There is absolutely no product with Microsoft that can be called as an application server - to the extent BEAS,IBM and ORCL have defined.
.NET is the big confusion strategy from Microsoft that appears to do everything for every application. From some of their posts, it appears to be a technology to convert an application to be served on the web (to make it into an ASP service) and be able to refer/link from other applications. For example, if an app needed email, they can link to Microsoft's online hotmail service. That is the example they quote often.
They attempted earlier to attack the enterprise with their MTS/MSMQ, COM/COM+/DCOM. Now it is .NET. For all those Microsoft supporters, the wait is loooong and still going on.
They first need to get their OS right - which they seemed to be getting to just now - after crying wolf for 10 years.
Most important of all - none of Microsoft enterprise products run on non-Microsoft platforms. SQL server, MTS, MSMQ, COM/DCOM etc. run only on Windows platforms. Microsoft does claim them to be cross-platform though (such as NT, 2000).
If there was a day, when corporations would use only Microsoft platforms for all their enterprise apps, that is the day Microsoft's App Server can compete with BEAS/IBM.
App servers are as complex as operating systems. IBM did a brilliant job once, with their CICS .. but can't get back into the game. Oracle is trying from their 2-tier, to three-tier, to their current Application Server. Microsoft needs 4-5 years to think of even competing with BEAS.
Who is this McPeake anyways?
- Zelix |
