Java Ee and Solaris Platforms: Leveraging Sun-Mainsoft Porting Strategies White Paper April 2007
Java Ee and Solaris Platforms: Leveraging Sun-Mainsoft Porting Strategies White Paper April 2007
NET APPLICATIONS TO
JAVA EE AND SOLARIS PLATFORMS
Leveraging Sun-Mainsoft Porting Strategies
White Paper
April 2007
2 Sun and Mainsoft Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
A Valuable Partnership Working for Developers & ISVs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Challenges Facing Developers & ISVs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Reduce Porting & Lifecycle Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Serve Customers Better . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
3 Introduction Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Chapter 1
Introduction
This white paper describes in detail how ISVs and developers can leverage Microsoft .NET applications, tools, and skills to
achieve a predictable, managed multi-platform deployment strategy with Sun™ Java™ Enterprise Edition (Java EE) and Solaris™ OS.
For enterprise customers seeking interoperability between systems and applications, greater manageability, and enhanced
security in their data centers, the Sun Java EE and Solaris platforms provide a proven, cost-effective alternative to Windows,
.NET, and open source options. ISVs and developers who recognize the potential for new opportunities by offering multi-platform
deployments of their existing applications can use the Mainsoft family of products to achieve complete ports on predictable
schedules and budgets while lowering application lifecycle costs.
Revenue opportunities in mixed or UNIX environments can be realized by porting Windows and .NET applications to Solaris
and Java EE faster and more efficiently by adopting Mainsoft’s cross-platform toolsets as compared with other approaches.
By leveraging existing code, as well as, the same tools and skill sets used to develop Windows and .NET applications,
Mainsoft tools enable ISVs to avoid hiring new, expensive development teams or re-writing and maintaining separate code
bases. In addition to faster and more reliable deployment schedules, lifecycle management of Windows and .NET applications
for the Solaris and Java EE operating platforms is greatly simplified and costs are minimized and more predictable.
4 Introduction Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Chapter 2
Sun Platforms Offerings Can Generate New Opportunities
Enterprise Databases
Supporting enterprise databases is a worldwide, around-the-clock proposition. Access to these enterprise databases is
required for everything from customers purchasing a product online to international divisions working together across time
zones. Solaris leads the industry as the database platform of choice for enterprise customers running every type of database,
from Oracle to MySQL.
Dynamic Monitoring
DTrace is a comprehensive dynamic tracing framework for the Solaris Operating Environment, with powerful, low-overhead
monitoring and reporting capabilities not included on the Windows platform. DTrace provides a powerful infrastructure to
permit administrators, developers, and service personnel to concisely answer questions about the behavior of the operating
system and user programs without adding overhead that taxes server performance.
Grid Computing
ISV enterprise customers looking to reclaim underutilized resources on their networks or manage complex calculations over
a broad range of systems can leverage grid computing immediately using the Solaris 10 platform. Extensive platform
optimization offers more computing cycles, and allows data to be processed with both high performance levels and security.
Regulatory Compliance
Business customers subject to government security regulations can leverage the Solaris 10 platform to meet those requirements.
Solaris 10 offers the highest levels of security available in any commercial operating system on the market today.
Web Services
As an optimized Web services platform, the Solaris 10 operating system delivers reliability, an enhanced TCP/IP stack, and
extensive security features. For enterprise customers, it’s an ideal operating platform to introduce and iteratively expand
6 Sun Platforms Offerings Can Generate New Opportunities Sun Microsystems, Inc.
availability of Web services driven by ISV applications. Since Solaris 10 comes with open source Apache and Tomcat software
that’s fully supported by Sun, ISV customers can deploy Web services immediately.
Solaris’ extensive out-of-the-box functionality provides enterprise customers with the infrastructure technology, flexibility,
and versatility they need to run their businesses more efficiently. ISVs who support these customers by offering Solaris
versions of their applications can attract new business and build loyalty by supporting their customer’s success in innovating
their infrastructure for improved ROI.
According to IDC, over 70% of IDC’s top software vendors offer products on Solaris. There are currently over 1,600 applications
from ISVs like Oracle, Sybase, IBM, BMC, TIBCO, BEA, and many others available on Solaris 10 for x64/x86, and tens of thousands
more on previous versions of Solaris.
Lower TCO
According to a study conducted by the Crimson Consulting Group, Solaris for x86 offers a lower total cost of ownership as
compared with Windows or Red Hat Linux. The report, entitled, "Adoption of Solaris 10 on x86/x64 by Independent Software
Vendors Cost Analysis and Discussion" concludes that for ISVs weighing their options for porting applications to UNIX,
Solaris for x86 offers the most attractive licensing, cost, security, and management functionality profile over the long term.
Gartner reports that Java EE represents 44% of the overall market for Web-based enterprise application platforms, and that
it dominates market share in certain industries such as insurance. The reliability, availability, and massive scalability of Java
EE applications is well known and widely documented. The reality is that most organizations operate both .NET and Java EE
applications. The key is interoperability.
Security
Java EE provides a full complement of standards-based security services for interoperation with .NET including authentication,
authorization, secure sockets, cryptography, certification, and more. In addition, it’s possible to ensure secure interoperability
with .NET applications on every tier of the multi-tier applications: the web tier, business tier, and resources tier. At the same
time, Mainsoft for Java EE recompiles .NET code into Java byte code, which runs securely on Java platforms. It also enables
Java components to be directly called from within .NET applications, without compromising security.
7 Sun Platforms Offerings Can Generate New Opportunities Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Flexibility
Java EE applications are platform-agnostic and therefore more flexible. Java EE applications work on most hardware and
operating system configurations, and since they’re based on Java, they work on any system that supports the Java Virtual
Machine. This flexibility is critical for enterprise customers seeking interoperability in mixed environments.
