Use WebSphere application Server V7 and IPV6 in combination

Introduction

IBM WebSphere Application Server V7 is an IBM implementation of the Java™platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) 5 platform that conforms to the j2ee™1.5 specification. It provides a run-time environment for enterprise-class applications, including Java EE applications, Portlet applications, and Session initiation protocols (sessions initiation PROTOCOL,SIP) applications. WebSphere application Server can host enterprise applications in advanced topologies, highlighting workload management, scalability, high availability, and centralized management.

IPV6 is the "next" version of the Internet protocol based on packet and routing standards. Internet Protocol version 6 (IPV6) provides several improvements relative to the current version IPv4. Most importantly, by using a 128-bit Internet address instead of a IPV4 32-bit address, IPV6 increased the number of available addresses from 4 billion to approximately 340 trillion-gigabit addresses. In the face of the continued rapid growth of the Internet, it is critical to ensure that sufficient addresses are present. The rapid popularization of wired and wireless devices means that each person using the Internet will need multiple addresses. IPV6 is also the strategic direction and key requirement of the U.S. federal government, many state and local governments and the world's business organizations that are switching to new agreements.

WebSphere Application Server is a middleware hosting environment running on the platform of the native operating system. The WebSphere application server itself does not implement TCP/IP communication protocols on the transport layer; instead, WebSphere Application server uses the native TCP/IP communication protocol provided by the host operating system platform at the transport layer. WebSphere Application Server is certified to work in a IPv6 environment.

This article demonstrates how to configure, deploy, and validate a WebSphere application Server topology in a pure IPv6 and Ipv6/ipv4, mixed-mode infrastructure topology. Specifically, this article includes the following use cases:

A WebSphere application Server deployment topology that involves a pure IPV6 infrastructure and a microsoft®windows® homogeneous hosting platform environment.

A WebSphere application Server deployment topology involving pure IPV6 infrastructure and RedHat Enterprise linux®release 4 homogeneous hosting platform environments.

A WebSphere application Server deployment topology that involves a pure IPV6 infrastructure and Windows and RedHat Enterprise Linux Release 4 heterogeneous hosting environments.

A WebSphere application Server deployment topology involving mixed-mode Ipv6/ipv4 infrastructure and Windows and RedHat Enterprise Linux Release 4 heterogeneous hosting environments.

Architecture

To verify the WebSphere application Server topology, you can set up an isolation network similar to the sample architecture shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Example architecture for infrastructure topologies