Key factors in selecting an Application Server include:
Scalability
Performance
Security
Interoperability
Ease of Integration
Scalability and performance are crucial for handling increasing loads and maintaining speed. A scalable Application Server enables expansion without compromising performance, which is essential for growing businesses. Performance optimization ensures quick response times and efficiency under various conditions.
Security is a non-negotiable feature, providing protection against threats and unauthorized access. It involves secure data management and compliance with regulations. Interoperability allows for seamless operation with different systems and devices, crucial for smooth business operations. Ease of integration is important for connecting with various tools and platforms, enhancing flexibility in deploying applications.
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Director of Sales Engineering, EMEA at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
Vendor
Jan 3, 2018
Not having been involved with application servers for a while I’d say that I’m probably not current, however my view would be that the application server needs to be fit for purpose. I would look for a modular architecture that allows you to implement only the components you need, making an implementation as lightweight as possible, the fullest support of any claimed industry standard (not just a checkbox exercise) and I would then look at the certification matrix for your intended applications that you wanted to run or build on it. Obviously the “ility” functions would be important in an enterprise scale deployment and by that I mean reliability, scalability, availability, etc. Finally I would look at the vitality of the platform and by that I mean who is using it, what the community of users is like, how engaged they are and what new features had been delivered recently either through the community or by the vendor.
Ease of automation might also be an important factor to consider and what skills exist in the organisation you wish to deploy into.
Technical Analyst 3 - Product Support at a tech company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Sep 13, 2017
An application server is a middleware tier that features in below common enterprise stack.
--> Application
--> Middleware
--> Database
--> OS
--> VM
--> Server
--> Storage
Over the years Middleware tier has come to evolve from simple to complex software in the context of Distributed Applications.
Since the primary job of the middleware tier is to host runnable applications to serve business needs ranging from web based UI applications to messaging platform.
Depending of the nature of business and the type of requirements, the factors that we can consider imperative are numerous. However, the most common ones are
1. Product periodic evolvement catering to the latest available technologies, e.g.: JAVA/JDK, J2EE and etc...
2. Cost of the Product. Enterprise proprietory products like IBM Websphere, Oracle WebLogic Server, Oracle Glassfish and etc...
3. Cost of Support License. Support is important to ensure business contuinity or less business loss in the event of unwanted Server side, Client side known and new issues.
4. Certification at any level in the above enterprise stack and with respect to any deployable technology, is another aspect to keep into consideration when it comes into choosing the vendor type of application server, because for example one may want to use a certain J2EE technology which is not supported or is outdated or not yet certified.
The are common aspect most enterprise keep into consideration.
Having said that, there are other specific factors that are just as important. But then again it all depends on the nature of the business and the type of application simplicity or complexity.
I T Manager at a consumer goods company with 51-200 employees
Vendor
Aug 21, 2016
Applications servers need to be provided with a best fit for purpose firstly. The right amount of memory, disk access and CPU's are very important, But Virtualisation sorts this one out. Its the performance testing and monitoring afterwards which counts. More CPUs added, Clustering if required etc. The load on servers will increase and then decreases and fluctuate over time. The virtualisation team needs to be accountable for some part in the overall stability and performance. But its a team effort including devteam + infrastructure team + Virtual team and end user acceptance testing which will provide the overall result to the business!
Manager Architecture at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Consultant
Aug 2, 2016
The most important aspects to look for are:
Technicals - The Application Servers more or less offer the same features and functions, including Open Source. First, I would review the business requirements and SLA, related with applications to be supported by the Application Server, in order to define which features (clustering, messaging, security, etc.) has more weight than others. Then I use this prioritized list, to get a top Applications Servers best fit the business requirements.
Support - Again, based on the business requirements and SLA, we have to define the support service that we need from the Software Provider and/or support partner. Then evaluate which Application Server provider offer best support services to fit the business requirements and SLA.
Head - Non Functional Testing at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Consultant
Jul 14, 2016
To answer in simple : Sizing and performance is the key prioirty (But subject to cost limitations)
Its totally depends on our SLA (Service Level Agreement) like Concurrent Users, Application performance, Network Bandwidth, Internal / External usage over internet. But it many cases it also matters what application server we are using. Example Tomcat has it limitation increase a JVM Size beyond certain limits for each node /instance. IBM WAS, Web-logic are high cost solutions
Application Server acts as a middleware that facilitates the handling of web application operations, such as data connectivity, transaction support, and resource pooling. It is an essential component of enterprise software infrastructures.Widely used by organizations to ensure seamless execution of business processes, Application Server optimizes resource management to handle multiple client requests efficiently. It provides a controlled environment that enhances application response times...
