Macromedias JRun 4 brings major changes to the Java application server. This version, which started shipping May 13, supports Java 2 Enterprise Edition 1.3 standards, including EJB 2.0 and the built-in message queuing and object/relational mapping the Enterprise JavaBeans standard requires.
JRun 4 has redesigned, more sophisticated load balancing and failover support, including in-memory session state replication to ensure nothing is lost if a server crashes. Macromedia has added these clustering features to the base JRun product, making it perhaps the least expensive clustered Java application server on the market.
Hot-deployment support for all components has been added; it also improves uptime.
JRun 4 has client and server Web services support using Simple Object Access Protocol, an updated Web management console and native support for Flash MX clients (a nice alternative to native Windows or Java client applications).
One new feature in JRun that we havent seen elsewhere is XDoclet integration. XDoclet lets developers specify component deployment settings right in source code as JavaDoc comments, instead of in separate XML files.
The software runs on Windows, Solaris, Linux, HP-UX, AIX and Tru64 Unix. It costs $899 per CPU new or $499 per CPU for those upgrading from JRun 3.x.