WSO2 today announced the launch of WSO2 Application Server 4.0 (formerly WSO2 Web Services Application Server). Among the new features in Version 4.0 is full support for Apache Tomcat, providing the ability to run Web applications and Web services on the same server and manage them through a unified console. Because WSO2 Application Server is part of WSO2 Carbon, the award-winning, fully componentized middleware platform, enterprises can now combine proven Tomcat functionality with unprecedented ease in customizing their, service-oriented architecture (SOA), Web application, and Web service deployments.

With WSO2 Application Server 4.0, WSO2 becomes the only vendor to offer a commercial release of Tomcat as server-based software, a virtual machine image, and as a multi-tenant platform as a service (PaaS). The open source WSO2 Application Server is available as a software download and WSO2 Cloud Virtual Machine. Additionally, the WSO2 Application Server as a Service—part of the WSO2 Stratos PaaS—builds on and extends WSO2 Application Server and inherits all of the new functionality in Version 4.0. With easy migration between the WSO2 versions, enterprises have the flexibility to choose the best deployment scenario for their needs whether on a local server, private cloud, public cloud, or cloud hybrid.

“The lines of deployment within enterprise SOAs are blurring as more implementations run Web applications and Web services side by side, and as systems extend across both on-premise servers and the cloud,” said Dr. Sanjiva Weerawarana, WSO2 founder and CEO. “WSO2 Application Server 4.0 provides the first commercial Tomcat server designed to support these demands cleanly, seamlessly and easily, and with the flexibility to readily adapt to changing needs.”

WSO2 Application Server 4.0 Features
WSO2 Application Server 4.0 (formerly WSO2 Web Services Application Server) supports the full XML-based WS-* stack and REST in a simple, lightweight model that makes it easier to develop, deploy, manage and monitor Web applications and Web services. The completely open source, enterprise-ready server is based on Apache Tomcat and Apache Axis2, the world’s most popular Web application server and Web services engine, and it offers features to enable clustering and high availability. New functionality in Version 4.0 includes:

• Full Apache Tomcat support for deploying any standard Java .war Web application file.

• Integration with WSO2 Identity Server for strong, centralized authentication and identity management using electronic IDs, so enterprises can manage access to all Web applications, services, and business processes from a single system.

• Support for managing shared libraries in the underlying Axis2 repository to enable the deployment of more complex services in the WSO2 Application Server.

As part of the WSO2 Carbon platform, WSO2 Application Server is built as a set of pluggable components, allowing developers to deploy only those components they need. Like all WSO2 middleware products, it runs on the common Carbon framework, which provides enterprise-class management, security, clustering, logging, statistics, tracing, and other capabilities, and it is accessed via a unified graphical management console. This empowers enterprise IT teams to spend their time integrating systems and building new processes and applications instead of struggling with the rigid boundaries and complexity of proprietary middleware platforms—providing significant savings in project time, costs and staffing.

In November 2010, WSO2 launched WSO2 Stratos 1.0, which extends WSO2 Carbon to provide the industry’s first complete cloud middleware platform for implementing an enterprise SOA. All WSO2 Carbon middleware products are now deployable as WSO2 Stratos cloud services, including WSO2 Application Server as a Service, which inherits all the functionality of WSO2 Application Server 4.0.

Availability and Support
WSO2 Application Server 4.0 (formerly WSO2 Web Services Application Server) is available today as a software download and as a WSO2 Cloud Virtual Machine running on the Amazon Elastic Computing Cloud (EC2), Linux Kernel Virtual Machine (KVM), or VMware ESX. Its functionality also is available in the multi-tenant WSO2 Application Server as a Service for private clouds and virtual private clouds. As a fully open source solution released under the Apache License 2.0, it does not carry any licensing fees. WSO2 offers a range of additional service and support options, including evaluation support, special QuickStartSM and CloudStartSM consulting programs, development support and services, and production support.