Key factors in selecting an Application Server include:
Scalability and performance are crucial for handling increasing loads and maintaining speed. A scalable Application Server enables expansion without compromising performance, which is essential for growing businesses. Performance optimization ensures quick response times and efficiency under various conditions.
Security is a non-negotiable feature, providing protection against threats and unauthorized access. It involves secure data management and compliance with regulations. Interoperability allows for seamless operation with different systems and devices, crucial for smooth business operations. Ease of integration is important for connecting with various tools and platforms, enhancing flexibility in deploying applications.
Not having been involved with application servers for a while I’d say that I’m probably not current, however my view would be that the application server needs to be fit for purpose. I would look for a modular architecture that allows you to implement only the components you need, making an implementation as lightweight as possible, the fullest support of any claimed industry standard (not just a checkbox exercise) and I would then look at the certification matrix for your intended applications that you wanted to run or build on it. Obviously the “ility” functions would be important in an enterprise scale deployment and by that I mean reliability, scalability, availability, etc. Finally I would look at the vitality of the platform and by that I mean who is using it, what the community of users is like, how engaged they are and what new features had been delivered recently either through the community or by the vendor.
Ease of automation might also be an important factor to consider and what skills exist in the organisation you wish to deploy into.
An application server is a middleware tier that features in below common enterprise stack.
--> Application
--> Middleware
--> Database
--> OS
--> VM
--> Server
--> Storage
Over the years Middleware tier has come to evolve from simple to complex software in the context of Distributed Applications.
Since the primary job of the middleware tier is to host runnable applications to serve business needs ranging from web based UI applications to messaging platform.
Depending of the nature of business and the type of requirements, the factors that we can consider imperative are numerous. However, the most common ones are
1. Product periodic evolvement catering to the latest available technologies, e.g.: JAVA/JDK, J2EE and etc...
2. Cost of the Product. Enterprise proprietory products like IBM Websphere, Oracle WebLogic Server, Oracle Glassfish and etc...
3. Cost of Support License. Support is important to ensure business contuinity or less business loss in the event of unwanted Server side, Client side known and new issues.
4. Certification at any level in the above enterprise stack and with respect to any deployable technology, is another aspect to keep into consideration when it comes into choosing the vendor type of application server, because for example one may want to use a certain J2EE technology which is not supported or is outdated or not yet certified.
The are common aspect most enterprise keep into consideration.
Having said that, there are other specific factors that are just as important. But then again it all depends on the nature of the business and the type of application simplicity or complexity.
Thank you.
--
Lam
Applications servers need to be provided with a best fit for purpose firstly. The right amount of memory, disk access and CPU's are very important, But Virtualisation sorts this one out. Its the performance testing and monitoring afterwards which counts. More CPUs added, Clustering if required etc. The load on servers will increase and then decreases and fluctuate over time. The virtualisation team needs to be accountable for some part in the overall stability and performance. But its a team effort including devteam + infrastructure team + Virtual team and end user acceptance testing which will provide the overall result to the business!
The most important aspects to look for are:
Technicals - The Application Servers more or less offer the same features and functions, including Open Source. First, I would review the business requirements and SLA, related with applications to be supported by the Application Server, in order to define which features (clustering, messaging, security, etc.) has more weight than others. Then I use this prioritized list, to get a top Applications Servers best fit the business requirements.
Support - Again, based on the business requirements and SLA, we have to define the support service that we need from the Software Provider and/or support partner. Then evaluate which Application Server provider offer best support services to fit the business requirements and SLA.
To answer in simple : Sizing and performance is the key prioirty (But subject to cost limitations)
Its totally depends on our SLA (Service Level Agreement) like Concurrent Users, Application performance, Network Bandwidth, Internal / External usage over internet. But it many cases it also matters what application server we are using. Example Tomcat has it limitation increase a JVM Size beyond certain limits for each node /instance. IBM WAS, Web-logic are high cost solutions
Documentation, size of the community around it. Real production efficiency proven records.
The server should be scale-able and stable. I would load it to check the stability and scale-ability so i would not worry in production at peak times.
we see how lightweight it is, since in world of docker and vms, we can launch multiple instances based on load elastically.
how well it fits the specific non-functional quality attribute requirements for the system it is being selected for