This version offers many new and exciting improvements,
whether you are new to the product, or making the transition from
a prior release.
New feature: The new features that are
described in this topic are current as of the original release of
the product version. Changes in this documentation that are related
to service releases are marked with fix pack icons.
newfeat
WebSphere® Application Server is a proven,
high-performance transaction engine that can help you build, run,
integrate, and manage dynamic business applications. It excels as
the foundation for a service-oriented architecture (SOA) with these
main benefits:
- Simple, rapid development and deployment
Improve time to value and make the most of existing technology
skills with easy to use features designed to get you to production
fast.
- Secure and scalable SOA runtime
Rest assured that applications and data are safe and that you
can eliminate lost business opportunities with near-continuous uptime
for mission-critical applications.
- Extensible communication services
Increase your return on investment and improve the flexibility
of your business by making application services more reusable and
accessible to new users in new ways.
- Effective application management
Focus resources on innovation instead of maintenance, and reduce
the costs of managing your environment with effective and easy-to-use
management tools.
The following articles catalog the most notable new and changed
features, routing you to appropriate information for learning more
about each one.
Skip ahead to the details that interest you, or continue reading
this topic to obtain a higher level view first.
Simple, rapid development and deployment
Improve
time to value and make the most of existing technology skills with
easy-to-use features designed to get you to production fast. Key features
include:
- WebSphere Application Server Toolkit to help you create, test,
and deploy applications; including a rapid-deployment feature for
testing applications in the Version 6.1 runtime environment
- Tight integration with Rational tools for additional application-building
functionality
- Java Server Faces—a framework that eases the development of Java-based
Web applications
- Service Data Objects—a data-centric, disconnected, XML-integrated,
data-access mechanism that provides a source-independent result set
WebSphere Application Server,
Version 6.1 highlights include:
Secure and scalable SOA runtime
Rest assured
that applications and data are safe and that you can eliminate lost
business opportunities with near-continuous uptime for mission-critical
applications.
- J2EE 1.4, which makes it easier to develop and deploy applications
using industry standard tools
- J2SE 5.0 for improved developer productivity
- Web Services Security, with broad support for Web services security
specifications and architectural support for plugging in and extending
the capabilities of security tokens
WebSphere Application Server,
Version 6.1 highlights include:
- Portlet programming model for developing reusable Web modules
that run on a portal server and provide access to Web-based content,
applications, and other resources
- Common
Criteria Assurance Level 4 security certification
- Default security configurations set out-of-the-box
- Identity-management capabilities through integration of virtual
member manager
Extensible communication services
Increase
your return on investment and improve the flexibility of your business
by making application services more reusable and accessible to new
users in new ways.
- Powerful messaging engine. JMS support enables applications to
exchange messages asynchronously with other JMS clients by using JMS
destinations (queues or topics)
- Extensive Web services support, which makes it easier to integrate
applications inside the enterprise as well as externally with customers,
partners and suppliers
- Tight integration with WebSphere MQ for diverse environments
- Ability to plug in the WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus for service
mediation
WebSphere Application Server,
Version 6.1 highlights include:
- Web Services Notification, which enables Web service applications
to utilize the "publish and subscribe" messaging pattern
- WS Interoperability Basic Security Profile to provide transport-neutral
mechanisms to address Web services and to facilitate end-to-end addressing
- Web Services security updates
- WS Business Agreement
- Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Servlet support for applications
that support real-time collaboration
Effective application management
Focus resources
on innovation instead of maintenance, and reduce the costs of managing
your environment with effective and easy-to-use management tools.
- Web-based administrative console
- Integrated Solutions Console
- Java Management eXtensions (JMX)
- Tivoli Performance Viewer
- Tight integration with Tivoli software
WebSphere Application Server,
Version 6.1 highlights include:
- Console command assistant
- Integrated development environment for scripted administration
in WebSphere Application Server Toolkit
- ISC profiling
- Debugging enhancements in IBM Java 5 SDK
- IBM Support Assistant (ISA) bundled for self-help
- Simplified administration with simpler panels and more wizards
- Standalone thin administrative client