BEA has announced the release of version 9.0 of their WebLogic Server. WebLogic Server 9.0 is fully compliant with the J2EE 1.4 Specification. This release implements and extends the latest J2EE standards -- Enterprise Web Services 1.1, JMS 1.1, JMX 1.2, JDBC 3.0, Connector Architecture 1.5, EJB 2.1, and more -- to deliver unparalleled quality-of-service across the enterprise. The following sections summarize innovations in key areas of functionality.

Systems Management

WebLogic Server 9.0 focuses on simplifying and streamlining the day-to-day management of production systems with minimal disruption to live production environments. A comprehensive, centralized diagnostics service lets administrators identify and resolve issues in real time, and accommodates the integration of third-party analytic tools. This release of WebLogic Server introduces a more extensible, "portalized" Administration Console as well as a tightly controlled, predictable process for managing changes to a domain's configuration regardless of the configuration tool you use. A new scripting tool, a simplified domain directory structure, and modular deployment capabilities automate and facilitate application configuration and deployment.

Performance and Availability

Out-of-the-box support for WAN and MAN failover address catastrophic data center failures. Overall server performance improves greatly in WebLogic Server 9.0, with automated server migration and provisioning of services, policy-driven processing, self-tuning capabilities, increased overload protection, cross-cluster failover, and more.

Enterprise Web Services

Now a J2EE standard, Web Services increase developer flexibility and choice by providing a common run-time environment and industry-standard support for Java annotations and Web Services extensions. The WebLogic Server implementation of Web Services 1.1 lets developers respond more effectively to changing business requirements, with true asynchronous messaging support for conversational applications; interoperability features designed for enterprise service-oriented architecture (SOA); and improved XML processing. Developers can leverage WebLogic Web Services to rapidly create, deploy, and adapt secure and fully interoperable Enterprise Web Services.

Enterprise-Ready Messaging Infrastructure

WebLogic Server 9.0 implements cross-domain communication; bi-directional transactions from Enterprise Information Systems; automatic destination migration for high availability; message store-and-forward for improved reliability; and tightly controlled order of message delivery. In addition, this release improves management and performance of enterprise and messaging-intensive applications.

To read more visit http://e-docs.bea.com/wls/docs90/notes/new.html