SpringSource has announced the general availability of SpringSource tc Server, an enterprise version of Apache Tomcat. SpringSource tc Server is hardened for enterprise use and coupled with the mission-critical operational capabilities and advanced diagnostics required by the most demanding IT environments. SpringSource tc Server is a drop-in replacement for Apache Tomcat 6, ensuring a seamless upgrade path for existing custom-built and commercial software applications already certified for Tomcat.

“The combination of Spring and Tomcat provides a proven alternative to the cost and complexity inherent in traditional Java EE platforms,” said Shaun Connolly, vice president of product management at SpringSource. “SpringSource tc Server, with Tomcat at its core, offers customers a lean and powerful solution that accelerates the delivery of high-quality, business-critical applications.”

Many enterprises are awash in complex, heavyweight and brittle application infrastructure that significantly impacts their agility. SpringSource tc Server provides companies the right level of capability needed to build and deliver strategic IT solutions without the overhead of excess features and complexity found in traditional Java EE platforms. According to a December 2008 Forrester Research report titled Lean Software Is Agile, Fit-To-Purpose, And Efficient, “the trend toward lean software has been building for years, but the worldwide recession is accelerating it. All application development professionals should know why and how to incorporate lean software into their software strategies for the future.”

“After previewing SpringSource tc Server at SpringOne in December 2008, we decided to test out an early version of the product,” said Vigil Bose, working for the technology office of DC government (OCTO), as the principal system architect for DC DMV. “Configuration of tc Server is very straight forward and the installation phase is much smoother than heavyweight application servers such as IBM WebSphere or Oracle WebLogic. I consider this a world-class product and would recommend tc Server to anyone who wants to efficiently deploy a complex application while gaining access to exceptional support.”

According to a recent Evans Data research study, nearly 70 percent of respondents reported that Tomcat is in production within their organizations. The challenges inherent in deploying Apache Tomcat widely across the enterprise have not, until today, been addressed by an enterprise solution that provides developers the lightweight application server features they want paired with the operational capabilities that enterprises need.

Optimized for VMware
Building on its previously announced relationship with VMware, SpringSource plans to deliver a tc Server virtual appliance in the coming months that will enable operations and development teams to streamline the enterprise Java application lifecycle using VMware vSphere 4, the industry’s first operating system for cloud infrastructures. The tc Server virtual appliance will be integrated with SpringSource Tool Suite, a complete set of Eclipse-based tools for creating Spring applications, so developers have a seamless experience as they develop, deploy, and test applications targeting the tc Server virtual appliance.

“The combination of VMware and SpringSource solutions will provide a state-of-the-art virtualized enterprise Java runtime environment that accelerates delivery of business-critical Web applications,” said Parag Patel, vice president, alliances, VMware. “Streamlining the build, run, and manage application lifecycle with the VMware platform will enable our joint customers to increase IT flexibility and reduce cost and complexity.”

Certified Solution Partner Program for OEM Partners
Designed for independent software vendors and original equipment manufacturers, the tc Server Certified Solution Partner (CSP) program provides SpringSource technical experts to certify the integration of Tomcat software with other solutions. SpringSource tc Server Certified Solution partners will have access to SpringSource tc Server certified software for development and testing, developer support, production support, training, and a simple OEM/embedding revenue model.

SpringSource tc Server is immediately available. For more information or to download tc Server please visit www.springsource.com/products/tcserver. In addition, SpringSource’s Apache Tomcat experts provide insight from the front lines on the SpringSource Team blog, located at http://blog.springsource.com/.