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Sun Java System Application Server Enterprise Edition 8.1 2005Q2 Update 2 Release Notes

Chapter 2 About Application Server 8.1 Update 2 2005Q2

The Sun Java System Application Server Enterprise Edition 8.1 2005Q2 Update 2 is a J2EE 1.4 platform-compatible server for the development and deployment of J2EE applications and Java technology-based web services in large-scale production environments.

This section includes:

What’s New in the 8.1 2005Q2 Update 2 Release

The Application Server Enterprise Edition 8.1 2005Q2 Update 2 includes the following enhancements:

Hardware and Software Requirements

This section lists the requirements that must be met before installing the Sun Java System Application Server Enterprise Edition 8.1 product.

Platform Requirements

The following table lists the operating systems that are supported for Sun Java System Application Server Enterprise Edition 8.1 2005Q2 product. Additionally, the minimum and recommended memory requirements are identified for installing and running the Application Server.

Table 2–1 Sun Java System Application Server 8.1 2005Q2 Platform Requirements

Operating System 

Minimum Memory 

Recommended Memory 

Minimum Disk Space 

Recommended Disk Space 

JVM 

Sun Solaris 8, 9, 10 (SPARC) 

Solaris 9, 10 (x86) 

512 MB 

1 GB 

250 MB free 

500 MB free 

J2SE 1.4.2_06, J2SE 5.0 

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 Update 2, 3.0 Update 1 

512 MB 

1 GB 

220 MB free 

300 MB free 

J2SE 1.4.2_06, J2SE 5.0 

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 1.4.2_06, J2SE 5.0 

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

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 Enterprise Edition 8.1 go to http://sunsolve.sun.com and search for “app server 8.1 patch.” Follow the Sun Java System Application Server Enterprise Edition 8.1 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 SunSolve.

RedHat Enterprise Linux 3.0 Additional Package Requirements

To run native components of this product, including installer, the following package, which is not part of the standard RedHat Enterprise Linux 3.0 distribution, should be installed: compat-libstdc++-7.3-2.96.118.i386.rpm

The package can be downloaded from http://rpm.pbone.net/index.php3/stat/4/idpl/843376/com/compat-libstdc++-7.3-2.96.118.i386.rpm.html

JDBC Drivers and Databases

The Sun Java System Application Server is designed to support connectivity to any DBMS with a corresponding JDBC driver. For a list of components that Sun has tested and found to be acceptable for constructing J2EE compatible database configurations, please refer to the following table.

Table 2–2 J2EE-Compatible JDBC Drivers

JDBC Vendor 

JDBC Driver Type 

Supported Database Server 

i-net Software 

Type 4 

Oracle (R) 8.1.7, 9i, 9.2.0.3 

Sybase ASE 12.5.2 

Microsoft SQL Server 2000 4.0 Service Pack 1 

IBM 

Type 2 

IBM DB2 8.1 Service Pack 3+ 

PointBase 

Type 4 

PointBase Network Server 4.8 

DataDirect 

Type 4 

Oracle (R) 8.1.7, 9i, 9.2.0.3 

Sybase ASE 12.5.2 

Microsoft SQL Server 

IBM DB2 8.1 Service Pack 3+ 

Sun Java System JDBC Driver for Oracle 

Type 4 

Oracle (R) 9.2.0.3, 10G 

Sun Java System JDBC Driver for DB2 

Type 4 

IBM DB2 8.1 Service Pack 3+ 

Sun Java System JDBC Driver for Sybase 

Type 4 

Sybase ASE 12.5.2 

Sun Java System JDBC Driver for Microsoft SQL Server 

Type 4 

Microsoft SQL Server 2000 4.0 Service Pack 1 

Oracle 

Type 4, Type 2 

Oracle (R) 9.2.0.3, 10G 

For more information about i-net Software, see http://www.inetsoftware.de/.

For more information about DataDirect Technologies, see http://www.datadirect.com/.

