Add support for sending custom Kafka message headers via the built‑in service pub.streaming:send.

We are working on an integration using webMethods Integration Server 11.1 with WmStreaming to publish events to Apache Kafka.

Using the built‑in service:

pub.streaming:send

we are successfully able to send Kafka messages containing:

• Key
• Value
• Topic

However, Kafka message headers are not propagated.
On the Kafka side, no headers are received.

According to the official documentation:
https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/webmethods-integration/wm-integration-server/11.1.0?topic=folder-pubstreamingsend

The headers input parameter is documented only for timestamp-related usage, and there is currently no documented capability to send custom Kafka headers.

Use Case

Our use case requires publishing Kafka events while propagating contextual metadata such as:

• correlationId
• contextId
• traceId

This information is needed to:

• Enable end-to-end (E2E) monitoring
• Support distributed tracing
• Correlate events across producer and downstream consumers
   

(Notes: headers will be mandatory for any process not only our case )

Kafka headers are the standard and recommended mechanism for carrying such metadata without polluting the message payload.

Current Limitation

• pub.streaming:send does not provide a way to define custom Kafka headers
• As a result, headers are neither transmitted nor visible to Kafka consumers
• This limits Kafka usage in observability-driven and microservices-based architectures

Expected Enhancement

We request the ability to:

• Define custom Kafka headers in the pub.streaming:send service
• Support multiple headers with:
  • Header name
  • Header value (String or byte[])
• Ensure headers are properly propagated and consumable by standard Kafka clients

Conceptual example:

headers:
  - name: "correlationId"
    value: "12345"
  - name: "contextId"
    value: "abcde"

Business Value

• Enables enterprise-grade monitoring and tracing
• Aligns webMethods Kafka integration with native Kafka capabilities
• Avoids anti-patterns such as embedding metadata in payloads
• Improves interoperability with modern event-driven ecosystems