IBM Offers WebSphere Advanced Edition Beta Download
Joanna Doyle
IBM has announced the creation of an IBM WebSphere Application Service Advanced Edition for AS/400 V3.0 public beta Web site, where users can download beta code and access a variety of information on the Java-based Web application server for e-businesses.
WebSphere Application Server, Standard Edition, is designed to help customers deploy and manage a range of Web applications from simple Web sites to advanced e-business operations. The Advanced Edition expands on the capabilities of the Standard version by employing open standards such as Java Servlets, Java Server Pages and Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs), enabling businesses to integrate separate IT systems and extend them to the Web. The new version also features application-level security in addition to directory- or user-level access control, IBM SecureWay Directory for access to LDAP directories, advanced XML support for easier exchange of data among multiple Web sites, and improved failover, clustering and workload management features.
The download, approximately 170MB, is available through www-4.ibm.com/software/webservers/appserv/beta400/download.html. Before downloading customers are required to complete a one-time registration.
Although WebSphere Advanced Edition for AS/400 will not be widely available until the first quarter of 2000, the beta is designed to allow AS/400 customers an opportunity to become familiar with and evaluate the new technology. Registered participants will be able to access technical support and report problems with the Advanced Edition through a newsgroup and other feedback mechanisms available through the site. In addition, the site will be regularly updated with new information concerning the beta.
Prerequisites for downloading the Advanced Edition include Windows 95/98/NT; 600MB of free storage; OS/400 V4R4; IBM Java Development Kit; TCP/IP and a Web browser that supports HTML 4 and cascading style sheets (CSS). Further information about WebSphere Application Server is available at www-4.ibm.com/software/webservers/appserv.