Configuring Oracle

Oracle JDBC drivers must be configured properly to be compliant with J2EE 1.4. Use the following configuration for Type 2 and Type 4 drivers:

ProcedureTo configure Oracle

  1. Use the JDBC driver from 9.2.0.3 or later.

  2. The Oracle database needs to have compatible=9.0.0.0.0 or higher in its parameter (init.ora) file.

  3. Use the ojdbc14.jar file.

  4. Configure the Application Server to define the following JVM property:


    -Doracle.jdbc.J2EE13Compliant=true

    In addition, for Type-2 drivers, both the ORACLE_HOME and LD_LIBRARY_PATH variables (which must include $ORACLE_HOME/lib) need to be defined in the environment in which the Application Server is started. For example, add them to the asenv.conf file and ensure they are exported.

Configuring PointBase

Many sample applications use the PointBase database server included with the Application Server. When using Application Server Enterprise Edition, you must configure the PointBase database server before using it.

There are two ways to configure PointBase:

  1. Using the command appropriate for your operating system and shell, set the JAVA_HOME environment variable to the directory where J2SE is installed. For example: % setenv JAVA_HOME "/opt/SUNWappserver/jdk"

  2. Edit the Application Server's PointBase configuration file as follows:

    1. On Solaris and Linux systems, edit the install_dir/pointbase/tools/serveroption/pbenv.conf configuration file, changing the line:

      PB_JAVA=%%%PB_JAVA%%%

      to

      PB_JAVA=J2SE_location

    1. On Windows systems, edit the install_dir\pointbase\tools\serveroption\pbenv.bat configuration changing the line:

      PB_JAVA=%%%PB_JAVA%%%

      to

      PB_JAVA=J2SE_location

    Where J2SE_location is the directory where the J2SE is installed. If you installed J2SE with Application Server, it is installed by default to install_dir/jdk.

    After making this change, you can start PointBase using the startserver script.

Web Servers

This section lists the web servers that are supported for the Sun Java System Application Server Enterprise Edition 8.1 2005Q2.

Table 2–3 Supported Web Servers

Web Server 

Version 

Operating System 

Sun Java System Web Server 

6.1+ 

Solaris SPARC 9, 10 

Solaris x86 9, 10

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 and 4 

Apache Web Server 

1.3+, 1.4, 2.0 

Solaris SPARC 9, 10 

Solaris x86 10

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 and 4 

Windows Server 2003 

Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP4+ 

Windows Server 2000 SP4+ 

Windows XP Pro SP1+ 

Microsoft IIS®

5.0+ 

Windows Server 2003 

Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP4+ 

Windows Server 2000 SP4+ 

Windows XP Pro SP1+ 

Browsers

This section lists the browsers that are supported with the Sun Java System Application Server Enterprise Edition 8.1 2005Q2.

Table 2–4 Supported Web Browsers

Browser 

Version 

Mozilla 

1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7.x

Netscape Navigator 

4.79, 6.2, 7.0 

Internet Explorer 

5.5 Service Pack 2, 6.0 

HADB Requirements and Supported Platforms

In addition to the requirements listed in Hardware and Software Requirements, verify that your system meets the requirements listed below for running HADB.

Note –

The Java components of the system have been built with JDK 1.4.2_02 and has been tested on JDK 1.5.

Supported Platforms

HADB Server Host Requirements

Note –

Make sure write caching is disabled on devices storing HADB data and log files. Write caching is enabled by default on some Solaris platforms; for example, Solaris x86.

HADB Management Host Requirements

HADB Client Host Requirements

Upgrading the Sun Java System Application Server

The in-place upgrade from any prior Application Server release is not supported. Refer to the Sun Java System Application Server Enterprise Edition 8.1 2005Q2 Upgrade and Migration Guidefor complete instructions for upgrading from a previous version of the Application Server to the current version.

Switching to a Supported J2SE Version

If you want to use PointBase with the Application Server, download J2SE 1.4.2 and use it instead of the bundled J2SE 5.0 JVM. To do this perform the following steps:

ProcedureTo switch to J2SE 1.4.2

  1. Download the J2SE 1.4.2 SDK (not the JRE) from and install it on your system, if you have not already done so.

    The J2SE 1.4.2 SDK can be downloaded from http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/

  2. Stop the Application Server.

    From the command line:


    install_dir/bin/asadmin stop-domain

    From the Administration Console:

    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 J2SE 1.4.2 home directory:

  4. Edit the as-install/samples/common.properties file, changing the line beginning com.sun.aas.javaRoot... to reference the J2SE 1.4.2 home directory.

