Method and apparatus to facilitate access and propagation of messages in communication queues using a public network

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that facilitates accessing communication queues using a public network. The system operates by first generating a message or messages at a client. The system then formats these messages in a publicly available format. Next, the system communicates the messages across the public network to a web server. The web server receives the messages and transforms the messages to a database specific format. The web server then passes the messages to a queue within a database server across a proprietary network. In one embodiment of the present invention, the system includes queue-to-queue propagation with exactly once guarantees and recovery from failures. In one embodiment of the present invention, the system includes transactional guarantees when a client accesses a queue.