Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 9 Release Notes

Chapter 2 About Application Server Platform Edition 9

The Sun JavaTM System Application Server Platform Edition 9 is a Java EE 5 platform-compatible server for the development and deployment of Java EE applications and Java technology-based web services.

This section includes:

What’s New in the 9 Release

The Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 9 implements many new features:

Hardware and Software Requirements

This section lists the requirements that must be met before installing the Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 9 product.

Platform Requirements

The following table lists the operating systems with which the Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 9 is compatible.

Table 2–1 Supported Operating Systems

Operating System 

Minimum Memory 

Recommended Memory 

Minimum Disk Space 

Recommended Disk Space 

JVM 

Sun Solaris 9, 10 (SPARC) 

Solaris 9, 10 (x86) 

512 MB 

512 MB 

250 MB free 

500 MB free 

J2SE 5.0 

Java SE 6 (when available) 

64–bit Sun Solaris 10 (SPARC, x86) 

512 MB 

512 MB 

250 MB free 

500 MB free 

J2SE 5.0 

Java SE 6 (when available) 

Redhat Enterprise Linux 3.0 U1, 4.0 

512 MB 

1 GB 

250 MB free 

500 MB free 

J2SE 5.0 

Java SE 6 (when available) 

Windows Server 2000 SP4+ 

Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP4+ 

Windows Server 2003 

Windows XP Pro SP1+ 

1 GB 

2 GB 

500 MB free 

1 GB free 

J2SE 5.0 

Java SE 6 (when available) 

On UNIXTM, you can check your operating system version using the uname command. Disk space can be checked using the df command.


Note –

You must use the NTFS file system rather than FAT or FAT32 when running the Application Server on any Microsoft Windows platform.


System Virtualization Support

System virtualization is a technology that enables multiple operating system (OS) instances to execute independently on shared hardware. Functionally, software deployed to an OS hosted in a virtualized environment is generally unaware that the underlying platform has been virtualized. Sun performs testing of its Sun Java System products on select system virtualization and OS combinations to help validate that the Sun Java System products continue to function on properly sized and configured virtualized environments as they do on non-virtualized systems. For information about Sun support for Sun Java System products in virtualized environments, see System Virtualization Support in Sun Java System Products.

Important Patch Information

For the current list of required patches for Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 9 go to http://sunsolve.sun.com and select Patches and Updates. Follow the Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 9 links. As operating system patch requirements change and patches to Java Enterprise System components become available, updates will be made available on SunSolve, initially in the form of recommended patch clusters.

Solaris Patch Requirements

It is recommended that Solaris 9, 10 (x86, SPARC) users have the “Sun recommended patch cluster” installed. This patch cluster is available under “Recommended and Security Patches” on the SunSolve Web site.

JDBC Drivers and Databases

Table 2–2 lists databases and drivers that meet the Java EE compatibility requirements. All supported configurations of the Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition must contain at least one database/driver combination from this table, such as the bundled Java DB database and driver. In addition, the Application Server is designed to support JDBC connectivity to any additional DBMS with a corresponding JDBC driver.

Table 2–2 Java EE-Compatible JDBC Drivers

JDBC Driver Vendor 

JDBC Driver Type 

Supported Database Server 

Java DB Network Client 

Type 4 

Apache Derby 10.1 

DataDirect 3.5 

Type 4 

Oracle 9i, 10g 

Table 2–3 lists all the additional databases and drivers Sun has tested internally.

Table 2–3 Additional Supported JDBC Drivers and Databases

JDBC Driver Vendor 

JDBC Driver Type 

Supported Database Server 

DataDirect 3.5 

Type 4 

Sybase ASE 12.5, 15 

Microsoft SQL Server 2000, 2005 

IBM DB2 8.1, 8.2 

IBM 

Type 2 

IBM DB2 8.1, 8.2 

Microsoft MS SQL 

Type 4 

SQLServer 2000, 2005 

MySQL Connector/J Driver 3.1 

Type 4 

MySQL 5 

Oracle  

Type 4 

Oracle 9i, 10g 

Postgres 

Type 4 

Postgres 8.1 

Sybase 

Type 4 

ASE 12.5, 15 

In general, the Application Server Platform Edition 9 supports all JDBC drivers that meet the Java EE specification.

Using the Bundled Java DB Database

This section provides instructions for using the Java DB database implementation bundled with Application Server 9. Java DB is based on the Apache Derby database.

Starting and Stopping the Java DB Database

Sun Java System Application Server 9 introduces two new asadmin commands for starting and stopping the Java DB Network Server.

