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Apache Camel VS Apache ActiveMQ

Compare Apache Camel VS Apache ActiveMQ and see what are their differences

Apache Camel logo Apache Camel

Apache Camel is a versatile open-source integration framework based on known enterprise integration patterns.

Apache ActiveMQ logo Apache ActiveMQ

Apache ActiveMQ is an open source messaging and integration patterns server.
  • Apache Camel Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-12-14
  • Apache ActiveMQ Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-01

Apache Camel features and specs

  • Flexibility
    Apache Camel's architecture allows for integration with a wide variety of systems, protocols, and data formats. This flexibility makes it easier to fit into heterogeneous environments.
  • Wide Range of Components
    With over 300 components, Apache Camel supports numerous integration scenarios. This extensive library reduces the need for custom coding, speeding up the development process.
  • Enterprise Integration Patterns
    Camel is built around well-known Enterprise Integration Patterns (EIPs), providing a structured way to design and implement complex integration solutions.
  • Ease of Use
    It offers straightforward DSLs (Domain Specific Languages) in Java, XML, and other languages, making it accessible and easy to use for developers.
  • Strong Community Support
    Being an Apache project, Camel benefits from a robust community and extensive documentation, which can help address issues and provide guidance.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Camel

  • Performance Overhead
    Due to its extensive feature set and high level of abstraction, Camel may introduce performance overhead, which might not be suitable for very high-throughput systems.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    Although it simplifies integration, mastering Camel requires a good understanding of EIPs and the Camel-specific DSLs, which can be challenging for beginners.
  • Complexity in Large-Scale Deployments
    For very large-scale and complex integration needs, managing and deploying Camel routes can become cumbersome without proper tooling and infrastructure.
  • Configuration Management
    Managing configurations across different environments can be challenging, especially without external configuration management tools like Spring Boot or Kubernetes.
  • Limited Native Cloud Support
    While Camel can be deployed in cloud environments, it does not inherently offer all the features needed for cloud-native applications, such as autoscaling and resilience, without additional configuration and components.

Apache ActiveMQ features and specs

  • Open Source
    ActiveMQ is open-source under the Apache License, making it free to use and modify. This can lead to cost savings compared to commercial solutions.
  • Wide Protocol Support
    ActiveMQ supports multiple messaging protocols, including AMQP, MQTT, OpenWire, Stomp, and others, allowing for flexible integration with various systems and applications.
  • Java Integration
    Written in Java, ActiveMQ integrates well with JVM-based applications and other Apache projects like Camel and Karaf, making it a good fit for Java-centric environments.
  • High Availability
    Features like broker clustering, network of brokers, and failover support provide robust high availability options, ensuring message delivery even in case of failures.
  • Performance and Scalability
    ActiveMQ can handle a large number of messages and users by scaling horizontally, making it suitable for both small and enterprise-level applications.
  • Admin Console
    ActiveMQ provides a web-based admin console for easy management and monitoring of the message broker, simplifying administrative tasks.

Possible disadvantages of Apache ActiveMQ

  • Complex Configuration
    The initial setup and configuration can be complex, especially for newcomers. It often requires a steep learning curve to understand all the available options and optimizations.
  • Resource Intensive
    ActiveMQ can be resource-intensive, particularly in high-throughput scenarios, which may necessitate more robust hardware for optimal performance.
  • Latency
    In certain configurations, ActiveMQ may exhibit higher latency compared to other brokers, which might not make it suitable for use cases requiring real-time guarantees.
  • Java Dependency
    As a Java-based solution, ActiveMQ requires the JVM, which can be a downside for organizations that have standardized on other technology stacks.
  • Community Support
    While there is a community around ActiveMQ, it may not be as large or as active as those for other, similar open-source projects. This can lead to slower responses to issues and fewer community-based resources.
  • Documentation
    Though comprehensive, the documentation can sometimes be difficult to navigate, making it challenging for users to find specific information quickly.

Analysis of Apache Camel

Overall verdict

  • Apache Camel is a strong choice for projects requiring complex system integration and routing. Its strong adherence to well-established design patterns and flexibility make it a valuable tool in the integration space. However, its complexity might be daunting for smaller projects or for teams without experience in integration patterns.

Why this product is good

  • Apache Camel is a versatile integration framework that provides a comprehensive library of EIPs (Enterprise Integration Patterns) to facilitate integration projects. It supports a wide range of protocols and data formats, offering a seamless method of connecting disparate systems. Camel is known for its flexibility, allowing developers to define routing and mediation rules in various DSLs (Domain-Specific Languages) such as Java, XML, and YAML. The framework's extensive component library enables quick and easy connections to various software and technologies. Its open-source nature and large community support also contribute to its robustness and reliability.

Recommended for

    Apache Camel is recommended for enterprises dealing with diverse systems needing efficient integration, particularly in complex or large-scale environments. It's especially beneficial for organizations that rely heavily on message brokering, microservices, or those that require orchestrating multiple software services efficiently. It's also suited for developers and teams familiar with EIPs and looking for a robust solution to handle complex data and workflow transformations.

Analysis of Apache ActiveMQ

Overall verdict

  • Apache ActiveMQ is generally considered a good choice for message brokering due to its comprehensive feature set, stability, and scalability. It is especially beneficial in environments where integration between different systems and technologies is necessary, thanks to its support of numerous messaging protocols.

Why this product is good

  • Apache ActiveMQ is a popular open-source message broker that is known for its flexibility and reliability. It supports multiple messaging protocols and offers features such as high availability, load balancing, and a robust set of messaging patterns. It is a mature project with a large user base and a supportive community. Its ability to integrate with various platforms and languages, along with its rich feature set, makes it a suitable choice for many applications requiring reliable message queuing.

