IBM WebSphere Premises Server V6.1 released

-- Control Engineering, 4/10/2008

Las Vegas – At IMPACT, IBM’s service oriented architecture (SOA) event here in April 2008, IBM announced the release of WebSphere Premises Server version 6.1. This new SOA software will allow companies to gather, analyze, and act upon data from RFID tags and other sensors to improve their ability to react to real-world events that impact their operations and business results.  

In SOA Explained, Control Engineering columnist Dennis Brandl says, “Manufacturing professionals should know what SOA is because they will be asked to interface their systems to other systems using an ESB backbone and an SOA model. The ESB is the pipeline between applications, routing messages and buffering requests and responses. SOA defines what travels through the pipe.”

WebSphere Premises Server version  6.1 provides several new features that significantly expand a businesses’ ability to act upon sensor events. These include:

• The ability to manage multiple sensor technologies on a single platform -- passive RFID for object identification, active RFID for location information, and other types of sensors for condition information such as temperature, vibration, humidity, etc.
• Real-time location tracking services that support the use of active RFID technologies to allow continuous tracking of events in areas like refineries, plants, and office buildings.
• An event processing engine that allows customers to establish business rules that act upon sensors events, resulting in actionable business information.  

Eleven RFID device manufacturers have already been validated through the “Ready for IBM WebSphere Premises Server” device validation program: Alien Technology, CAEN, Eurotech Inc., FEIG Electronic, Impinj, Intermec, Motorola, Reva, Sirit, TAGSYS, and Wavetrend.  According to IBM, the software’s open standards-based architecture makes it easy for device manufacturers to differentiate their offerings by extending beyond the general capabilities of the adapter interface to provide additional capabilities that only their device may support

“The WebSphere Premises Server is IBM’s software foundation for extracting the business value from sensor data,” said Martin Wildberger, vice president, sensor solutions, IBM. Innovative companies including Amerisource Bergen, DHL, Honda Italia, and Metro use IBM sensor technologies to access previously unavailable business information, he said.  The solutions used by these companies demonstrate that sensor technologies can improve key business processes in many different areas including work in process tracking and supply chain visibility. 

Useful business information can be gained from an infrastructure of networked sensors, including passive RFID for object identification, active RFID for location information, and other types of sensors for condition information such as temperature, vibration, humidity, or other important status or environmental factors. IBM’s WebSphere Premises Server makes it simpler than ever to establish a complete sensor solution. The product serves as a single-platform that enables process innovation based on insights from multiple sensor technologies.   

New features

Real-time location tracking services expand data capture and delivery capabilities to support active RFID technologies, allowing continuous tracking of real-time events in areas such as refineries, plants, and office buildings.  An event processing engine lets companies establish business rules that act upon sensors events, resulting in actionable information.

WebSphere Premises Server 6.1 works with IBM’s WebSphere Business Process Management software – including the new WebSphere Business Events – to integrate all types of enterprise systems and establish new business processes without rewriting applications.  Sensor event data can also be managed through IBM’s WebSphere RFID Information Center, which allows businesses to securely share sensor data with trading partners using EPCIS- or DPMS-compliant solutions. 

For more information on IBM’s sensor solutions, visit ibm.com/solutions/sensors.

The new Premises Server was developed by a team of IBM developers in RFID Centers of Excellence in Beijing, China, Boeblingen, Germany, and Raleigh, North Carolina.   IBM Innovation Centers in LaGaude, France, Hursley, UK, San Mateo, CA and Waltham, MA also participated in testing the software with IBM’s business partners.  IBM’s worldwide Innovation Centers serve as a resource for partners to use in their device validation activities.  

--edited by Renee Robbins, senior editor, Control Engineering Daily News Desk