We will choose between WebSphere, WebLogic, and iPlanet – to run on Solaris 2.8. Here is our thinking:
WebLogic is the current market leader and probably has the most established product, and they are an independent vendor. I think their technology was acquired, not homegrown.
iPlanet is based on some combination of Netscape, Kiva, and other technology which was acquired and had to be integrated – we are nervous about how well that has been done. iPlanet is expected to run very well on Solaris, since Sun has a proprietary interest.
WebSphere was our first choice, but the first media for WebSphere 3.5 would not even install cleanly, and ultimately we were told by IBM that it did not support Solaris 2.8 yet anyway. Some of the experts in the industry predict that WebSphere will be the market leader by 2001, but IBM appears to have proprietary issues, judging by our first experience with WebSphere on Solaris. We always considered this idea: IBM is not going to lose the e-world, and will have a great application server.
We have some patience, and want the best long-term solution. If one of these might be the best 6 months or a year from now, we can accept that.
I am wondering if anyone has any feedback about their actual experiences (or annecdotal information from trusted sources) with any of these 3 products running on Solaris 2.6 or higher? If so, please respond. Thanks.