Is Weblogic right for a publishing app?

Question

We are investigating using the weblogic application server to develop an
application that would basically retrieve news articles from an Oracle
database, format them, and push them to a user's web browser. The
application will also perform other functions, but at the end of the day
it's basically retrieving stories, formatting them, and pushing them to the
user;s browser.
Our understanding of J2EE seems top suggest using using JSPs/JavaBeans to
connect to EJBs that would encapsulate our business logic(page constrictions
regarding what can and can not be displayed on certain types of pages).
J2EE (and particularly JSP and custom tags) seem to be a very compelling,
scalable platform. Based on existing products and planned promotions, we
anticipate approximately 1-2Million page views per day.
However, as I read the varous posts on the weblogic newsgroups I am starting
to wonder if the Weblogic app server is overkill for our project. Would a
product like ATG's Dynamo be better suited to our needs? Are there any JSP
web sites based on weblogic that have traffic values that roughly
approximate the numbers outlined above? Has anyone wrestled with this
question? If so, what was your final decision?
Any information/feedback is welcome.
Thanks,
Julie

Answer 1

Julie,
Comments are inline...
Jason
Julianna Cole wrote:
>
We are investigating using the weblogic application server to develop an
application that would basically retrieve news articles from an Oracle
database, format them, and push them to a user's web browser. The
application will also perform other functions, but at the end of the day
it's basically retrieving stories, formatting them, and pushing them to the
user;s browser.
It seems WL fits in well here.
Our understanding of J2EE seems top suggest using using JSPs/JavaBeans to
connect to EJBs that would encapsulate our business logic(page constrictions
regarding what can and can not be displayed on certain types of pages).
J2EE (and particularly JSP and custom tags) seem to be a very compelling,
scalable platform. Based on existing products and planned promotions, we
anticipate approximately 1-2Million page views per day.
There's a multitude of functionality within WL. Using each area (e.g.
JSPs, Servlets, EJBs...) optimally is critical. IMNSHO, JSPs should be
used to format the html reply. Servlets should be used to perform form
validation, communicating with EJBs - basically, all of the Java grunt
work with the exception of the core business processes. Your core
business processes will be a good place for EJBs.
However, as I read the varous posts on the weblogic newsgroups I am starting
to wonder if the Weblogic app server is overkill for our project. Would a
product like ATG's Dynamo be better suited to our needs? Are there any JSP
web sites based on weblogic that have traffic values that roughly
approximate the numbers outlined above? Has anyone wrestled with this
question? If so, what was your final decision?
Overkill? Can you honestly predict what your application's requirements
will be in 2 to 5 years? Why would you want to build your application on
a foundation of minimal functionality and have to either put up with it,
kludge it or scrap it and start over. Building on a foundation that's
proven, highly-scalable, extendable... is the right thing to do. You and
your team will certainly find ways to utilize these capabilities if they
are there. If they're not, you'll wish you had them.
Just my opinions 2-sense.
Jason