Recommended for

    Apache ActiveMQ is recommended for enterprises looking for a reliable and scalable message broker, developers needing rich messaging functionality, and organizations that require robust support for various messaging protocols, including JMS, AMQP, STOMP, and MQTT. It is particularly well-suited for applications that need to distribute messages between different applications, languages, and platforms.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Apache Camel and Apache ActiveMQ)
Data Integration
57 57%
43% 43
ETL
100 100%
0% 0
Stream Processing
0 0%
100% 100
Web Service Automation
48 48%
52% 52

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Apache Camel and Apache ActiveMQ

Apache Camel Reviews

10 Best Open Source ETL Tools for Data Integration
Popular for its data integration capabilities, Apache Camel supports most of the Enterprise Integration Patterns and newer integration patterns from microservice architectures. The idea is to help you solve your business integration problems using the best industry practices. It is also interesting to note that the tool runs standalone and is embeddable as a library within...
Source: testsigma.com
11 Best FREE Open-Source ETL Tools in 2024
Apache Camel is an Open-Source framework that helps you integrate different applications using multiple protocols and technologies. It helps configure routing and mediation rules by providing a Java-object-based implementation of Enterprise Integration Patterns (EIP), declarative Java-domain specific language, or by using an API.
Source: hevodata.com
Top 10 Popular Open-Source ETL Tools for 2021
Apache Camel is an Open-Source framework that helps you integrate different applications using multiple protocols and technologies. It helps configure routing and mediation rules by providing a Java-object-based implementation of Enterprise Integration Patterns (EIP), declarative Java-domain specific language, or by using an API.
Source: hevodata.com
Top ETL Tools For 2021...And The Case For Saying "No" To ETL
Apache Camel uses Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs), a naming scheme used in Camel to refer to an endpoint that provides information such as which components are being used, the context path and the options applied against the component. There are more than 100 components used by Apache Camel, including FTP, JMX and HTTP. Apache Camel can be deployed as a standalone...
Source: blog.panoply.io

Apache ActiveMQ Reviews

6 Best Kafka Alternatives: 2022’s Must-know List
ActiveMQ is a flexible, open-source, multi-protocol messaging broker that supports many protocols. This makes it easy for developers to use a variety of languages and platforms. The AMQP protocol facilitates integration with many applications based on different platforms. However, ActiveMQ’s high-end data accessibility capabilities are complemented by its load balancing,...
Source: hevodata.com
Top 15 Alternatives to RabbitMQ In 2021
It is a managed information broker for Apache ActiveMQ which has simple installation and it runs message broker in cloud. It doesn’t need any special look after regular management and maintenance of the message system. It is utilized to send bulk message services.
Source: gokicker.com
Top 15 Kafka Alternatives Popular In 2021
Apache ActiveMQ is a popular, open-source, flexible multi-protocol messaging broker. Since it has great support for industry-based protocols, developers get access to languages and platforms. It helps in connecting clients written in languages like Python, C, C++, JavaScript, etc. With the help of the AMQP protocol, integration with many applications with different platforms...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Apache Camel should be more popular than Apache ActiveMQ. It has been mentiond 13 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Apache Camel mentions (13)

  • Understanding AML/KYC: a light primer for engineers
    Seamless integration of AML and KYC solutions with existing systems is critical for effective automation. Use middleware platforms like MuleSoft (commercial) or Apache Camel (open source) to facilitate data exchange or deeper integrations between many disparate systems. Integration testing to ensure faithful and ongoing interoperability between both proprietary and 3rd-party systems should be rigorous and will... - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
  • Ask HN: What is the correct way to deal with pipelines?
    "correct" is a value judgement that depends on lots of different things. Only you can decide which tool is correct. Here are some ideas: - https://camel.apache.org/ - https://www.windmill.dev/ Your idea about a queue (in redis, or postgres, or sqlite, etc) is also totally valid. These off-the-shelf tools I listed probably wouldn't give you a huge advantage IMO. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Why messaging is much better than REST for inter-microservice communications
    This reminds me more of Apache Camel[0] than other things it's being compared to. > The process initiator puts a message on a queue, and another processor picks that up (probably on a different service, on a different host, and in different code base) - does some processing, and puts its (intermediate) result on another queue This is almost exactly the definition of message routing (ie: Camel). I'm a bit doubtful... - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Can I continuously write to a CSV file with a python script while a Java application is continuously reading from it?
    Since you're writing a Java app to consume this, I highly recommend Apache Camel to do the consuming of messages for it. You can trivially aim it at file systems, message queues, databases, web services and all manner of other sources to grab your data for you, and you can change your mind about what that source is, without having to rewrite most of your client code. Source: over 2 years ago
  • S3 to S3 transform
    For a simple sequential Pipeline, my goto would be Apache Camel. As soon as you want complexity its either Apache Nifi or a micro service architecture. Source: over 2 years ago
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Apache ActiveMQ mentions (7)

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Apache Camel and Apache ActiveMQ, you can also consider the following products

StatCounter - StatCounter is a simple but powerful real-time web analytics service that helps you track, analyse and understand your visitors so you can make good decisions to become more successful online.

RabbitMQ - RabbitMQ is an open source message broker software.

Histats - Start tracking your visitors in 1 minute!

IBM MQ - IBM MQ is messaging middleware that simplifies and accelerates the integration of diverse applications and data across multiple platforms.

AFSAnalytics - AFSAnalytics.

Apache Kafka - Apache Kafka is an open-source message broker project developed by the Apache Software Foundation written in Scala.