Oracle answers VMware SpringSource acquisition with new WebLogic tools
Oracle claims its Java virtualization solutions increase server utilization, performance, standardization, and operational efficiency
Follow @infoworldOracle has taken up a drumbeat similar to something that VMware has been preaching for many years: the idea that virtualization will eventually make today's complex operating system obsolete. In this case, Oracle is announcing a Java Virtual Machine that runs directly on top of the hypervisor without the need for an operating system. But is this latest move really about eliminating operating systems?
Oracle started shipping Oracle WebLogic Suite Virtualization Option and Oracle Virtual Assembly Builder, gained from its acquisition of BEA Systems, to help make running Java applications in a virtualized environment both easy and practical. In an effort to beef up the Java coolness factor, the new technologies also promise to improve system performance and server densities.
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The Oracle Virtual Assembly Builder (VAB) is a new tool designed to quickly and easily deploy entire multitier enterprise applications in a virtualized environment. The VAB captures the configurations (for example, a Web server, application server, and database) and packages them into self-contained, single-purpose virtual machines called appliances. These appliances can then be connected as pluggable building blocks or assemblies, after which the entire assembly -- which comprises the complete multitier application -- gets deployed as a single unit. When the assembly is deployed, the components are automatically configured.
The new Oracle WebLogic Suite Virtualization Option combines the company's standard WebLogic Server (WLS) with JRockit Virtual Edition technology, optimizing the package for virtualization environments. The JRockit Virtual Edition comes from the BEA LiquidVM, a Java Virtual Machine that works with hypervisor software and provides a set of operating system features (such as TCP/IP, hardware device interaction, file I/O, and process scheduling) so that WLS can offer its full range of services without the need for a conventional operating system.
