Oracle Delivers New Java Virtualization Tools

Oracle has unveiled Oracle Virtual Assembly Builder and Oracle WebLogic Suite Virtualization Option this week, a pair of new applications designed to simplify the deployment and management of Java applications in virtualized environments.

The new apps represent Oracle's (NASDAQ: ORCL) first virtualization releases since its blockbuster $7.4 billion acquisition of Sun Microsystems and gives developers and enterprise customers their first glimpse at its software strategy going forward.

"With these groundbreaking products, Oracle has made virtualization a reality for Java enterprise applications," Steven Harris, a senior vice president of product development at Oracle, said in a statement. "With Oracle WebLogic Server running on JRockit Virtual Edition, we have eliminated the trade-off of server density and performance by bringing the world's No. 1 application server to virtualized environments."

Oracle Virtual Assembly Builder gives enterprise customers a framework for automatically capturing the configuration of software components and packages them as self-contained building blocks to greatly simplify the process of deploying and configuring multitier applications in virtualized environments.

WebLogic Suite Virtualization Option combines and optimizes Oracle's WebLogic Server with JRockit Virtual Edition for virtualized datacenters to improve application performance.

Also, Oracle WebLogic Server can now run directly on Oracle VM without needing to tap into an operating system.

Oracle JRockit Virtual Edition handles essential operating system functions including TCP/IP, hardware device interaction, file I/O, and process scheduling, while freeing up hardware and management resources by removing operating system capabilities that are not essential for enterprise Java applications, company officials said.

Larry Barrett is a senior editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.