WebSphere® Virtual Enterprise extends WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment, using service level management to provide an enhanced quality of service in dynamic operations and extended manageability.
Starting with Version 6.1, WebSphere Extended Deployment is divided into three functionally independent products. You now have more choices to address your business challenges. In addition to the full product containing all features, you have the option of separately ordering the following products: WebSphere Virtual Enterprise for dynamic operations and application server virtualization, WebSphere eXtreme Scale for high-performance and WebSphere Extended Deployment Compute Grid for running and controlling batch-like jobs.
WebSphere Virtual Enterprise does not change any Programming Interfaces (APIs) or binary files of WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment. Therefore, if an application works correctly with WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment, it will also work correctly with WebSphere Virtual Enterprise. You might be limited in the use of some WebSphere Virtual Enterprise features with particular applications, however, but any limitations depend on the design, performance, and quality of service requirements for the application. Most limitations can be overcome by tuning your topology or reconfiguring your applications.
For example, assume that you cannot stop an application safely without disrupting service, and you cannot tolerate a disruption of service during peak hours. Although WebSphere Virtual Enterprise quiesces your application servers before stopping them, sessions can still be lost if the application does not have sessions that can be serialized and if sessions remain after the maximum quiesce period has timed out. In this case, you can work around this issue by not using dynamic clusters in automatic mode or by tuning the dynamic clusters appropriately.
WebSphere Virtual Enterprise provides application server virtualization, resource management, and a host of advanced operational facilities, such as performance visualization, health management, and application editions. This combination of capabilities is sometimes referred to collectively as dynamic operations. Dynamic operations is the core functionality that provides application virtualization, application server virtualization, and application infrastructure virtualization.
Centralized workload management and health policy support has been added for PHP Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) servers and support expanded for other application servers including workload management, application provisioning, health management, and additional administration features. This support enables a more consistent approach to achieving service levels and health policies for a heterogeneous set of application servers. To improve overall operations of complex systems, the centralized installation manager reduces installation and maintenance efforts. With health monitoring policies, you can determine which situations to monitor and the actions to take when a specific situation occurs.
Virtual Enterprise represents on demand capabilities in an extended environment. Use the product to enhance operational efficiency by deploying dynamic operations, service high-volume transactional workloads with linear scalability and near 100% availability, or manage large scale, continuously available WebSphere Application Server environments.
Virtual Enterprise is not functional without the WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment installation. During installation, the product automatically identifies the WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment installation and extends the functionality to embrace the themes and added function of the product.
The product introduces application server virtualization and automation. A virtualized infrastructure redefines the traditional concepts of Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) resources and applications, and their relationships with each other. This new infrastructure facilitates the product's ability to automate operations, thereby simplifying complex configurations.