IBM starts beta program for Viper 2 database
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Blog: IBM looks to build on success of XML-savvy Viper database with beta program for successor.
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IBM will next week release editions of version 8.2 of its DB2 database software, featuring support for Linux clustering in addition to self-managing and tuning capabilities.
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R2, an interim release, will begin beta testing later this month.
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IBM will launch Friday a new version of its Tivoli transaction-performance monitoring product that greatly expands the range of application transactions it can track.
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IBM said Thursday that it had launched an open beta for AIX 6, its in-house UNIX-based operating system. The latest version will be able to take advantage of the Power6 processor, as well as several other enhancements.
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IBM is adding to its blade server line with an upcoming model targeted at small-to-medium-sized businesses.
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Release makes tweaks in performance and stability, but there's still another beta to come before launch of server OS.
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(InfoWorld) - To celebrate the 10th anniversary of its alphaWorks Web site for experimental technologies, IBM on Monday will begin hosting projects including a precision weather-forecasting application and two offerings for developers. Being offered via a new effort called alphaWorks Services, the projects stray from the previous format in which users have been able to download prototype technologies. This time around, IBM is offering what amounts to hosted online applications, Chris Spencer, emerging technology strategist at IBM alphaWorks, said. The alphaWorks Services platform leverages the software-as-a-service delivery model, IBM said. One project, Deep Thunder, provides high-resolution, localized weather forecasts for businesses, down to the hour and specific square mile. "We actually have two meteorologists who are on staff and this [effort] is out of IBM Research, Spencer said. With Deep Thunder, a business could learn if snow is falling in an area or what the weather is like at a manufacturing center. Or, a transportation department could find out which streets need plowing. Although Deep Thunder sounds suspiciously like an application rather than middleware, a development tool, or a platform, Spencer would not characterize it as an application. IBM says it isn't in the applications business. "What we're offering here is a prototype of an idea," Spencer said. "I would not say this is an application." An IBM representative later described Deep Thunder as a demo. An industry analyst agreed with IBM's assessment that Deep Thunder does not move Big Blue into the application business. "I think of Deep Thunder more as a great demonstration of both making the results of a high computational problem available -- most of us don't have that much computing power available -- and then using mashup-type technology to interface it to a Web-based application," said Amy Wohl, editor of the Amy Wohl's Opinions newsletter, in an e-mail response to question. "I don't think IBM is going into the weather forecasting business but you have to use some application to show how this sort of thing works. "I'm fairly sure that IBM intends to stay in the middleware and infrastructure part of the software business and leave the applications to their partners," Wohl said. The other hosted projects include ADIEU (Ad Hoc Development and Integration tool for End Users), which is a collaborative online environment for developing Web services, and Web Relational Blocks (WebRB), providing a GUI to construct front-end Web applications from back-end databases. ADIEU, available as either a download or a hosted service, features a card-based programming paradigm, in which each card contains specific programming functionality. Offering a simplified way to build applications, ADIEU is similar to Apple's HyperCard concept, Spencer said. "I love the idea of ADIEU -- that someone can write an application in a few hours or less," Wohl said. "[It] sounds like a great idea for prototyping or for small needs where big investments or long waits couldn't be justified." WebRB features a GUI for nonprogrammers to build applications. "What's kind of nice is they don't have to understand the database schema," or the details of the database, said Spencer. The project uses technology such as AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) and Cascading Style Sheets in a hosted environment. Components are dragged and dropped onto a canvas. It remains to be seen whether the three projects become official IBM products. Since its formation in 1996, alphaWorks has released 700 technologies to early adopters and contributed 30 technologies to the open source community, Spencer said. Open source technologies have include the Jikes Java compiler and the Xerces XML parser. One project originating on alphaWorks, the Servlet Express Engine, later formed the basis for the IBM WebSphere application server. All told, about 250 alphaWorks projects became products or product extensions for IBM. "It's evidence of the community having an influence on IBM," Spencer said. The alphaWorks site attracts about 165,000 unique visitors per month, Spencer said. "We have everything from developers to executives and they represent anything from Fortune 100 companies to SMBs (small and medium-size businesses)," said Spencer.