  5. Restart the Application Server.

    From the command line:


    install_dir/bin/asadmin start-domain

    From the Administration Console:

    1. Click the Application Server node.

    2. Click Start Instance.

Other Requirements

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

Bugs Fixed in the Enterprise Edition 8.1 Release

This section lists the customer-escalated issues resolved for the Sun Java System Application Server Enterprise Edition 8.1 product.

Bug Number 

Description 

4887079 

Programmatic APIs for deploying/undeploying and finding out which applications are deployed. 

4911462 

Incorrect message when port outside of available range. 

4918535 

sun-appserv-deploy() doesn't take flag to support createAndDropTables()

4939749 

xml:lang() value should not be inserted automatically by the Deploytool.

4946914 

Deployment support for cluster. 

4979136 

Directory based deployment copies the application in a backup directory. 

4987274 

Deployment fails if remote interface for the bean is named Util()

4988818 

Transparent Persistence runtime tests fail when J2SE 1.5 is used. 

4992295 

Deploying a system component succeeds on the command-line interface, but an error is logged in server's log file. 

4994790 

JSP deployed with precompilejsp=true does not use compiler flags in sun-web.xml.

4996876 

Verifier versus deploy with verify=true, different reports.

5003356 

Recent server.policy file updates are not accounted by Upgradetool.

5006854 

asadmin deploy --virtualservers fails to deploy.

5007309 

Inappropriate default value for HTTP listener acceptor threads. 

5008941 

JSR88 start operation fails when an application is deployed again after it is undeployed. 

5016848 

On Windows, the JDK JAR file caching and unclosed files prevent some redeployments. 

5017956 

list -m at the JAR module level does not list the EJB's.

5030425 

The deploydir command ignores security-role-mapping changes.

5041343 

Not checking servlet-mapping url-pattern--directory always wrapped by /.

5046120 

SEVERE log messages while deploying big applications. 

6041268 

No mechanism to disable HTTP TRACE.

6062410 

Upgradetool is launched in English on a localized machine. 

6067341 

The deploydir command on a web application with ejb-refs fails on rmic the remote interfaces.

6152752 

An outofbound exception is logged during SPEC J2004 test runs.

6154949 

Connection Validation does not work. 

6157310 

Runtime reloads the Collection field during relationship management.

6165491 

Failed to start a domain if it was created on a different path than the default domain. 

6171667 

The lifecycle modules property elements are not created in domain.xml.

6171729 

Non-String RA ActivationSpec properties result in a IllegalArgumentException during MDB deployment.

6172178 

OSS/J TT TCK failed to get JMS connection factory from a remote application server. 

6172589 

Optimize calls to security manager. 

6183492 

[DataDirect] DB2: Some trasparent persistence application server tests failed with exception thrown during EJB invocation. 

6184864 

EJB QL query returns no results using OR operator and expression contains null single-valued CMRS. 

6197393 

The Deploytool often won't create message-destination element in deployment descriptor. 

6198796 

EE samples asadmin commands needs to include availabilityenabled=true() option when deploying the application.

6198981 

Missing xalan.jar file from classpath causes empty drop-downs and web service wizard to fail.

6199076 

Unable to run the Duke bookstore sample failover test with the asant script.

6202363 

Cluster name hard coded in one ant target in mq-failover sample application.

6202606 

JMS service configuration cannot be used for SSL JMS between JMS and Message Queue. 

6206176 

Application Server 8.1 requires startserv/stopserv to have permissions of 755.

6207297 

Accessing the Application Server without the default SSL Port number (443) does not work. 

6207862 

asadmin create-domain --help produces some is garbled.

Bugs Fixed in the Enterprise Edition 8.1 Update 2 Release

This section lists the customer-escalated issues resolved for the Sun Java System Application Server Enterprise Edition 8.1 Update 2 product.

Bug Number 

Description 

4842830 

The exception “ComStream is closed” reaches JDBC client. 

4847716 

One should not use execute/executeUpdate to set commit mode as this may cause unwanted behavior. Use the standard JDBC setAutocommit().

4861326 

Statement pool does not recognize CREATE SCHEMA as an implicit SET SCHEMA. 

