Sonic XML Server ™ is a set of high-speed processing, storage and query services for XML documents required to manage Sonic ESB operational data. By processing XML messages in native XML format, XML Server is very fast and does not place restrictions on the XML message schema. The advent of Extensible Markup Language (XML), a true hardware and software independent data format, was a revolutionary step forward. Because XML describes information independently of a specific system or application data formatting rules, XML is a key technology for supporting flexible exchange of heterogeneous data. However, this flexibility can take a lot of time and resources to process the XML format. Sonic XML Server provides fast processing of operational data and storage of XML messages required to efficiently implement a service-oriented architecture. Sonic XML Server extends and enhances Sonic ESB's XML message processing model by providing native query, storage and processing services.