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IBM on Wednesday announced the pre-release of several tools for SMBs (small and midsize businesses) designed to speed development of solutions built on IBM middleware.
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The company is looking to reach out to the community of users of its software by building a mailing list of those interested in beta testing software.
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Hyper over hypervisors IBM this week marched its virtualization agenda forward on two fronts, announcing new code for beastly mainframes and some labs-crafted software for thin x86 systems.â¦
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The software, developed by IBM&#39;s new Sensors and Actuators business unit, is designed to help businesses collect and act on data from RFID and other sensor-based technology.
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In the next few weeks, Amazon.com plans to begin a "limited beta" of an online database called SimpleDB that is designed to enable users to run structured-data queries in real time.
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Blog: For the first time, IBM launches an open beta for AIX 6 in an effort to attract new customers.
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IBM on Monday will unveil free developer resources for Cloudscape, a small-footprint, Java-based database that the company recently contributed to the Apache Software Foundation as an open source project.
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IBM will begin shipping a new DB2 Universal Database next week that has more self-managing capabilities, extended Linux support, and geospatial technology.
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IBM's global services organization is adding "health check" services to its repertoire of technical services for SOA deployments, looking to assist users dealing with issues resulting from poor planning or partnerships with inexperienced or so-called proprietary IT vendors.The company also is offering its "identity-aware ESB," which is an enterprise service bus that combines existing IBM products to provide identity management capabilities.Health-check services and software will be offered in two workshops to be held at customer sites, featuring specialized diagnostics and triage capabilities to help identify potentially unhealthy areas and recommend cures for problem areas."We try to bring a real breadth of capability from the best practices that we've learned into these workshops," said Marie Wieck, vice president of middleware services at IBM.With some clients, IBM has had to perform somewhat of a rescue mission after clients have done an initial application and then had problems with scalability or performance, Wieck said.Workshops, which are priced in the $50,000 range or less, include IBM SOA Applications and Services and Healthcheck Workshop and Infrastructure Healthcheck Workshop for SOA. Both are 2.5-day engagements intended for midmarket and large enterprises.The applications and services workshop is intended to provide assurance that an SOA can expand beyond pilot projects. Factors such as application reuse and service use will be assessed, as will identification of rogue services as part of a governance policy. Security also will be checked for service controls and identity management.The infrastructure workshop features an assessment of infrastructure supporting applications and services layers in an SOA. Elements examined include infrastructure flexibility, the ability to adapt to spikes in demand, and verifying SOA configurations for connectivity. A service management review ensures that services are being monitored.IBM's identity-aware ESB combines WebSphere ESB products with Tivoli security and identity management software to help ensure that access to information, services, and applications is protected. Auditing of identity and access activity is enabled."Identity management is very critical so that you can ensure that only the right people get access to these services," Wieck said.An analyst briefed on IBM's efforts lauded both the SOA and ESB programs."Customers who have started with a SOA need checkpoints to have an outside source assess what they are doing and how it compares to best practices," said Judith Hurwitz, president of Hurwitz &amp; Associates. "Companies are investing a lot of money, resources, and political capital on SOA, and management wants to make sure they are on track and doing the right thing."Governance is a huge issue for customers in regards to SOA implementation. This is especially true since SOA is as much a business strategy as it is a technology strategy," Hurwitz said."In terms of ID-aware ESB ? clearly security and identity management are huge issues for companies because of governance issues related to security," she said.IBM offers information about its SOA programs at its Web site.Also on Monday, IBM is announcing an initiative to help business partners increase revenues and better serve customers. Grow Your Business (GYB) with IBM Software provides cross-brand sales scenarios across the IBM software group's product portfolio.The GYB tool recommends scenarios that utilize business partners' existing areas of expertise. Partners through the initiative can analyze software products, get descriptions of business value, and determine return on investment via an online tool. Information is aggregated into one place.An online guide to marketing and sales materials also is highlighted.