The New Fish on the Block

Launched in October 2014, Payara is a new technical support service that delivers software updates, bug fixes and 24/7 support for Oracle’s GlassFish application server. The organisation formed to fill the space left by Oracle’s own announcement that it would no longer release Oracle GlassFish Server with commercial support from November 2013.

Continuing this innovation, Payara has developed its own open-source and regularly updated application server, which will help companies migrate quickly and easily from GlassFish.

Typically used in distributed computer networks, application servers provide the middle-tier business-logic processing between the user interface and the backend database management system. From enterprise level business to industrial automotive manufacturing, application servers provide an essential mechanism for smooth system operation.

"When Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems, many feared the end of support for its free open-source software products," explained Steve Millidge, managing director of Payara. "This fear was realised when Oracle ended support for GlassFish in 2013. Subsequently, the rumour mill has said that GlassFish is dead, but we believe that it was alive all along. Any open-source software relies heavily on the developer community to improve continuously. With the right support we know this community can become a thriving source for innovation," said Millidge.

Payara will fulfil the needs of those companies still using GlassFish. Payara server is a free drop-in open-source replacement for GlassFish. A premium support package gives users round-the-clock telephone assistance with access to quarterly patches and bug fixes upstream.

Payara was created by C2B2 consulting, an independent middleware consultancy and support provider. C2B2 specialises in architecting, building and supporting highly scalable and robust Java middleware.

"We've optimised Payara for high performance, especially in production environments," continued Millidge. "Payara offers production and developer support. If a production issue is causing a significant reduction in system performance we can respond within four hours to rectify the issue. For developers, Payara offers two expert contacts, development SLAs and unlimited GlassFish and Payara servers for single user test environments."