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I was sad to miss attending the Devoxx conference in Antwerp, Belgium this year. But the Sun engineering team was definitely there - participating in a full schedule of conference keynotes, sessions and BOFs.

From the reports I've heard from the team, as well as various Twitter feeds, there was a lot of excitement building around the upcoming release of Java EE 6 and the GlassFish community. 

Roberto Chinnici and Ludovic Champenois gave a keynote titled "Java EE 6 and GlassFish V3: Evolution of a Platform" and there were University Talks on "The Java EE 6 Platform", "Enhancing the JavaServer Faces 2.0 Component Model", and "SOA, OpenESB and OpenSSO Programming with Passion". 

There were also sessions on "Managing GlassFish on OpenSolaris" and "Deep Dive on the Java EE 6 Platform with GlassFish V3" among others.

Steve Harris from Oracle even wore a GlassFish shirt during his keynote - See the Aquarium blog for a photo. 

If you weren't able to attend Devoxx this year either, you'll be able to see all the sessions soon on the Parleys site.

And stay tuned for news on Java EE 6 and GlassFish v3 - coming soon!

Our Chief Identity Strategist (that's Daniel Raskin for those who don't know) announced some exciting identity management news on his blog today -  Sun Role Manager 5 and Sun Directory Server Enterprise Edition 7 are now shipping.

Sun Role Manager 5.0 Software Leads Industry with Comprehensive Compliance Features

New features in Sun Role Manager 5.0 software enable organizations to move beyond answering the question of "who has access to what?" to "what did users do with their access?" by offering a 360-degree view of assigned user access to data and applications.

Directory Server Enterprise Edition 7.0 Boosts Speed and Performance

Considered one of the best extranet LDAP Directory Servers in the market today, the latest version of Directory Server Enterprise Edition has been optimized to improve performance by more than three times when compared to its predecessor. In addition, this release provides innovations that improve authentication and modification performance by 60 percent, allowing customers to accelerate their applications without changing one line of code.

For more information, you can read the press release and watch this recap of the launch webinar:

Here's some more desktop virtualization news from Sun - Sun Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Software 3.1 is available today.

You can download it here.

With Sun Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Software 3.1 customers can deploy a number of virtual desktop operating systems, including Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 2000, OpenSolaris, Ubuntu and SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, and access these operating systems from a variety of client devices -- such as traditional PCs or Macs, energy-efficient Sun Ray thin clients, or thin clients from other vendors.

The open architecture of Sun VDI Software 3.1 now gives users access to a broader choice of client devices and virtualization hosts -- increasing flexibility, management efficiency and data security. This release adds Microsoft Hyper-V as a new virtualization host. Now IT architects can choose their preferred virtualization technology - built-in Sun virtualization,VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V or even use a mixture of the three supported platforms.

Sun VDI Software 3.1 also includes a number of additional features, also available as part of the recently announced Sun Ray Software 5, including the new Sun Desktop Access Client, improved Adobe Flash performance and greater peripheral device support to virtual desktops through USB redirection to Windows.

For more on VDI 3.1, check out the latest Think Thin post by Chris Kawalek

Sun has released Java CAPS 6.2 and for a "dot" release, this new version of the platform contains some very significant features. 

Clustering is probably the most important, since it provides optimal performance and scalability, as well as high availability and failover for CAPS deployments. All fixes, enhancements and new components of GlassFish ESB v2.1 are available in CAPS6.2, including clustering support for all GlassFish ESB components.

Java CAPS 6.2 enables clustering via GlassFish Enterprise Server to distribute processing across multiple servers. Implementing JBI-based applications in a clustered environment ensures continuous processing even when there is a hardware or software failure since the instances in a cluster share the same set of JBI based applications, resources, and configuration information, and can be implemented on one server or can extend over multiple servers for backwards compatibility.  

In addition to clustering, the 6.2 release adds support for RESTful Web services, an architectural style that is emerging as a popular alternative to SOAP-based technologies due to it lightweight nature and the ability to transmit data directly over HTTP.  RESTful Web services for Java CAPS come as part of the included NetBeans 6.5 release using JSR 311 - Java API for RESTful Web Services (JAX-RS).

For financial services customers, Java CAPS is certified as SWIFTReady 2009 as of the 6.2 release and now includes SWIFT 2009 messages in the SWIFT message library.  For healthcare customers, the HL7 JCA adapter is now part of the Adapter pack for HL7 messaging.

Additional platform-level enhancements include:
  - Runtime environment upgraded to GlassFish Enterprise Server 2.1 Patch 2
  - Designtime environment upgraded to NetBeans 6.5.1
  - Support added for Windows 2008 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 for design-time
  - Support added for Windows 2008, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3, IBM AIX 5.3, and Open Solaris 2008.11 for run-time
  - Support for Firefox 3.5.2 for all browser-based components

Look for an upcoming announcement on the Healthcare Pack...a major release coming soon, along side the GlassFish ESB 2.2 release.  Stay tuned for more!