4891060 

Listeners ignore address directive when listening on sockets. 

5042351 

New tables created after new nodes are added will not be distributed on the added nodes. 

5061316 

Queries against a table being refragmented may fail with HADB-E-01792: Replica has been deleted. The query must be retried. 

5063175 

hadbm create should give error when using host with both single/multiple nets.

5079029 

Unregistering a package on a single host may fail with the error “The software package is in use by a database instance and can not be removed” 

5094611 

Management operations which require opening a write transaction in the administration repository, may in very rare cases, hang forever waiting for the transaction to open. 

5103186 

NSUP unable to start with one net down on Windows 2003. 

6225613 

 

6271063 

Install/removal of HADB c package (Solaris: SUNWhadbc, Linux: sun-hadb-c) version symlink /opt/SUNWhadb/ causes error.

6174781 

The command hadbm status – nodes may show that nodes have a nodestate equal to Unknown in a short period after the management agents have been restarted.

6175436 

If hadbm addnodes or hadbm refragment fails with error HADB-E-11747: Nodegroup all_nodes exists already, run hadbm refragment again.

61746766179084 

Unable to run configure-ha-cluster.  

6178228 

6179010 

Failure in configure-ha-cluster 

6181845 

Cannot create one data device larger than 2 GB on Windows. 

6189189 

export-http-lb-config doesn't create loadbalancer.xml file name when absolute path is given.

6198225 

QuickStart Guide has typo; i.e., repeated sentence. 

6195779 

The values of options of some filter drop-down lists are not internationalized. 

6196741 

Upgrade in place of bundled J2SE component does not work correctly when upgrading J2SE 1.4.x. 

6207616 

If a host is down, any hadbm command may hang for minutes if it needs to connect to the management agent.

6212791 

No items displayed in the right pane when clicking a tree node. 

6216096 

A hanging transaction may cause node crash due to “log buffer full” and a large number of transactions being aborted. 

6225613 

Inconsistent LOB size in executeUpdate() 

6227502 

Initialization errors in EJB Timer Service should not be logged as SEVERE.

6228789 

hadbm delete command fails.

6230415 

HADB-E-21070: The operation did not complete within the time limit, but has not been cancelled and may complete at a later time. 

6230792 

hadbm:Error 22009: The command issued had no progress in the last 300 seconds. 

6232347 

dropandcreatetables not quite correct for asdamin deploy --help.

6232838 

Unneeded log calls preventing application server from scaling. 

6232974 

Installer failed to create a node agent when upgrading from 8.0 Platform Edition to 8.1 Enterprise Edition. 

6233142 

Installing/uninstalling HADB should always preserve the softlink /opt/SUNWhadb/4, but, this has not always been the case. 

6233276 

Form authorization does not work for URL -pattern /*.jsp.

6233469 

Incorrect help text in asadmin help.

6233476 

Incorrect help text for update-file-user and similar commands.

6237567 

Missing key adminObjectStep2PageHelp in Create Administration Object Resource window.

6238477 

Unable to resolve "corba name" EJB references in same application server instance. 

6239630 

Cannot properly map a particular entity bean. 

6239837 

Wrong unit and default value for Reconnect Interval in Administration for JMS server-config.

6240661 

some messages remain in english in the locale. 

6241311 

The note for "Pool Idle Timeout" field is wrong. 

6241368 

Admin Console login screen and online help never refer to English browser language. 

6243395 

Transaction recovery not working with a JMS and JDBC resource. 

6245922 

Application Server crashes consistently. 

6246426 

Expansion of JAR files in WEB-INF/lib exposes content that should be concealed. 

6249637 

Change of JDBC connection pool properties requires a restart. 

6249662 

Proxy-auth-cert not properly formatted.

6250989 

SOAP Element.addChildElement adds an incomplete element without markups.

6252187 

High Availability single sign-on propagates principals between different realms. 

6252810 

configure-ha-persistence in man pages is not up-to-date.

6253735 

QuickStart does not include High Availability information. 

6254393 

Bundled QuickStart has link to out-of-date release notes. 

6254462 

NPE thrown by connection validation code after database restart. 

6255253 

"How to Buy" link in bundled documentation is wrong URL. 

