May 28, 2004 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — BEA Systems (bea.com) plans to release WebLogic Server 9.0 in the first half of next year, according to a report by IDG News Service. The current version of the application server, WebLogic Server 8.1, was released last July.
The impending release, codenamed Diablo, will include capabilities that allow customers to upgrade and patch applications as well as the application server itself, without having to take their systems offline. For example, a customer will be able to load and test a second instance of its applications on its application server, and keep the first instance running after it goes live.
For the application server, users with clustering will be able to apply upgrades and patches without taking the software offline.
According to Andrew Littlefield, a senior director of product management at BEA, the enhancements to WebLogic Server are designed to limit downtime, which is extremely important for businesses such as banks, which require high levels of availability.
