Scalable communication system

A communication system comprising:

• an interface module that is configured to be coupled to a first external system, the interface module comprising:
• an input queue;
• a message queue;
• and
• an output queue;
• wherein the interface module is configured to:
• accept a first message from the first external system in a first native message format;
• store the accepted first message in the first native message format in the input queue;
• retrieve the first message from the input queue;
• convert the retrieved first message into an internal messaging format;
• provide the first message in the internal messaging format to another interface module;
• accept a second message in the internal messaging format from another interface module;
• store the accepted second message in the internal messaging format in the message queue;
• retrieve the second message from the message queue and convert the retrieved second message into the first native message format;
• store the converted second message in the first native message format in the output queue;
• and
• retrieve the second message from the output queue and provide the second message in the first native message format to the first external system.

An adapter configured to adapt message communications between a first external data system and other different external systems, at least some of the different external data systems having different native message formats from the first external data system, the adapter comprising:

• a transport component configured to send a message to and receive a message from the first external data system, wherein the messages comprise information;
• a protocol component coupled to the transport component, the protocol component configured to interpret the received message and extract at least a portion of the information in the received message;
• and
• a mapping component configured to transform at least a portion of the extracted information into a message comprising an internal messaging format.

A method of interfacing a plurality of external systems, the method comprising the steps of:

• receiving from a first external data system a message in a first native message format of the first external data system;
• mapping at least as portion of the received message into an internal messaging format;
• mapping at least a portion of the internal messaging format message into a second message in a second native message format of a second external data system;
• and
• providing the second message to the second external data system.

A method for managing a communication system, the method comprising:

• presenting a graphical representation of a topology of a centralized communication system comprising a plurality of adapters;
• identifying a user interaction with the graphical representation of the topology of the centralized communication system;
• and
• modifying the topology of the centralized communication system based on the user interaction with the graphical representation.