6255440 

Performance improvement for synchronization. 

6255458 

Typo in delete-virtual-server.

6255524 

UpdateTask ANT task does not work with ANT 1.6.2.

6255564 

Upgraded domain startup fails due to administration user authentication failure after Platform Edition to Enterprise Edition upgrade. 

6258844 

File realm user login does not work after upgrade to 8.1 Update 1. 

6258997 

Correct description for --secure option in command—line interface man pages.

6259125 

Documentation for asadmin get is inadequate and confusing.

6262564 

PrivateKeyProcessor does not support get by keyIdentifier.

6262824 

Solaris 10: Stopping a management agent by using the ma-initd script in a global zone stops the management agent in the local zone as well. 

6263684 

Linux RPM patch generation script requires manual changes in the README.

6263686 

svr4 patch generation inserts incorrect entries in README.
 

package-appclient script broken.

6264969 

The setup of all AS samples that use PointBase failed: Cannot upgrade database to version 5.1. 

6265687 

Installer's graphic image has incorrect product version. 

6266183 

High Availability test failure: Realm name after restart contains null. 

6267410 

Exception during session.invalidate() if Log level is set to FINE.

Additional HADB Information

This section describes important additional information about the HADB implementation included in Application Server 8.1.

HADB Enhancements

HADB File System Support

There are several important considerations if you want to configure HADB to use one of the following file systems:

Upgrading the High Availability Database

ProcedurePre-upgrade Tasks/Data Migration

Before You Begin

Users should keep the HADB history files, management agent configuration files, log files and repository, and all the data devices outside the installation path. If not, this should be done prior to the upgrade. To move the management repository and configuration files:

  1. Stop all the old management agents and keep the HADB nodes running.

  2. On each host, move the repository directory to the new location.

  3. On each host, copy the dbconfig directory to the new location.

  4. On each host, update the mgt.cfg file, and set the correct path for dbconfig and repository directory.

  5. Start the management agents using the updated mgt.cfg file.

ProcedureUpgrade Procedure

To upgrade from HADB version 4.4.x to version 4.4.2-7, peform the following steps:

  1. Perform the pre-upgrade tasks mentioned above as necessary.

  2. Install HADB version 4.4.2-7 on all HADB hosts (on another path than that of version 4.4.x, for instance on /opt/SUNWhadb/4.4.2-7).

  3. Install the HADB 4.4.2-7 version on the hadbm client hosts, if they are different than that of the HADB hosts.

  4. Stop all management agents running on all HADB hosts.

  5. Start the management agent processes using the new version's software, but with the old configuration files. In the remaining steps, please use the hadbm command found in the new version's bin directory.

  6. Register the package in the management domain (default package name becomes V4.4, so another package name may be required to avoid conflicts with existing packages having the same name):


    hadbm registerpackage --packagepath=/opt/SUNWhadb/4.4.2-7 V4.4.2-7

  7. Run the hadbm listpackages command and check that the new package is registered in the domain.

  8. Restart the database with the new hadbm version 4.4.2-7. If it is necessary to move the devices and history files, run online upgrade combined with setting new paths for devices and history files in one single operation:


    hadbm set packagename=V4.4.2-7,devicepath=new_devpath,
historypath=new_histpath

    Otherwise, if the devices and history files are already outside of the installation directory, run the following command, which only does a rolling restart of the nodes:


    hadbm set packagename=V4.4.2-7 database name

  9. Check that the database status is “running” (using the hadbm status command) and that it functions normally, serving the client transactions.

  10. If everything is working, the old installation can be removed later. Before unregistering the old package, remove all references to the old package from the ma repository. Otherwise, hadbm unregisterpackage will fail with “package in use.” A dummy reconfiguration operation, for instance, hadbm set connectiontrace=same as previous value will remove all references to the old package. Now, unregister the old package:


    hadbm unregisterpackage [--hosts=host-list] old pacakge name

  11. Remove the old installation from the file system.

ProcedureTesting the Upgrade

On Solaris, to test that the upgrade was successful, check that the upgrade was performed properly:

  1. Ensure that the running processes use the new binaries. Check the following in all HADB nodes:


    new path/bin/ma -v
new path/bin/hadbm -v

  2. Check whether the database is running. The following command should show that all the HADB nodes are in a “running” state.


    new path/bin/hadbm status -n

  3. Ensure that the products using HADB have changed their pointers to point to the new HADB path.

  4. The products using the HADB can run their upgrade tests to verify the HADB upgrade is also working.

    After an online upgrade, if the new version does not work properly, go back to using the previous HADB version. However, if there has been a change to the management agent repository, the HADB itself can be downgraded, but the new management agent must be kept running.

