Tad Stephens

In helping our customers deploy J2EE applications on the mainframe we've learned a number of tips and tricks. We've included configuration settings, tuning suggestions, and descriptions of existing production applications in this article. Although each environment is different, these tips and tricks should jump-start anyone considering a mainframe WebLogic deployment. In the first article (WLDJ, Vol. 1, issue 7) in this series, we discussed many of the business benefits to be realized by deploying J2EE applications on the mainframe. These benefits included leveraging Java for better programmer productivity, aggregating multiple servers onto a single mainframe partition to lower operational costs and more efficiently utilize existing hardware, leveraging mainframe quality-of-service capabilities for 24x7x365 application availability, and extending existing application... (more)

WebLogic on the Mainframe: Install, Configure, Deploy

So, you're going to deploy WebLogic Server on the mainframe. Pretty scary, huh? There are all those "glass house" terms: sysgens, operating systems with a "z," parallel sysplex, Workload Manager, and on and on. Without a little education, the mainframe world can be as foreign to the Java developer and architect as the distributed J2EE world is to a COBOL programmer on the host. But these two environments aren't as different as you might believe. This article covers how to install, configure, and deploy WebLogic and WebLogic-based J2EE applications on the mainframe, specifically z/... (more)

WebLogic Server on the Mainframe

Integration is the biggest challenge facing IT organizations. The glass house controls much of the business-critical data in the enterprise, and traditional integration tactics, while complex and often proprietary, are still king. However, more convenient, aggregated, and flexible access to this data is requested and often required by the business side to extend, or at least defend, competitive advantage. Customers and users expect more access, better services, and more current data, and a company's competitors are just a click away. Fortunately, products such as the BEA WebLogi... (more)

The Benefits of Heterogeneity

"WebLogic Server is supported on the mainframe." I read the internal announcement and thought "Huh?" Why would someone want to deploy distributed Java applications on the big iron? What about training Java developers on the underlying mainframe systems? However, the more I thought about it the more the strategy made sense. Why wouldn't I want to combine the industry's most reliable, most scalable, most mature application server with the hardware platform that best provides the same benefits? Heterogeneity is a reality in today's computing world. IT organizations are responsible... (more)