IBM Adds JEE 6 Support to WebSphere Community Edition
October 4, 2011 Alex Woodie
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IBM‘s entry-level version of the WebSphere Application Server got a little more robust last week when the company announced it added support for the latest Java Enterprise Edition (JEE) environment with WebSphere Application Server Community Edition (CE) version 3. WAS CE is a lightweight and free Web application server designed for running non-critical or departmental-level Java applications. The software, which IBM supports for a fee, is based on Apache‘s open source Geronimo Java application server. IBM got a leg up on the Geronimo business and the development of WAS CE with its acquisition of Gluecode Software in 2005. Support for JEE 6 gives WAS CE users the capability to deploy the latest enterprise Java applications, and eliminates the need for IBM customers to deploy more complicated and heavyweight WebSphere editions. Version 3 also introduces support for the enterprise Open Services Gateway initiative (OSGi) framework. The OSGi framework implements a complete and dynamic component model for Java that enables administrators to install, start, stop, update, and uninstall Java applications or components without requiring a reboot. Version 3 borrows its OSGi support from the Apache Aries project. Other enhancements in version 3 include the capability to accept encrypted passwords; multi-point failover support for EJBs; JMS clustering failover; greater compatibility for running Apache Tomcat-based apps; support for Secure Shell (SSH) administration; new command line tools for managing JEE and OSGi applications and bundles; new commands for administering the Geronimo kernel; role-based administration; a new Eclipse plug-in and support for Eclipse 3.6; EJP portlet enhancements; and more. WAS CE still does not run on IBM i. The software only supports AIX, Linux, Windows, and Solaris. Considering that IBM i 7.1 shares the same Java environment as AIX, it doesn’t seem like it would be that difficult for IBM to bring WAS CE to the IBM i environment. Of course, IBM i shops running somewhat modern iSeries, System i, or Power Systems hardware should be able to get WAS CE running in an AIX or Linux partition without too much trouble. And for those IBM i shops averse to a full WAS implementation, there is always the IBM i version of WAS-Express available to them. For more information, see IBM Canada software announcement A11-0191. RELATED STORY IBM Launches WebSphere Community Edition
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