Special Deployment and Upgrade Information

This section lists additional information about HADB deployment and upgrading.

Deployment

Online Upgrade from 4.4.1 to 4.4.2

It is not possible to upgrade from 4.2 or 4.3 to 4.4 online. However, 4.4 supports online upgrade for the future versions. To upgrade from 4.4.1 to 4.4.2, peform the following steps:

  1. Install 4.4.2 on all HADB hosts (On another path than that of 4.4.1 – for instance /opt/SUNWhadb/4.4.2-6).

  2. Install the new version on the hadbm client hosts.

  3. Stop all management agents running on the HADB hosts.

  4. Start the management agent processes using the new version's software, but with the old configuration files. In the remaining steps, please use the hadbm command found in the new version's bin directory.

  5. Register the package in the management domain (default package name here becomes V4.4, so another package name may be required to avoid conflicts with existing packages having the same name):


    hadbm registerpackage --packagepath=/opt/SUNWhadb/4.4.2-6 V4.4.2

  6. Restart the database with the new version (the following command does a rolling restart of the nodes):


    hadbm set packagename=V4.4.2 database_name

  7. Check that the database status is “running” (using the command hadbm status) and that it functions normally, serving the client transactions.

  8. If everything works, the old installation can be removed later.

    Before unregistering the old package, remove all references to the old package from the ma repository. Otherwise, hadbm unregisterpackage will fail with “package in use.” A dummy reconfiguration operation, for instance, hadbm set connectiontrace=<same_as_previous_value> will remove all references to the old package. Now, unregister the old package:


    hadbm unregisterpackage [--hosts=<host_list>] <old_package_name>

    Remove the old installation from the file system, as described in the HADB installation instructions.

Known SQL Limitations

High Availability Load Balancing

The Application Server includes load balancing for HTTP, IIOP, and JMS clients; HTTP session failover support; EJB clustering and failover support; highly available EJB timers; distributed transaction recovery; support for rolling application upgrades; and a high availability database for storing the transient state of J2EE applications.

Availability allows for failover protection of Application Server instances in a cluster. If one Application Server instance goes down, another Application Server instance takes over the sessions that were assigned to the unavailable server. Session information is stored in the HADB. HADB supports the persistence of HTTP sessions, Stateful Session Beans, and Single Sign On credentials.

Application Server Product Releases

The Application Server product is delivered in various ways. The following table identifies the product delivered for the various delivery mechanisms.

Application Server Product Release 

Delivery Mechanism 

Application Server Enterprise Edition component within the Sun Java Enterprise System. 

File-based distribution 

patch installation needed through Sunsolve

Application ServerStandard and Enterprise Edition Standalone product 

File-based and Package-based distribution  

Compatibility Issues

In the next major release of the Sun Java System Application Server Enterprise Edition the following incompatibilities will be introduced:

Deploytool

Deploytool will no longer be available. The equivalent functionality is available in the NetBeans IDE. For more information and to plan a migration, please see J2EE 1.4 tutorial for NetBeans 4.1 at http://www.netbeans.org/kb/.

Verifier

Classloader Changes

In the current release, the JAR and directory entries added to classpath-prefix, server-classpath, and classpath-suffix attributes of domain.xml (application server configuration file) are available in the JVM system classpath. An application depending on this behavior might be using the following methods from the class java.lang.ClassLoader to access classes or other resources from JVM system classpath:

In the next major release, the JAR and directory entries added to classpath-prefix, server-classpath, and classpath-suffix will no longer be available in the JVM system classpath. If an application uses one of the methods mentioned above, Sun strongly recommends using an equivalent method that does not assume that the resources are available in the system classpath. The equivalent methods that do not rely on the JVM system classpath are available in java.lang.ClassLoader and should be used when possible; for example:

Example 2–1 Old Code

java.net.URL url = ClassLoader.getSystemResource
("com/acme/tools/tools.properties");
Example 2–2 Suggested Change

java.net.URL url = this.getClass().getClassLoader().getResource
("com/acme/tools/tools.properties");

If it is not possible to change the code, then you may choose to use a new configuration option that will be added in the next release to set JVM system classpath.

