IBM has recently released a new version of their application server platform: WebSphere Application Server 7.0.

The release of WAS 7.0 brings us new possibilities in developing JEE based applications. Besides the upgrade of the Java standards, there are also major platform improvements.

What technical enhancements can I expect from WAS 7.0?

Enhanced standards support
- Java EE5 certification including JDK 6.0, EJB 3.0 and JPA 1.0 support
- JSP 2.1, Servlet 2.5 and JSF 1.2 support
- Spring framework certification
- Portal JSR 286 (Portlet 2.0) support
- Web service profiles support (WS-I Basic Profile 1.2/2.0, WS-I Reliable Secure)

Security management and auditing improvements
- WebSphere Security Domains
- Security auditing capabilities
- DMZ hardened proxy
- Kerberos enhancements

Furthermore there are some new features on the platform itself:
- Job Manager: adoption of a loose management coupling architecture.
- Intelligent provisioning: only provide runtime features that are really needed.
- Auditing: generate security auditing records of administrative actions.
- Capability to create multiple security domains within a single WAS cell.
- WebSphere MQ JMS JCA 1.5 resource adapter: usage of activation specification.

With the new version, WebSphere has completed the Java EE 5 certification which includes EJB 3.0 support and Java Persistence API (JPA). The Web 2.0 Feature Pack enables you to deliver rich web applications by using AJAX techniques.