WebSphere

WebSphere enables a dynamic application infrastructure based on a service-oriented architecture (SOA)that simplifies development, provides high performance and security.

WebSphere Application Server - a Solid Application Foundation

The WebSphere Application Server Family supports a broad range of platforms and offers these editions:

• Application Server - high performance, reliable application foundation.
• Application Server Express - out-of-the-box software to build a dynamic website and application.
• Application Server Community Edition - Lightweight Java EE 5 application server based on open soruce Apache Geronimo.
• Application Server Network Deployment - Near continuous availability with advanced performance and maangement capability for critical applications.
• Application Server for Developers - efficient development and innovation features of WAS v 7. no charge.
• Application Server for z/OS - utilizes IBM z/OS.

Performance

Application Server provides a secure, scalable, fast and reliable application foundation, optimizing runtime performance through provisioning, web services and EJB3 enhancements to reduce the processors performing the same workloads.

Security

New security capabilities have been added, including deeper levels of management, user governance and auditing decrease system vulnerabilities while maximizing developer productivity:

• Security domains for greater granularity, flexibility and control over users and infrastructure, making administration more efficient.
• Auditing capability to ensure compliance.
• Increased leveraging of Kerberos to improve security integration with other applications and environments with less development time.
• Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) token support for web services security to allow integration with web services.

Simplified Development and Investment Protection

WebSphere makes existing applications available in new ways:

• Support for new web services such as WS-Business Activity, WS-Notification and WS-I Basic Security Profile.
• Support for WebSphere MQ and WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)to form a communication backbone.
• capability to continue to manage prior WebSphere Application Server releases and upgrade as needed.
• Multi-cell support and compatibility to adopt new standards and run applications developed in prior Java Enterprise Edition versions.

Supported standards:

• Java EE 5 certification, EJB 3.0 support and Java Persistence API (JPA) and Java Development Kit (JDK) 6.0, providing simplified programming models to build reusable persistent objects.
• Web services support such as JAX-WS, SOAP 1.2, MTOM, XOP, WS-ReliableMessaging, WS-Trust, WS-SecureConversation, WS-Policy, and Kerberos Token Profile, to simplify integration.
• Web 2.0 to connect external web services, internal SOA services, and Java Platform Enterprise Edition (JEE) objects into interactive web application interfaces.
• Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) servlets for support of interactive user sessions with real-time multimedia such as voice, video, instant messaging and online games.
• Feature Packs simplify adoption of new standards like Services Component Architecture (SCA).