Web Service Security Configuration

Security for Web services can be configured using the files wss-client-config.xml and wss-server-config.xml. Please note that the content and names of these configuration files are unstable and likely to change. The equivalent functionality will continue to be available.

J2EE Support

The Sun Java System Application Server Enterprise Edition 8.1 2005Q2 supports the J2EE 1.4 platform. The following table describes the enhanced APIs available on the J2EE 1.4 platform.

Table 2–5 APIs Available on the J2EE 1.4 Platform

API 

Description 

Components 

Application and Application Client 

Implementation of standard deployment descriptors by means of XML schemas 

Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) 2.1 

Timer service and EJB Web-service endpoint 

Java Servlet 2.4 

Web-service endpoint filter 

JavaServer Pages (JSP) 2.0 architecture 

Expression language and tag library 

J2EE Connector Architecture 1.5 

Inbound resource adaptor and Java Message Service (JMS) pluggability 

Web Services 

Java Web Services Developer Pack 1.5 

Integrated toolkit for building, testing and deploying XML applications, Web services, and Web applications 

Java API for XML-based Remote Procedure Calls (JAX-RPC) 1.1 

Mapping for WSDL and Java technology and support for development of Web-service clients and endpoints 

WS-I Basic Profile 1.0 

The enabling element for interoperability using WSDL and SOAP 

SOAP with attachment API for Java (SAAJ) 1.2 

An API for SOAP-based messaging; fosters the creation of SOAP messages with attachments 

Java APIs for XML Registries (JAXR) 1.0 

A uniform and standard API for accessing XML registries, such as those for Universal Description Discovery and Integration (UDDI and ebXML) 

Other 

J2EE Deployment 1.1 

Standard APIs that enable deployments of J2EE components and applications 

J2EE Management 1.0 

Definitions for the information model for managing the J2EE platform 

Java Management Extensions (JMX) 1.2 

Standard management API 

Java Authorization Contract for Containers (JACC) 1.0 

Definitions of security contracts between a J2EE Application Server and the authorization policy provider 

Java API for XML Processing (JAXP) 1.2 

An API with which applications can parse and transform XML documents; also adds support for processing of XML schemas 

JMS 1.1 

A messaging standard that enables J2EE application components to create, send, receive, and read messages; also adds support for uniform APIs for queues and topics 

JavaMail 1.3 

A set of abstract classes that model a mail system; also includes minor updates to the APIs 

High Performance

The Application Server includes load balancing for HTTP, IIOP, and JMS clients; HTTP session failover support; EJB clustering and failover support; highly available EJB timers; distributed transaction recovery; support for rolling application upgrades; and a high availability database for storing the transient state of J2EE applications.

Availability allows for failover protection of Application Server instances in a cluster. If one Application Server instance goes down, another Application Server instance takes over the sessions that were assigned to the unavailable server. Session information is stored in the HADB. HADB supports the persistence of HTTP sessions, Stateful Session Beans, and Single Sign On credentials.

Scalability

The Application Server supports horizontal scalability through clustering of server instances and request load balancing. It also achieves class leading vertical scalability supporting large multi-processor machines. The integrated message broker can be clustered for better scalability and availability. Client access from HTTP clients, RMI/IIOP based Rich Client Applications, Web Services Clients, and JRM Clients can be load balanced to Application Server clusters.

JavaServer Faces 1.1 Support

The Sun Java System Application Server Enterprise Edition 8.1 supports JavaServer Faces 1.1 technology. The JavaServer Faces technology consists of a set of server-side APIs that represent user-interface components that manage their state, event, handling, and input validation. The APIs also define page navigation and support internationalization and accessibility. You can add custom user-interface components with a JSP custom tag library.

While developing with JavaServer Faces technology, each member of a development team can focus on a single piece of the process. A simple programming model then links the pieces, resulting in a much more efficient and simpler development cycle.