Sun Microsystems has announced enhancements to the Java Enterprise System and Java System Suites with a new version of the Sun Java System Portal Server (version 7) that will provide developers and customers with a secure method of delivering collaborative and identity-based content through web-based applications. The Sun Java System Portal Server 7 is available for download at no cost within the Java Enterprise System, Solaris Enterprise System and Java Application Platform Suite.

Enhancing the overall capabilities of the Java Enterprise System, the Sun Java System Portal Server 7 is the first to allow the easy creation of interactive communities of users and services, the company says, building community portals populated with collaborative content including RSS feeds, blogs and wikis. Identity-based portals and community portals, when combined with Sun's support of AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript) portal containers, allow users to experience the interactive power of the Web along with the personalization and rich application interfaces traditionally associated with the desktop, according to Sun.

"Sun has upped the ante in enterprise infrastructure software through a powerful new portal server providing a user interface that goes beyond what is currently available today, and we have included it within all of our key software platforms at no cost," said Tom Goguen, VP of Marketing, Software at Sun. "The latest version of the Portal Server offers new self-service enhancements that provide more control to the end user and free up valuable IT resources, making for a more compelling experience all around. In addition, the Sun Java System Portal Server 7 is the first portal server available that supports wiki integration, a rapidly emerging collaboration technology."

This portal platform is also tightly integrated with Sun's business integration offerings to enable customers to provide a compelling user interface to new composite applications, business processes and web services designed based on SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) principles.

Some of the enhancements made to the Sun Java System Portal Server 7 include:

• Delegated Administration Features - enables end users with the ability to manage page layouts, reset passwords, and allow non-technical users the ability to manage common portal functions, thus freeing up IT resources
• Tools to Create New Communities and Community Services - including user communities, wikis, file sharing, blog integration, and an open interface to build and expand on these services.
• Federated Composite Views - Supports Service Oriented Architectures including drag and drop portlet development using the Sun Java Studio Creator.

Sun is also incorporating the open Java DB, a Sun supported distribution of the Apache Derby database, in the Sun Java System Portal Server 7 for use in data storage.