November 1, 1999

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Growing Up:
Java Servers Offer More
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sidebar: Java Application Servers Pass Real-World Test sidebar: Servers Struggle With Enterprise JavaBeans Support A Good App Server Alternative SilverStream Unveils Application Server Upgrade PDF file: Java Application Server Features (To view a PDF file, you must first have the Adobe Acrobat Reader.)

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Network Computing Orchestrating Today's E-Commerce

We were dismayed to discover that WebLogic's Java Database Connectivity drivers for Oracle are Type 2, and require Oracle Call Interface libraries to be installed. Secant's EES and InfoSpinner's ForeSite (via Open Database Connectivity) shared this limitation, whereas TSI's Novera deftly handled any Type 4 Java Database Connectivity we installed. WebLogic comes with Type 4 drivers for Informix and Microsoft SQL Server databases, and should support any standard third-party JDBC driver, such as IBM's for DB2.

BEA's overall architecture and functionality are strong. WebLogic supports version 2.1 of the servlet spec, can serve 1.0-compliant Java Server Pages and has implemented the full Enterprise JavaBeans 1.0 spec, plus elements of the 1.1 spec such as container-managed persistence for entity beans, which some other products lack. BEA says it expects WebLogic to be fully compliant with EJB 1.1 by year's end.

WebLogic supports a flexible server-clustering model, provides a high level of security, and can use various naming services, such as LDAP (Sun, Netscape, and others) and Unix NIS. We successfully configured database connection pooling with four to 10 linkups, and ran code under the installed 1.1.7B Java Virtual Machine, or a separately installed 1.2.2 JVM.

Unfortunately, WebLogic's administration is weak. It lacks an SNMP client and, though you can monitor a cluster of servers via a Web interface, you can't control anything from there. Reporting and performance measurement are also limited.

The Extensible Markup Language story is mixed. Servlets can consume or generate XML; an XML parser is included, and WebLogic can generate Document Object Model or custom objects. Amazingly, none of this built-in functionality is documented for use outside the server's internals. A documentation upgrade will fix this oversight soon.

We tested WebLogic primarily with its built-in HTTP server, but it supports any Netscape API Web server, such as Netscape Enterprise Server. It also supports Domino Go and Microsoft Internet Information Server, and it can make use of Apache's server and proxy capabilities.

As an all-Java application, WebLogic should function on any platform on which a Java Virtual Machine is available, but BEA has so far certified WebLogic for 1.1.7 and 1.1.8 Java Development Kits with Compaq True64, HP-UX, IBM AIX and AS/400, Microsoft Windows NT, and Sun Solaris. OS/390 and Linux will follow close behind. Certification for use with the 1.2.2 Java Development Kit is under way for Solaris and NT, the only two platforms for which that JDK is available. We found no problems during our testing while using 1.2.2 under NT.

WebLogic doesn't feature two-phase commit directly, though it makes use of Java Transaction Services for Enterprise JavaBeans and the Java Messaging Service engine. WebLogic supports data coordination/rollback/commit with distributed Enterprise JavaBeans objects only if they all share the same database connection. Clustering and load balancing or failover are fairly robust, with a balance of performance and fault-tolerance. Server-level load-balancing is done via DNS round-robin "spraying" or with a hardware-based solution.

Lower-level load balancing with Enterprise JavaBeans objects is flexible. It's possible to implement various kinds of load balancing for round-robin, weighted, and parameter-based cluster-aware objects, but it works only for stateless session beans. WebLogic doesn't replicate state for session beans, so you can't easily load-balance between instantiations of stateful beans. WebLogic trails Secant and Novera in providing tools for wrapping back-end data objects, such as beans. Tools to automate the process are in development.

WebLogic's support for an implementation of the Enterprise JavaBeans spec predates its competitors, and BEA's development teams are aware of the current status and modifications planned for the Java language and specs. WebLogic has solid internals and architecture, but it needs improved documentation and more advanced, intuitive administration, deployment, and performance-monitoring tools. WebLogic is a strong brew that could use a drop of cream to cut the bitter edge.

BEA WebLogic Server 4.0, WebLogic 4.0 is priced at $10,000 per CPU and $5,000 per CPU for clustering capability or $15,000 per CPU for clustering edition.

Lutris Enhydra Java XML 2.2
As the sole open-source entrant in our tests and the only one to separate the presentation and business-logic layers, Enhydra held great promise. But its immaturity as a result of its development path is evident.

Lutris says Enhydra originated before the Java servlet and Enterprise JavaBeans specs; as a result, it doesn't adhere strictly to either. It will run with the 1.2.2 Java Virtual Machine (and, as an all-Java product, under any operating system and platform with a Java Development Kit), but it doesn't fully support the JavaSoft Servlet 2.0 implementation. Lutris says support for the latest servlet version, 2.2, is imminent and that Enhydra includes almost all the features of that spec. But we couldn't run a generic servlet; instead, we had to use proprietary Lutris classes for HTTP request and response access.

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