Contents

1  Introduction

The Evolution of Computing Architectures

Legacy Systems

Client/Server

Distributed Object Model

Web Model

Electronic Commerce and Electronic Business

Three Stages of Web Presence

Electronic Commerce

Electronic Business

What Is an Application Server?

System Design Considerations

Security

Scalability

Load Balancing

Fault Tolerance

Management

Final Thoughts

2  A Survey of Web Technologies

Overview of Web Browser and Server Operation

Document Formatting

HTML

XML

WML

Client-side Programs

Plug-ins

Java Applets

ActiveX Controls

Server-side Programs

Scripts, Forms, and APIs

Java Servlets and Java Server Pages

Active Server Pages

Server-side Programs versus Application Servers

Web-to-Host Solutions

Traditional Host Access

Applet-based Approaches

HTML Conversion Approaches

Host Integration Servers

Final Thoughts

3  Java

History and Overview of Java

The Java Languages

Java

JavaScript

The Execution Environment

Java Virtual Machine

Java Runtime Environment

Java Development Kit

Java Components and APIs

JavaBeans

Enterprise JavaBeans

Enterprise Java APIs

Java 2 Platform

Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition

Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition

Java 2, Micro Edition

Final Thoughts

4  CORBA

History and Overview of CORBA

CORBA Architecture

Interface Definition Language (IDL)

Object Request Broker (ORB)

Client Implementation and Interfaces

Server Object Implementation and Interfaces

CORBA Interoperability

Interoperability Architecture

Inter-ORB Bridges

General Inter-ORB Protocol (GIOP)

Internet Inter-ORB Protocol (IIOP)

CORBA Interworking

Language Mappings

Final Thoughts

5  Application Servers

Market Overview

Market Size and Growth

Market Drivers and Customer Requirements

Application Outsourcing

Diversity of Vendors and Solutions

Battle of the Component Models

Differentiation

Pricing Models

The Future of the Market

A General Architecture

Client Tier

Client Access

Client Architecture

Middle Tier

Elements in the Middle Tier

Web Server/Application Server Design

Application Server Architecture

Application Server Platforms

Back-end Tier

Character-Based Systems

Databases

Transaction Processing Systems

Message Queuing Systems

Other Back-end Systems

Development Tools

Packaging

Related Products

Network-based Services

Directory Services

Queuing and Prioritization

Web Filtering and Caching

Load Balancers

Final Thoughts

6  Design Issues for Enterprise Deployment of Application Servers

Security

Elements of Security

Java Security

CORBA Security

An Overall Security Architecture

Scalability

Scalability Defined

Network Scalability

Server Scalability

Application Server Scalability

Overall Scalability in Multi-tier Environments

Load Balancing

Geographic and Local Load Balancing

Load-balancing Approaches

Application Server Load Balancing

Fault Tolerance

Network Fault Tolerance

Server Fault Tolerance

Application Server Fault Tolerance

Management

Application Server Administration

End-to-End Management

Final Thoughts

7  Tying It All Together

Implementation Examples

Case Study: BuildPoint Corporation

Case Study: FoliQuest International N.V.

A Survey of Application Servers

Allaire Corporation

Art Technology Group (ATG)

BEA Systems

Bluestone Software

Gemstone Systems

HAHT Commerce, Inc.

IBM

iE

Inprise Corporation

IONA Technologies

iPlanet

Microsoft

Oracle Corporation

Orbware Ltd.

Persistence Software

SilverStream Software

Sybase, Inc.

Summary of Offerings

A Look Ahead

About the Author

References

For More Information

Index