Java DB Utility Scripts

The Java DB configuration that ships with Application Server 9 also includes several useful scripts which can help you use Java DB. The following scripts are available for use in the <appserver_install_dir>/javadb/frameworks/NetworkServer/bin directory:

ProcedureTo Configure Your Environment to Run the Java DB Utility Scripts

  1. Set the DERBY_INSTALL environment variable to point to the <appserver_install_dir>/javadb directory.

  2. Unset your CLASSPATH environment variable.

  3. You can also optionally set the following properties:

    1. DERBY_SERVER_HOST to the host on which the network server will listen.

      Can also be set to 0.0.0.0 to enable all listeners.

    2. DERBY_SERVER_PORT to the port number on which the network server will listen.

See Also

For more information about these utilities, see the Derby Tools and Admin guides.

Exporting Tables from Pointbase to Java DB

This example shows how to capture the DDL for a Pointbase table in commander and create the same table in Java DB using NetBeans 5.0. Another option for doing this is by using the commander tool and the unload database command:

./startcommander.sh
Do you wish to create a new Database. (Yes (Y) or No (N))? [default: N]: 
Enter product to connect with: (Embedded (E) or Server (S))? [default: E]: e
Enter driver to use? [default: [com.pointbase.jdbc.jdbcUniversalDriver]: 
Enter database URL? [default: [jdbc:pointbase:embedded:sample]: 
Enter Username? [default: PBPUBLIC]: 
Enter Password? [default: PBPUBLIC]: 

PointBase Commander 5.2 ECF build 294 size restricted version EMBEDDED

Interactive SQL command language. SunOS/5.9

(C) Copyright 2004 DataMirror Mobile Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.

Licensed to: Sun_customer_demo_use
For commercial version contact PointBase at: 
pointbase.com
PHONE: 1-877-238-8798 (US & CANADA)
       1-408-961-1100 (International)
WEBSITE: www.pointbase.com

SQL>unload database sampledb.sql;
SQL> unload database sampledb.sql;
SQL> 13 Row(s) Unloaded. (PBPUBLIC.CUSTOMER_TBL)
SQL> 4 Row(s) Unloaded. (PBPUBLIC.DISCOUNT_CODE_TBL)
SQL> 30 Row(s) Unloaded. (PBPUBLIC.MANUFACTURE_TBL)
SQL> 11 Row(s) Unloaded. (PBPUBLIC.MICRO_MARKETS_TBL)
SQL> 9 Row(s) Unloaded. (PBPUBLIC.OFFICE_TBL)
SQL> 4 Row(s) Unloaded. (PBPUBLIC.OFFICE_TYPE_CODE_TBL)
SQL> 15 Row(s) Unloaded. (PBPUBLIC.ORDER_TBL)
SQL> 6 Row(s) Unloaded. (PBPUBLIC.PRODUCT_CODE_TBL)
SQL> 30 Row(s) Unloaded. (PBPUBLIC.PRODUCT_TBL)
SQL> 10 Row(s) Unloaded. (PBPUBLIC.SALES_REP_DATA_TBL)
SQL> 10 Row(s) Unloaded. (PBPUBLIC.SALES_REP_TBL)
SQL> 52 Row(s) Unloaded. (PBPUBLIC.SALES_TAX_CODE_TBL)
SQL> 12 Table(s) Unloaded.
SQL> quit;

The results from executing the unload database command is written in the above example to the file sampledb.sql. The sampledb.sql file contains all of the DDL required to create the necessary tables and indexes. It also contains the DML to insert the data back into the database. The commander command RUN is intended to be used import the data into another Pointbase database using the script that was generated. Here is an example of what the INSERT statements and associated data look like in the generated file:

INSERT INTO "ADVENTURE"."CATEGORY" (
"CATID", "LOCALE", "NAME", "DESCRIPTION", "IMAGEURI" )
VALUES( ?, ?, ?, ?, ? );
{
'ISLAND              ','en_US','Island Adventures','Experience an island /
paradise in a way fit for your needs.','Island_Adventures.gif'
'JUNGLE              ','en_US','Jungle Adventures','Experience a jungle /
paradise in a way fit for your needs.','Jungle_Adventures.gif'
'MOUNTAIN            ','en_US','Mountain Adventures','Experience an /
elevated paradise with a view.','Mountain_Adventures.gif'
'ORBITAL             ','en_US','Orbital Adventures','Experience a vacuum /
paradise with a beautiful view and where no one can hear you scream.', /
'Space_Adventures.gif'
'WESTERN             ','en_US','Western Adventures','Enjoy the Wild West. /
','Western_Adventures.gif'
'SOUTH_POLE          ','en_US','South Pole Adventures','Experience a /
frozen paradise in a way fit for your needs.','SouthPole_Adventures.gif'
};

You could easily edit the file generated from the commander unload database command so that it only consisted of the DDL (for example, it would not be hard to write a program which would process the insert statements). As a simple test, we use the unload database command against the Pointbase sample database, and then edit the generated script, making the following changes:

Next, a simple Ant script is used to execute the DDL using the sql target. Finally, the same experiment is repeated for the sun-appserv-samples database requiring the following additional changes to the generated SQL file:

Converting Pointbase Java procedures to work with Java DB requires some changes to the Java code as well as to the CREATE PROCEDURE statements. Information on creating Java DB Java procedures can be found in the Derby Reference manual. Support for the Boolean datatype should be in the next release of Java DB.

