This issue: WebSphere CloudBurst, super cluster, WebSphere MQ, IBM Support Assistant, WSRR, IBM solidDB, cloud computing, BPM, scripting, WebSphere sMash, ESB, HTTP plug-in, extreme scalability, Web 2.0, JPA, messaging provider, WebSphere Application Server Hypervisor Edition, and channel exits
The articles in this edition of the IBM® WebSphere® Developer Technical Journal describe things that are newer, better, and faster. IBM WebSphere CloudBurst™, IBM Support Assistant V4.1, and IBM WebSphere Application Server Hypervisor Edition are exciting new products. Simplistic design, a 90-day business process, and key files that are managed with scripts are better ideas that can make a lot of lives easier. IBM solidDB®, super clusters, and a mediation primitive extended with caching are keys to faster configurations. Read on to learn more.
Featured articles: Three ways you can improve performance include using an in-memory database with WebSphere Application Server, using a super cluster to achieve extreme application scalability, and adding cache support to a mediation primitive to reduce load and increase response time when retrieving custom policy data.
Continuing series: Bring the significant advantages of private cloud computing to your enterprise with new WebSphere CloudBurst and WebSphere Application Server Hypervisor Edition, and see how flexible channel exits are supported by the WebSphere MQ messaging provider.
Columns: A trio of Comment lines explain the smartest way to introduce business process management to the business, why simple is better than complicated, and how a few key features in the WebSphere Application Server Feature Pack for Web 2.0 can have a big impact on your Web applications. Also, Mission: Messaging makes a case for scripting as the key to quality, consistency, and efficiency, and The Support Authority wants you to know what's new in the lastest version of the IBM Support Assistant.
IBM Support Assistant is a free serviceability workbench provided by IBM to facilitate self-help diagnostics for software problems. This article provides an overview of the newest features in the IBM Support Assistant Workbench and Agent V4.1 software offerings, which include updates to proxy support and data collection, plus usage gathering, guided troubleshooting, and quite a bit more.
"A recent consulting engagement included a task to set up SSL channels between two queue managers. The standard operating procedure at this shop was to use interactive tools for nearly all administration tasks. They were a little reluctant when I suggested that we use scripts instead. We completed the SSL configuration in under three hours, and that included tailoring the scripts and training the staff on key management tasks. After about a month, the queue managers were migrated to new servers and rebuilt. The administrators were able to reuse the scripts we had created to set up SSL channels on the new queue managers in under an hour -- unassisted -- using a process that is repeatable, consistent, and error-free. Our investment was recouped entirely with the first reuse..."
"I've always thought if you make something simple enough that everyone can use it, then everyone will. I try to look at everything I do from a point of simplicity. To provide a robust and adequate design, some people think you have to build complex integrated systems and multiple layers of interlocking components or it just doesn't make sense. Application and system architects today have a broad base of knowledge from Internet and intranet infrastructure designs to multi-layered redundant hardware and software backends. Of course, there are places where it makes sense to apply these technologies, but when it comes to how users are going to actually apply and interact with this technology, I find that simplicity is often absent from the overall picture..."
"When adopting business process management (BPM) into your organization, the first challenge you are faced with is where to begin. Selecting the right process for your initial project is critical in enabling you to not only demonstrate the benefits of BPM, but to also show your organization the value in its investment. What type of process is a good candidate for getting started with BPM? If a process can be automated in 90 days, it is large enough to have a business payback, but small enough to be a practical first project. After this project is a success and has shown the value of BPM to the business, you will then be in a position to tackle larger scope BPM projects..."
"Unlike other feature packs, the WebSphere Application Server Feature Pack for Web 2.0 is application centric. This means that the Feature Pack for Web 2.0 does not modify the internal WebSphere Application Server runtime to provide additional benefit and functionality. Instead, the feature pack provides a set of Java libraries and JavaScript files that you can use when developing your applications. I point this out because I have encountered users who are reluctant to try a feature pack for fear that it might introduce new behavior in the application server runtime; that is not the case here..."
In this new regular feature, The WebSphere Contrarian answers questions, provides guidance, and otherwise discusses fundamental topics related to the use of WebSphere products, often dispensing field-proven advice that contradicts prevailing wisdom.
