Modernization Target Comparisons

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The following table compares all the modernization targets deployed as images, running in containers, across a number of different capabilities.

Table 1. Target Runtime Environment Capability Comparison
Capability WebSphere Liberty Open Liberty WebSphere Traditional Description
Spring Framework 4.x, Spring Boot 1.5 check image Supported Spring and Spring Boot versions. Docs
Spring Framework 5.x, Spring Boot 2.x check image check image check image Supported Spring and Spring Boot versions. Docs
Spring Framework 6.x, Spring Boot 3.x check image check image Supported Spring and Spring Boot versions. Docs
Java SE 8 check image check image check image Supported
Java SE 11 check image check image Supported
Java SE 17+ check image check image Supported
Flexible Deployment check image check image check image Image based deployment allows for complete reproducibility and guaranteed immutability
Self-healing check image check image check image Container orchestration platform/operator restarts containers automatically
Horizontal scaling check image check image check image Container orchestration platform can scale deployments horizontally as needed, for suitable applications
High Availability check image check image check image Container orchestration platform can run multiple instances simultaneously to ensure availability
Zero Migration check image check image Application code written for one version of the runtime is guaranteed to run on later versions of the runtime
Continuous Delivery releases check image check image Continuously released every 4 weeks with latest security patches and features
Right size images check image check image Runtime is optimized to include only required features therefore delivering smallest possible footprint
Fast Startup check image check image Optimized for rapid startup in containerized environments
Auto-Tuning check image check image Auto-tunes for smallest operational footprint
MicroProfile enabled check image check image MicroProfile observability for health integration such as metrics, distributed tracing and readiness
Cloud-ready build check image check image Build using Dockerfile, Cloud Native Buildpack, or Source2Image
Level 5 Operator check image check image Full level 5 Operator for deployment and Day 2 Operations
Developer Mode check image check image Enhanced developer experience optimized for Cloud
Latest Jakarta EE APIs check image check image Supports the latest Jakarta EE APIs to ensure applications remain modern
Supported open source check image Runtime source code is open source. Full production-level support is available from IBM
Heritage WebSphere APIs check image check image Support for existing WebSphere APIs to accelerate modernization and reduce developer effort