About Websphere Liberty

Though the Websphere Liberty profile exists for many years, it is not given much importance due to lack of understanding and limited usage and it is not fully utilizing the Java EE features. Though our application not using all functionalities of Java EE, we have to install a full bundle in full Websphere profile.

From the Operational perspective, if the application wants to use the new future of any component, we have to upgrade the whole installation- "all-or-nothing". So it is not a modular approach.

What is Websphere Liberty?

Now WAS has created a new modular and containerized runtime environment called WAS Liberty. It is not completely new technology they invented, rather they modularized the existing monolithic functionalities and its called Websphere Liberty. WAS Liberty profile is a highly compassable dynamic and fast start application server runtime.

It supports two modes of deployments, placing applications in drop-ins directory or adding application reference in server configuration file. The features that WAS Liberty provides are subset of the features provided in the WAS and WAS ND edition, especially Web Application, OSGi application, EJB application.

Open liberty

IBM has started Liberty technology and development as an Open Liberty project and its made open source. The code is available in GitHub. Open Liber focused on creating runtime for support java microservices and cloud-enabled, containerizing technologies.