IBM WebSphere Application Server Structure

IBM WEBSPHERE APPLICATION SERVER STRUCTURE

This IBM WebSphere Application Server (WAS) of Version 5 provides an entirely new structure of packaging. For the increment expansion of the features available to user, several installation images are built. These images give a total overview from the base installation and next adding features (e.g., extended programming model enhancements or multi-node network deployment capabilities) in the user perspective way. Base Application Server and the Network Deployment are the two basic packages.

This IBM WebSphere Application Server product, which can also be called as z/OS and OS/390, includes both packages, along with an interactive configuration wizard, called the Customization Dialog, with which the WebSphere for z/OS user can configure base application servers and add network deployment functions

The Base Application Server Package

A Base WebSphere Application Server installation includes everything needed for a single Application Server instance. Additional server definitions can be logically grouped into nodes. A node can contain many servers, but cannot span multiple computer systems. A single computer system can have multiple nodes installed on it, each with multiple managed servers. For example, multiple nodes defined on a large multi-user enterprise server computer makes better use of the system resources, and can isolate projects from one another.

A limitation of this package on its own is that it does not support the coordination between Application Server instances. Administration is limited to a single server at a time. Although you can create new server definitions from the Base console, you cannot use the console that is running in one server to start, stop, or otherwise manage a different server. The Network Deployment package extends the Base Application Server with capabilities for multiprocessing, multi-node configuration and control.