DREAM is a component-based software framework for constructing resource-aware message-oriented middleware (MOM) that can be assembled statically or dynamically. It is based on Fractal, a recent component model featuring hierarchical composition, component sharing, and component binding. DREAM allows building different forms of MOM, from distributed message queues to content-based publish/subscribe systems. This article describes the main elements of the DREAM framework, discusses its implementation, and evaluates its effectiveness. The authors show that MOMs built using DREAM compare favorably with nonconfigurable, functionally equivalent middleware, while allowing finer-grain control over resource consumptions and providing runtime configurability.