IBM Gets Leg Up in Middleware

After two years in the lab, IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) finally unveiled the latest version of its WebSphere middleware platform today, and the hardware giant is drawing parallels between the human body and its new technology (see IBM Launches WebSphere 6.0).

Easier said than done. Middleware is a layer of standardized software which sits above the operating systems on which other software programs run. In the case of WebSphere, this means Web-enabled access to disparate data center applications.

The enhancements form part of a somewhat loosely defined IBM strategy called Autonomic Computing, which is based, believe it or not, on the bodys central nervous system. In the same way that the nervous system automatically governs crucial bodily functions such as respiration and heart rate, so IBM is pushing the concept of hardware and software that needs little or no human intervention.

Back on planet earth, this means improved "fail-over," or automatic transfer of data from one server to another when there is a problem on the system. IBM execs says that with WebSphere 6.0 data can now be transferred between servers even more quickly.

Whereas it would have once taken a number of minutes to complete this process, the fail-over can now be completed in a matter of seconds, depending on the server configuration, according to IBM director Bob Sutor. In an outage, WebSphere enables a server’s crucial transaction log to be restored from storage in a matter of seconds, he says. Previously, it would have been necessary to completely restart the server.This could be music to the ears of data center managers, according to Peter Abrahams, practice leader of integration and infrastructure at Bloor Research Ltd. “Anything that makes computers more reliable also makes operations cheaper,” he says. “As computing gets more complicated, this is going to become much more important.”

IT managers hoping to upgrade to the latest version of WebSphere in their own data centers have been granted a boon by IBM. Version 6.0 can be deployed piecemeal across clusters, avoiding the need for a disruptive "big-bang" deployment. “That’s absolutely great,” enthuses Sheryl Kingstone, program manager at Yankee Group. “IT managers don’t want to be forced into migration strategies -- they want to stage their application rollout.”

”It really depends on the infrastructure of the company, but I always advise to be conservative and test,” she adds.

Abrahams also suggests that IBM is feathering its own services nest with the new WebSphere. “The real reason why IBM is doing all this is because they want to turn computing into a utility so that they can supply all of it,” he says. “They also have their own outsourcing business which is very keen on things like this.”

With firms’ servers running applications ranging from customer relationship management (CRM) to human resources and financial processes, IBM is also keen to steal a march on middleware arch rival BEA Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: BEAS) and its WebLogic offering.Abrahams believes that BEA is likely to strike back with enhancements of its own, namely around Hewlett-Packard Co.'s (NYSE: HPQ) OpenView product. “I would expect BEA to make moves in this direction with stronger links with some of their partners, particularly HP,” he says.

BEA Systems was unavailable for comment.

— James Rogers, Site Editor, Next-gen Data Center Forum