Java Bytecode
Any OS
Compile-time translation layer that converts MSIL into Java byte code
8 Sun Platforms Offerings Can Generate New Opportunities Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Chapter 3
How Can ISVs Perform Sustainable Ports?
The product recompiles Windows source code with UNIX compilers to create native UNIX applications. It also features a
Java EE Integration Package and industry-leading XML support. It supports Solaris 8, 9, and 10 for SPARC, and Solaris 10 for
the x64/x86 platforms in both 32 and 64-bit versions. Together, these features create the most high-performance, scalable,
robust application-porting platform available. Mainsoft for UNIX delivers several strategic advantages for ISVs
considering porting their applications:
• Establishes a single code base for Windows and Solaris versions, avoiding the complexity and resource drain associated
with maintaining multiple code bases and separate application evolutionary tracks
• Enables trained developers to continue working in the Microsoft Visual Studio development environment, where they are
most comfortable and productive
• Keeps existing development teams, processes, and productivity methods intact while avoiding the need to hire new,
specialized talent
• Focuses developers on writing better applications, not performing housekeeping duties associated with maintaining
several versions of the same application
To estimate the time it takes to re-write code, note that developers normally write 50-300 lines of code per day, depending
on complexity. For a typical enterprise application consisting of 500,000 lines of code, the process can take 40 man-years or
longer.
Manual porting creates binaries for Solaris out of those from Windows. At first glance, a manual port may seem straightforward
for an application written in a higher-level language such as C# or VB.NET.
Unfortunately, however, the underlying class libraries differ greatly, and, in the case of a C# or VB.NET application, there are
also numerous semantics gaps that need to be fixed. The only method for making those changes is to go line by line, a
time-consuming task.
According to Mainsoft studies and customer accounts, re-writing code or performing manual ports can double R&D costs
over the lifecycle of applications.
VS.NET Javac
MSIL
BC
Any OS
Mainsoft for Java EE provides a plug-in for Visual Studio.NET that enables developers to use C# or VB.NET
Seibel Systems, Telelogic, Pacific Edge Software, and Comtec are among a growing number of ISVs extending their
Windows applications to multiple platforms, while dramatically reducing development costs and time-to-market.
11 How Can ISVs Perform Sustainable Ports? Sun Microsystems, Inc.
For complete results and the testing methodology, refer to the whitepaper, “Mainsoft ports a composite application
platform to Java EE while maintaining original .NET performance.”
12 Scenarios and Real-World Results Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Chapter 4
Scenarios and Real-World Results
Many ISVs are using Mainsoft products to respond to customer requirements and meet demand for Solaris and Java EE versions
of their successful Windows products. In fact, the ISVs described below reported to Mainsoft that their porting process
was five to ten times faster than rewriting the applications from scratch. In addition, these vendors have been able to
successfully maintain these applications for both Windows and open systems, in most cases delivering both versions either
simultaneously or nearly so.
Siebel Systems
Siebel Systems provides the industry's most comprehensive family of multi-channel applications and services. Siebel applications
allow organizations to create a single source of customer information that makes it easier to sell to, market to, and service
customers across multiple channels. These include the Web, call centers, field, resellers, retail, and dealer networks.
Written in C++ and built on a proven, component-based architecture, Siebel eBusiness Applications are designed from the
ground up to be completely Web-based. They deliver support for multiple computing platforms, while providing automatic
upgrades and software distribution that significantly reduce the total cost of ownership.
“We needed to complete two native-quality ports quickly and Mainsoft proved to be the right choice. It took us less
than six months to port the core of the Siebel eBusiness Applications to both Solaris and AIX.”
“Using Mainsoft for Java EE, Pacific Edge is able to simultaneously develop and target Microsoft .NET and Java EE server
platforms. In the past, this would have required costly and time consuming software porting projects.”
Comtec
Comtec, a leading information technology services and solutions provider for insurers, contracted Mainsoft to extend its
Total Insurance System (TIS), an extensive integrated system designed for insurance companies that process personal and
commercial lines of business to Java EE platform. To extend its market reach to customers that prefer the scalability and
performance of enterprise Java EE servers, the company made the strategic decision to offer Java EE deployments of the
presentation layer of TIS. According to Forrester Research, 56% of server deployments in the insurance industry are on Java EE.
“Because Mainsoft is a compile-time solution, we are able to continue to maintain a single source code base. This
lowers our TCO significantly, and allows us to have a multi-platform solution. The costs of having multiple source code
bases, multiple R&D teams and multiple deployment types would have been prohibitive. We would likely not have been
able to cost-effectively provide a multi-platform offering without it.”
Chapter 5
Conclusion
Together, Sun and Mainsoft technologies offer a comprehensive platform and porting solution that can assist ISVs in
positioning their products for new, growing markets and develop strengthened long-term competitiveness. By offering
applications for Solaris and Java EE in addition to Windows and .NET, ISVs can assist their enterprise IT customers to consolidate
infrastructure, simplify licensing, and gain the unique management, scalability, and reliability features available only in
Solaris and Java EE. This proven approach enables ISVs to offer these alternatives in a sustainable way without having to
re-write code from scratch, maintain multiple code bases, or hire new teams of engineers. According to their own analysis,
many ISVs have successfully transitioned from offering a Windows or .NET application to a multi-platform application
encompassing the Solaris and Java EE in less time and for less cost than any other available method. For ISVs considering a
port to enter new markets and improve global competitiveness, the Sun and Mainsoft solution provides the most powerful
and cost-effective approach available on the market today.
Sun and Mainsoft sun.com
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