At the intersection of the Web and open source, two names stand out.
Apache is the most successful open-source product ever and the engine that drives most of the Web, and JBoss helped take the complexity and cost out of previously high-end Java application servers.
But, somewhat surprisingly, neither of these major players is usually associated with open-source enterprise portal technology, which has been dominated mainly by products such as Plone and PHP-Nuke.
But both Apache and JBoss have portal products, and, with their recent 2.x releases, they have matured to the point where they are viable options for any business looking to build a corporate portal using open-source technology.
The Apache Software Foundations Jetspeed-2 is a J2EE (Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition)-based portal with strong authentication and broad portlet capabilities, while JBoss JBoss Portal 2.2.1 focuses on high usability and content-management-oriented features.
During tests, eWEEK Labs found both products to have extensive customization options, and, being based on open standards, both can be easily developed for.
Jetspeed-2s ability to support non-Java portlets may prove attractive to businesses that use other portal platforms, while JBoss PortletSwap site (www.portletswap.com) offers a selection of prebuilt portlets.
Both products are offered under common open-source licenses: JBoss Portal under the GNU LGPL (Lesser General Public License) and Jetspeed-2 under—surprise—the Apache license.
The Plone Foundations Plone An eWEEK Labs Analysts Choice winner, this open-source product is one of the best solutions, period, for company portals and intranets (www.plone.org)
Labs Director Jim Rapoza can be reached at [email protected].