Oracle readies major app server upgrade

IDG News Service - SAN FRANCISCO -- Oracle Corp. tomorrow is set to introduce Oracle Application Server 10g Release 2, which is being characterized as a significant upgrade offering improvements in Java, Web services and identity management, as well as the addition of support for radio frequency identification technology.
The company plans to ship the application server and the JDeveloper 10g Release 2 development tool in three weeks, said Thomas Kurian, Oracle's senior vice president of development for Oracle Application Server.
The application server and development tool upgrades were the subjects of a session at the Oracle OpenWorld conference here yesterday and will be formally unveiled tomorrow, as will Oracle Application Server Standard Edition (SE) 1, a version of the application server for small-business customers. SE 1 focuses on building Web sites and portals.
"Release 2 is a major update release for us. There are 432 features in the new release," Kurian said. The company is looking to help users build business applications based on componentized applications in accordance with service-oriented architectures, he said.
Featured in Release 2 is support of the Java 2 Enterprise Edition 1.4 specification, including support for enhanced reliable messaging via Java Message Service and Web services enhancements. J2EE 1.4 provides application programming interfaces for building Web services in Java, such as JAX-RPC. The Web Services Interoperability Organization Basic Profile is supported, as is interoperability with .Net applications.
A Simple Object Access Protocol stack and Universal Description, Discovery and Integration Web services registry are also featured. A Web services management gateway in Release 2, meanwhile, provides a centralized point to log, trace and enforce policies across the application servers of Oracle and other vendors. Also featured for Web services functionality is support of the Web Services Reliable Messaging specification.
To boost deployment in computer grids, the application server features distributed configuration management and an improved transaction manager, according to Kurian.
Release 2 of the application server also offers 40% faster messaging capabilities for systems integration, according to Kurian.
Oracle is touting a "business event monitoring dashboard" in the new release, enabling users to set up key performance indicators and tie them to specific business events, such as whether a supplier is late, said Kurian. Security alerts can also be monitored.
The new application server features software called Instant Portal that's intended to provide a starting point for using portals. "We give you a portal in the box, [which] you can start with and customize, and it allows a business user to be much more quick and productive," Kurian said. Also