The following topics describe iWay Service Manager concepts, including channels, thread management, transaction management, and variables. 2.1 Understanding ChannelsA channel assists in the construction of message flows in iWay Service Manager (iSM). It is a container for your components that simplifies the application integration design process and improves organization, versioning, and troubleshooting.2.2 Understanding Thread ManagementiWay Service Manager (iSM) is engineered as a modern, multi-threaded server. It accepts messages on threaded inlets and processes many messages in parallel.2.3 Understanding Transaction ManagementiWay Service Manager (iSM) manages transactions to ensure that multiple actions either all complete or none complete. iSM uses concentric transaction control, addressing the different requirements for a listener or a process flow.2.4 Understanding iWay Variables (Special Registers)Variables in iWay are also known as Special Registers (SREGs). SREGs allow users or the system to store values as variables and refer to them throughout message processing, component configuration, or when used on the server level. Book traversal links for Chapter 2. Concepts