Health Sciences South Carolina (HSSC) recently selected Sun Microsystems and Recombinant Data Corporation to collaborate on the Health Sciences South Carolina Integrated Platform for Research (HS-SCIPR), an unprecedented statewide initiative for translational research and quality improvement.

HSSC is a dynamic statewide entity that includes Clemson University, Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center, Palmetto Health, the Medical University of South Carolina, University of South Carolina and Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System. The unique public-private partnership is affecting change and achieving results necessary to transform the state’s economy and health status.

HSSC selected Recombinant and Sun for their domain expertise and technology in commercial open source healthcare solutions. The commercial open source support provided by the two software companies ensures that the choice of open source includes commercial enterprise class products that are reliable, indemnified, supported, and secure.

HS-SCIPR will be based on an open source technology stack that combines Sun's Java CAPS 6 with the Informatics for Integrating Biology and the Bedside (i2b2) and caBIG clinical research frameworks. Sun Java CAPS 6 components being leveraged include Master Data Management (based on Project Mural), GlassFish ESB and HL7 messaging, in addition to the LifeRay portal, all running on Sun hardware.

"With HS-SCIPR we are establishing a data framework to support interoperability and research starting with an Enterprise Master Patient Index (EMPI) and a clinical research data warehouse (CRDW). We chose Recombinant and Sun because of their proven ability to deliver these components and strong commitment to open architectures that put patients first," said Iain Sanderson, chief medical information officer of HSSC and leader of the HS-SCIPR project.

The winners of the JavaFX Coding Challenge were announced today.

• 1st Place: Music Explorer FX, Sten Anderson
  
  
• 2nd Place: Lifescope, Naoaki Suganuma
  
  
• 3rd Place: ShiningEtherFX, Evgeni Sergeev

Student Winners:

• Caesar Photobook Mobile, Ramin Mohammadi
  
  
• Real Track Car Race, Diego Benna
  
  
• CalcFX, Kazuki Hamasaki

The winning applications along with many of the runner-up entries will be available to view on the JavaFX community page starting next week.

While I was out on vacation last week, the OpenJDK team announced the appointment of 2 new members to the Interim Governance Board.

    * Martin Buchholz, of Google
    * Andrew Haley, of Red Hat

Mark posted the news here and the Interim Governance Board page has been updated with their bios.

Mark comments "We expect to resume work on our primary task, namely the creation of a Constitution for the OpenJDK
Community, in the next four to six weeks."

Simon & Dalibor also posted blog entries on the new members.

Interoperability between applications in heterogeneous technology environments is essential to successful collaboration. Sun and Microsoft are taking interoperability to a new level by utilizing the SAML federation standard in both the Sun OpenSSO Enterprise federation solution and the forthcoming Microsoft “Geneva” Server federation solution.

As part of these efforts, Sun and Microsoft have created a new whitepaper: "Microsoft "Geneva" Server and Sun OpenSSO - Enabling Unprecedented Collaboration Across Heterogeneous IT Environments" available for download here.

Sun's Chief Identity Management Officer, Daniel Raskin, posted his blog entry on OpenSSO & "Geneva" here. 

Microsoft released their "Geneva" beta 2  this week and offers some commentary on interoperability over on their Forefront blog. 

The OpenSolaris team is getting ready for the 2009 CommunityOne conference, June 1-3, 2009, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, and planning a whole series of sessions, events and activities. You can see the full listing here.

Some highlights include:

General session keynotes - On June 1 at 9am pacific, John Fowler, executive vice president of Systems, and Dave Douglas, senior vice president of Cloud Computing and Chief Sustainability Officer of Sun will open the 2009 CommunityOne conference.

OpenSolaris Technical and Deep Dive Sessions - OpenSolaris content will be featured as part of the general Operating Systems/Platform track. There will also be two OpenSolaris software specific tracks, one for developers and one for system administrators. On Tuesday, June 2, developers and systems administrators can also participate in OpenSolaris deep-dive sessions.

For those who can not attend CommunityOne in person, the opening general session keynotes and the OpenSolaris technical sessions will also be available online.

OpenSolaris Install Lounge - Located in Booth #322 on the Pavilion floor, the Install Lounge will consist of three areas: an OpenSolaris Install Fest area, RockBand 2 area and the “Apps of Steel” showcase area, which will highlight the winners of the Apps of Steel Challenge. Toshiba will also be participating in the OpenSolaris Install Lounge to showcase the Toshiba Tecra M10 and Portégé R600 laptops that come with OpenSolaris software pre-installed.

OpenSolaris and Sun Cloud Party - The evening of June 1is also the OpenSolaris and Sun Cloud party, from 7-9 p.m. at the Moscone Center in Hall A.

For overall information about the 2009 CommunityOne conference, visit: http://developers.sun.com/events/communityone, view updates on Twitter or join the CommunityOne Facebook group.

