Microsoft on Wednesday is revealing an updated platform strategy to support composite applications in Windows Server and the .Net Framework programming model.
The company's efforts, focused on SOA and Web 2.0, involve enhancements tailored for the planned 4.0 version of .Net Framework, which is to be featured in Windows Server. Also among the improvements is a set of Windows Server extensions, codenamed Dublin, which complements .Net Framework and boosts the operating system's ability to act as an application server.
With this strategy Microsoft is recognizing that users are starting to use Web services and SOA much more broadly, said Burley Kawasaki, senior director of product management within the Microsoft Connected Systems Division. As composite applications are built on top of Web services, the application server faces new challenges in handling the complexity of these applications, he said.
While Microsoft does not offer a product in the application server category, it offers application server capabilities in Windows Server, such as message-cueing and caching, Kawasaki said.
Key improvements planned for the Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) 4.0, which is Web services technology in .Net Framework, include support for REST Web services, Atom, and POX, or "plain old XML," Kawasaki said.
"WCF is the foundation for building these service-oriented apps," he said. A Starter Kit that previews REST and other new capabilities in WCF 4.0 will be offered in October on Microsoft's CodePlex site for open source projects.
"[REST is] one of the most requested types of services we hear about from our customers in particular around these lightweight composite apps," Kawasaki said. The company has been a strong supporter and developer of the alternative WS-* specifications for Web services.
An official at a Microsoft business partner hailed the REST capabilities and the accompanying Starter Kit.
"The REST capabilities [are on par] with anybody out there and in some cases even better," said Robert Medrano, executive vice president at SOA Software, which intends to use the new Microsoft technologies.
Version 4.0 of .Net Framework also enables WCF 4.0 and WF 4.0 (Windows Workflow Foundation) to work seamlessly together, Kawasaki said. This will be done via a common application model that uses XAML as a declarative model for everything built in an application, including the presentation layer, workflow, and services, Kawasaki said.
"You can build a whole application now declaratively using this common approach," he said.
The runtime in WF also offers improved performance for applications, Kawasaki said. Enhancements in workflow modeling are featured as well, including persistence control, data binding, and scoping.
The Dublin enhancements will be an add-on to Windows Server that is downloadable off the Web. Dublin provides a standard host for applications that use workflow or communications. Featured are message-based correlation and forwarding, content-based message-routing, and support for the planned Oslo modeling platform.
"The important thing [with Dublin] is that we see composite applications as just another kind of app running on Windows," Kawasaki said.
This whitepaper explains the terminology and concepts behind Data Replication technologies and establishes some sizing rules through worked examples. Learn the new paradigm in disaster tolerance—protect data anywhere.
Download now »
Server virtualization is a popular option for dealing with mounting datacenter costs. Another equally promising approach is the use of an Application Delivery Controller. Citrix NetScaler provides a low-cost way for organizations to reduce their server count and accrue cost savings from a reduction in space, cooling, power and personnel.
Download now »
The emergence of WLANs has created a new breed of security threats to enterprise networks.
Included in HP ProCurve WLAN solutions is security technology that alleviates threats from WLANs through:
* Monitoring wireless activity inside and out of the enterprise
* Classifying WLAN transmissions into harmful and harmless
* Preventing transmissions that pose a security threat to the enterprise network
* Locating participating devices for physical remediation
Effectively address data protection challenges, implementing solutions that help store and protect business–critical data while cutting costs and improving efficiency and reliability.
Download now »
Sign up to receive InfoWorld Resource Alerts
Recommend This
