended one, including error and alarm messages that are rarely generated.
  • Operation: Log undeliverable messages (dead-letter queues) and monitor them; silently dropped messages hide integration faults.
  • Documentation: Include a routing overview in the integration documentation: message types, sources, recipients and the rules that connect them. This helps service teams trace why a message did or did not arrive.

Message routing vs. network routing

Message routing works at the application level on messages and topics. Network routing works on IP packets between networks. Both matter in OT: network routing between Security zones is controlled by firewalls, message routing by the integration middleware.

By knowledge.aitechdoc.world · Published September 26, 2026 · Last reviewed

Source: AI TechDoc Blog editorial definition, based on enterprise integration patterns and messaging middleware practice

Definitions follow the cited standards and specifications. Where a source is a copyrighted publication, such as an ISO, IEC or EN standard, the definition is a close paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation, so as not to infringe copyright. We recommend reading the original publication. The sections “How it applies” are editorial commentary by AI TechDoc Blog and are not part of any standard.

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