Head over to Channel Sun to check out some of the video entries coming in for the 2009 JavaOne "Dude, Where's My Pass" contest.

Don't forget - Deadline for submission is: May 12, 2009 at 11:59 P.M. (PT)

Full contest details, rules, regulations, etc are available here.

Good news from the Sun identity management team attending the European Identity Conference (EIC) in Munich this week.

At the European Identity Award ceremony, OpenSSO Fedlet won “Best Innovation” in Identity and Access Management (IAM) and Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance (GRC).

The European Identity Award recognizes outstanding projects as well as innovations and additional developments of standards and are presented by the analyst firm Kuppinger Cole.

Congratulations to the OpenSSO team!

Join the community of JavaOne conference supporters through our new Affiliate Program.

Here's an opportunity to earn money to promote the 2009 JavaOne conference and recommend it to your friends & industry contacts.

We make it easy by providing all the tools you need for promoting the JavaOne through your Web site and/or blog.

To join the program, contact: javaone_marketing@eventreg.com to obtain your priority code.

For every attendee who uses your priority code when registering, we’ll pay you $20 (USD).



**Rules and Regulations**
Participants in the Affiliate Program are not eligible for the JavaOne Conference Refer a Friend Program. The maximum number of attendees using your code that you can be credited for is 25. The program applies to Conference, Conference Plus and All Access passes. Payments will be calculated according to the number of fully paid attendees - cancellations will not be credited – and will be made by check after the event.

The latest update release of Solaris 10 is available now.

Highlights of Solaris 10 5/09 include:

• Performance, energy efficiency and reliability enhancements for the new Intel Xeon processor 5500 series (Read more about how the Sun Solaris Platform Advancements Unleash the Power of the Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series)

• The Power Aware Dispatcher, which automatically monitors and optimizes a company's system to maximize performance while minimizing power consumption. For example, it can be used in conjuction with Intel's new Deep C-States to dramatically reduce power consumed by idle cores.

• Solaris Containers updates including the ability to leverage ZFS filesystem cloning as the basis for container cloning - to provide significant speed and efficiency improvements

• The Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) suite of security protocols integration with Solaris Service Manager, allowing simplified management of overall security functions. IPsec is also now usable as the interconnect for Solaris Cluster, to manage fast, secure failover of session information among nodes of a cluster

• Logical Domains (LDoms) enhancements including virtual disk updates to streamline performance and extended VTOC (virtual table of contents) support for very large files, as well as VNET and VSW support for jumbo frames

• SSH performance enhancements on CMT systems, such as the ability to leverage hardware crypto acceleration on UltraSPARC T2 based systems

• Sun Validation Test Suite (VTS) updates to support diagnostics of new Sun systems

Full technical details on what's new in Solaris 10 5/09 are available here.

All the enhancements in Solaris 10 5/09 are happening in conjunction with the global OpenSolaris community, which Intel is a key contributor to.

Look for more about OpenSolaris during the upcoming CommunityOne conference, being held June 1st in San Francisco.

Sun is sponsoring a new contest where 5 winners will receive a full JavaOne conference pass and $1,500 (USD) to offset travel expenses. All you need to do is submit a 30 second video commercial on why you should be at JavaOne this year and why it is THE event to attend. Deadline for submission is: May 12, 2009 at 11:59 P.M. (PT) Full contest details, rules, regulations, etc are available here. You can also learn more about the "Dude, Where's My Pass?" contest in Chris Melissinos' latest JavaOne video.

Today, Sun is announcing a new version of Java Enterprise System - Release 6

As you probably know, Java Enterprise System, or Java ES for short, is Sun's comprehensive set of subscription-based services that combines software, support, professional services and educational services in a single package - for a single price, which is based on employee count.

Java ES R6 is comprised of several Java System Suites:

    * Sun Java Enterprise System Base
    * Sun GlassFish Portfolio
    * Sun Java Composite Application Platform Suite (Java CAPS)
    * Sun Java Identity Management Suite
    * Sun Java Availability Suite

This allows customers to purchase Java ES components based on their business requirements. And then, as business needs change, they can easily add additional Suites.

Java ES R6 includes several new software compontents -  Sun GlassFish Web Space Server and Sun OpenSSO Enterprise, as well as GlassFish Portfolio, an open web and application platform. In addition, the Java ES Base suite is now tested with the Identity Management and Java CAPS suites.

There's a great post over on Paul Hinz's blog that gives an overview of Java ES R6. Paul's also got a chart that outlines the particular versions of each of the software components included in Java ES R6 - compared to Java ES R5.

What's particularly helpful about Java ES is that all the software components are rigorously tested to ensure interoperability and reliability. So that way, you know which version of GlassFish Enterprise Server works with NetBeans and OpenSSO Enterprise and Directory Server Enterprise Edition and so on...

The best way to learn about the benefits of Java Enterprise System is to read what some of our customers have to say.