Browsers

This section lists the browsers that are supported with the Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 9 administration console and Quick Start Guide. The browsers supported when running applications on the Application Server depend on the applications being run.

Table 2–4 Browsers Supported

Browser 

Version 

Mozilla 

1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7.x

Netscape Navigator 

6.2, 7.0 

Internet Explorer 

5.5 Service Pack 2, 6.0 

Firefox 

1.x

Upgrading the Sun Java System Application Server

Refer to the Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 9 Upgrade and Migration Guide for complete instructions for upgrading from a previous version of the Application Server to the Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 9.

Other Requirements

The following additional requirements should be met before installing the Sun Java System Application Server software.

Java EE 5 Platform APIs

The Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 9 supports the Java EE 5 platform. The following table lists the enhanced APIs available on the Java EE 5 platform.

Table 2–5 Major API changes on the Java EE 5 Platform

API 

JSR 

Java EE 5

Java Platform, Enterprise Edition 5

JSR 244

Web Services Technologies

Implementing Enterprise Web Services 

JSR 109

Java API for XML-Based Web Services (JAX-WS) 2.0 

JSR 224

Java API for XML-Based RPC (JAX-RPC) 1.1  

JSR 101

Java Architecture for XML Binding (JAXB) 2.0

JSR 222

SOAP with Attachments API for Java (SAAJ) 

JSR 67

Streaming API for XML

JSR 173

Web Service Metadata for the Java Platform 

JSR 181

Component Model Technologies

Enterprise JavaBeans 3.0

JSR 220

J2EE Connector Architecture 1.5

JSR 112

Java Servlet 2.5

JSR 154

JavaServer Faces 1.2

JSR 252

JavaServer Pages 2.1

JSR 245

JavaServer Pages Standard Tag Library 1.2

JSR 52

Management Technologies

J2EE Management

JSR 77

J2EE Application Deployment

JSR 88

Java Authorization Contract for Containers

JSR 115

Other Java EE Technologies

Common Annotations for the Java Platform 

JSR 250

Java Transaction API (JTA)

JSR 907

JavaBeans Activation Framework (JAF) 1.1

JSR 925

JavaMail

JSR 919

Java Message Service API

JSR 914

Java Persistence API

JSR 220

Java EE 5 SDK

Sun Java System Application Server 9 is available as part of the Java EE 5 SDK.

There are three Java EE 5 SDK versions:

In addition to Application Server, the Java EE 5 SDK includes Java 2 Platform Standard Edition 5.0 Update 6, Java EE 5 Samples, Java BluePrints, and API documentation (Javadoc).

Java EE 5 SDK SOA Starter Kit Preview also includes the Project Open ESB Starter Kit that implements an enterprise service bus (ESB) runtime based on the JSR 208 specification for Java Based Integration (JBI). It contains a BPEL service engine, Java EE service engine, HTTP SOAP binding component, and examples of how to use the BPEL service engine.

Java EE 5 Tools Preview Bundle adds NetBeans 5.5 Beta, NetBeans Enterprise Pack 5.5, and Sun Java System Access Manager 7.1, but not J2SE 5.0.

For more information on the other SDK components, see:

Switching to Another Supported Java Version

Sun Java System Application Server 9 requires J2SE 5.0 or greater as the underlying JVM. If you want to switch from one Java version to another, perform the following general steps. (Windows and Unix)

ProcedureTo switch to another supported Java version

  1. Download the Java SDK (not the JRE) and install it on your system, if you have not already done so.

    The Java SDK can be downloaded from http://java.sun.com/j2se.

  2. Completely stop the Application Server.

    You can use the following command line:


    as-install/bin/asadmin stop-domain

    Alternatively, you can use the Administration Console GUI:

    1. Click the Application Server node.

    2. Click Stop Instance.

  3. Edit the install_dir/config/asenv.conf file (asenv.bat on Windows), changing the value for AS_JAVA to point to the new J2SE home directory.

  4. Edit the as-install/samples/common.properties file, changing the line beginning com.sun.aas.javaRoot... to reference the new J2SE home directory.

  5. Restart the Application Server.


    as-install/bin/asadmin start-domain