This book is an introduction to the process of administering the BEA WebLogic server. It is intended as a supplement to the online documentation included with the server distribution and on the BEA Web site. While that documentation is frequently useful and sometimes complete, it can leave beginning administrators with the sense that they came in in the middle of the show. There are many unstated assumptions about the reader's knowledge, and to the reader who lacks that knowledge the documentation can be nearly impenetrable. The intent of this book is to fill those gaps. This is not simply a bound collection of the how-to's that ship with the WebLogic server. Anyone who might conceivably have a need for them already has themthey're readily available online. This book gives you the information you need to intelligently administer your WebLogic server. Note that this book addresses only the tasks involved administering the WebLogic server. It does not touch on the process of developing the Java programming language (Java) applications that will be run on that server. The BasicsWebLogic is an application server developed by BEA systems. If you're in the IT industry, you've probably heard the term "application server"; it's one of the buzzwords du jour. But what does it mean, exactly? An application server is a relatively new class of program that integrates the functionality of several historically distinct classes of programs such as HTTP/HTTPS servers, EJB servers, and CGI. The emerging popularity of application servers is due, perhaps, to their being the product of a single more or less coherent design. This makes them easier to learn, easier to work with, and more efficient in their use of system resources. Application servers are optimized to run multitiered applications, which separate the functionality of an application (typically, but not always, a Web-based application) into distinct conceptual layers. A multitiered application typically consists of three rigidly defined layers , or tiers:
Application servers include such products as CORBA, Microsoft's .NET, and of course WebLogic. WebLogic is of particular interest in that it has passed the 6000+ tests necessary for Sun to certify it as J2EE compatible. This book is a discussion of the techniques and concepts involved in administering BEA WebLogic server. It is perhaps worth emphasizing that it is not a discussion of the design or development of those applications that will be run on the server. Those topics are covered only as they relate to the administration of the server. |