Metaserver 4.0 stands out in crowded BPI market

Metaserver's runtime environment can be spread over multiple Linux, Unix, or Windows servers and managed from a single console. Although somewhat complex, its runtime platform is one of the solution's best aspects because it offers the tools to quickly adjust to changing volumes of transactions and get the best performance from your hardware resources.

Free IT resource Hear how top CIOs turn change into a competitive advantage. Sponsored by HP Free IT resource Attend the SOA Executive Forum: Breaking SOA Bottlenecks SOAExecForum.com/may2007 Sponsored by InfoWorld Metaserver 4.0 Metaserver, metaserver.com Deploy  8.1 criteria score Ease-of-use 9 Implementation 8 Innovation 7 Interoperability 9 Scalability 9 Security 7 Suitability 9 Support 7 Training 8 Value 8 Business Case: Metaserver is a powerful platform for creating and executing new business processes by recycling existing applications and technical resources, which minimizes development and administration costs. Technology Case: The flexible, modular architecture of Metaserver works well with most development technologies, and makes for easy integration in most datacenters and optimal use of computer resources. Pros: + Integrated modeling and runtime environmentMultitier, scalable execution engine + Easy-to-implement fault tolerance + Powerful GUI Cons: - Unrestricted access for business and technical users Cost: Metaserver starts at $136,000; each additional connector costs $30,000 or more; support cost is 18 percent of license fee Platforms: Microsoft Windows for Modeling environment; Linux, Unix, or Windows servers for runtime engine About our Reviews and Scoring Methodology

Having a single management point for Metaserver makes administration more efficient and less expensive for IT managers who spread their processes' execution over multiple machines. And because it's compatible with the three major OS families, Metaserver should easily fit in most enterprise networks.

Running the process

Developers should feel comfortable using the MME because they don’t have to learn new skills and can easily reuse code in new business processes. Moreover, the modeling engine is tightly integrated with Metaserver's runtime environment, so after completing each process step, a developer can immediately test it without leaving the GUI. And that integration facilitates easy deployment of a process to the runtime servers. In fact, after our process design was complete and we were sure that each application link worked correctly, deploying our business process was as easy as launching the deploy wizard, directing the virtual server to run our application, and finally verifying that the process worked as expected, again without leaving the GUI.

Using the proper connectors, Metaserver can link applications from the most common environments, including Microsoft COM, Java and EJB, and Web services, using WSDL (Web services definition language) or XML. The process is slightly different, according to the technical requirements of each target application, but consistent overall. For example, to include an activity that validates a user ID and password in our process, we selected the New Metalink wizard and found the application container (a Java package) on our machine. The wizard listed which methods we could use to access the application, and after we selected one, proposed the input and output data to handle.

In addition to reusing existing applications, Metaserver can access message queues, e-mail messages, FTP servers, and using Java or Microsoft connectivity, direct access to databases using ad hoc queries or stored procedures. Support for those critical technologies should cover most companies' integration requirement.

Our testing of Metaserver 4.0 revealed many features that we liked. Its complex architecture facilitates adapting the execution engine to a variety of technical and business requirements. Metaserver can integrate easily in most technical environments and coexist smoothly with current application servers. In addition to the most common programming techniques, Metaserver offers hundreds of optional connectors to link others, including popular ERP and CRM packaged applications for capturing data from mainframe terminals. When BPI starts looming in your organization, Metaserver 4.0 is definitely worth your attention.