Sun Java Enterprise System Deployment Planning Guide

About Java Enterprise System

Java Enterprise System is a software infrastructure that provides a complete set of middleware services to support enterprise applications distributed across a network or Internet environment. The Java Enterprise System components that provide the services are installed using a common installer, synchronized on a common set of shared libraries, and share an integrated user identity and security management system.

System Services

The main infrastructure services provided by Java Enterprise System components can be categorized as follows:

Portal services. These services enable mobile employees, telecommuters, knowledge workers, business partners, suppliers, and customers to securely access their personalized corporate portal from anywhere outside the corporate network through the Internet. These services provide anytime, anywhere access capabilities to user communities, delivering integration, aggregation, personalization, security, mobile access, and search.
Communications and collaboration services. These services enable the secure interchange of information among diverse user communities. Specific capabilities include messaging, real-time collaboration, and calendar scheduling in the context of the user\qs business environment.
Network identity and security services. These services improve security and protection of key corporate information assets by ensuring that appropriate access control policies are enforced across all communities, applications, and services on a global basis. These services work with a repository for storing and managing identity profiles, access privileges, and application and network resource information.
Web and application services. These services enable distributed components to communicate with one another and support the development, deployment, and management of applications for a broad range of servers, clients, and devices. These services are based on Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE^TM) technology.
Availability services. These services provide near-continuous availability and scalability for applications and web services.

The following table lists the preceding service categories and specifies the Java Enterprise System components that provide services for each category.

Table 1–1 Java Enterprise System Service Categories


Service Category	Java Enterprise System Components
Portal services	Portal Server, Portal Server Secure Remote Access, Access Manager, Directory Server, Application Server or Web Server
Communication and collaboration services	Messaging Server, Calendar Server, Instant Messaging, Access Manager, Directory Server, Application Server or Web Server
Network identity services	Access Manager, Directory Server, Web Server
Web and application services	Application Server, Message Queue, Web Server
Availability services	Sun Cluster, Sun Cluster Agents

For more information about Java Enterprise System services, components, and Java Enterprise System architectural concepts, refer to the Sun Java Enterprise System 5 Technical Overview.

Built-In Services and Custom-Developed Services

Deployment solutions based on Java Enterprise System typically fall into two general categories:

80:20 deployments. These solutions consist primarily of services provided by Java Enterprise System. Java Enterprise System provides about 80% or more of the services.
20:80 deployments. These solutions consist of a significant number of custom-developed services and third-party applications.

The 80:20 and 20:80 categories are broad generalizations. The exact percentage of the type of services offered is not important. However, the percentage indicates the amount of customization a solution contains.

Java Enterprise System is well suited for 80:20 deployments because of the rich set of services provided by Java ES. For example, it is relatively easy to deploy an enterprise-wide communications system or an enterprise-wide portal system using services provided by Java Enterprise System.

For deployments that require custom development, Java Enterprise System supports the creation and integration of custom-developed services and applications.

Most of the service categories listed in System Services can be used to deliver 80:20 deployments. For example, communications and collaboration services provide email, calendar, and instant messaging services to end users, allowing them to aggregate and personalize the content. Similarly, the network identity and enterprise portal categories of services allow you to install and configure enterprise-wide applications without developing or integrating custom services.

Enterprise solutions that require custom development of J2EE platform services can leverage Application Server, Message Queue, or Web Server which are provided with Java Enterprise System web and application services.

Enterprise deployments can vary greatly in the number of custom-developed services they require. Because of the interoperability between Java Enterprise System services, you can create your own suite of services tailored to your particular enterprise needs.

Migrating to Java Enterprise System

The planning, designing, and implementing of an enterprise solution that uses Java Enterprise System depends largely on your current deployment strategy. For enterprises that are planning a first-time deployment solution, the planning, design, and implementation is driven largely by the specific needs of your enterprise. However, first-time deployments solutions are not typical. More likely are solutions that use Java Enterprise System to enhance existing enterprise solutions or to upgrade from earlier versions of Java Enterprise System components.

When replacing or upgrading existing solutions, you must take additional planning, design, and implementation steps to ensure that existing data is preserved and that software is properly upgraded to current versions. As you proceed through the analysis and design outlined in this guide, keep in mind the preparation and planning required to replace and upgrade existing software systems.

For more information about upgrading to the current version of Java Enterprise System and strategies for migration from other applications, refer to the Java Enterprise System Upgrade and Migration Guide.