XML Appliance

An XML appliance is a special purpose network device used to secure, manage and mediate XML traffic. They are most popularly implemented in Service Oriented Architectures to control XML based Web Services traffic, and increasingly in cloud oriented computing to help enterprises integrate on premise applications with off premise cloud hosted applications. XML Appliances are also commonly referred to as SOA Appliances, SOA Gateways, XML Gateways, Cloud Brokers. Some have also been deployed for more specific applications like Message-oriented middleware. While the originators of the product category deployed exclusively as hardware, today most XML Appliances are also available as software gateways and virtual appliances for environments like VMWare.