IPlanet
Encyclopedia
iPlanet was a product brand that was used jointly by Sun Microsystems
and Netscape Communications Corporation when delivering software and services as part of a non-exclusive cross marketing deal that was also known as "A Sun|Netscape Alliance".
After AOL
merged with Netscape, technology analysts speculated that AOL's major interest was the netscape.com website (specifically the millions of registered users thereof ), and to a lesser extent the Netscape Communicator
suite, which some considered would be used to replace the Internet Explorer browser which AOL licensed from Microsoft
and included as part of their software suite.
AOL entered into an agreement with systems and software company Sun Microsystems whereby engineers from both companies would work together on software development, marketing, sales, installation and support. Part of the deal was that Sun agreed to pay Netscape a fixed amount for each year of the deal regardless of whether any software was actually sold by the alliance. The code has been written after the best parts of the Netscape Enterprise Server
and the Java Web Server had been merged.
The iPlanet brand was already owned by Sun following the acquisition of i-Planet, Inc. in 1998.
In 2002, the three year alliance came to an end, at which point, under the terms of the deal, both AOL and Sun retained equal rights to the code that had been jointly developed. Around this time many of the remaining Netscape employees were either laid off or transferred to Sun (mostly at its campuses in Santa Clara, California
and Bangalore
). During the period of the alliance, Netscape had hired very few people, most staff coming under the Sun umbrella.
AOL had continued to market the directory and certificate server products under the Netscape brand. But in 2004 AOL sold the directory and certificate server products to Red Hat
, which plans to integrate them into its Red Hat Enterprise Server product.
After the Oracle acquisition of Sun, some of the iPlanet products continue to be sold under the Oracle brand. Specifically, Oracle iPlanet Web Server
and Oracle iPlanet Web Proxy Server.
The suite also included a number of server-side infrastructure components, including distributed event management and tools for managing large populations of iPlanet server instances.
Additionally, iPlanet sold "iPlanet E-Commerce Applications", a suite of software tools intended for building e-commerce websites:
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
and Netscape Communications Corporation when delivering software and services as part of a non-exclusive cross marketing deal that was also known as "A Sun|Netscape Alliance".
After AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
merged with Netscape, technology analysts speculated that AOL's major interest was the netscape.com website (specifically the millions of registered users thereof ), and to a lesser extent the Netscape Communicator
Netscape Communicator
Netscape Communicator was an Internet suite produced by Netscape Communications Corporation. Initially released in June 1997, Netscape Communicator 4.0 was the successor to Netscape Navigator 3.x and included more groupware features intended to appeal to enterprises.- Editions :Netscape...
suite, which some considered would be used to replace the Internet Explorer browser which AOL licensed from Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
and included as part of their software suite.
AOL entered into an agreement with systems and software company Sun Microsystems whereby engineers from both companies would work together on software development, marketing, sales, installation and support. Part of the deal was that Sun agreed to pay Netscape a fixed amount for each year of the deal regardless of whether any software was actually sold by the alliance. The code has been written after the best parts of the Netscape Enterprise Server
Netscape Enterprise Server
Netscape Enterprise Server was a web server developed originally by Netscape Communications Corporation. The product has since been renamed Sun Java System Web Server, reflecting the product's acquisition by Sun Microsystems...
and the Java Web Server had been merged.
The iPlanet brand was already owned by Sun following the acquisition of i-Planet, Inc. in 1998.
In 2002, the three year alliance came to an end, at which point, under the terms of the deal, both AOL and Sun retained equal rights to the code that had been jointly developed. Around this time many of the remaining Netscape employees were either laid off or transferred to Sun (mostly at its campuses in Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...
and Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
). During the period of the alliance, Netscape had hired very few people, most staff coming under the Sun umbrella.
AOL had continued to market the directory and certificate server products under the Netscape brand. But in 2004 AOL sold the directory and certificate server products to Red Hat
Red Hat
Red Hat, Inc. is an S&P 500 company in the free and open source software sector, and a major Linux distribution vendor. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina with satellite offices worldwide....
, which plans to integrate them into its Red Hat Enterprise Server product.
After the Oracle acquisition of Sun, some of the iPlanet products continue to be sold under the Oracle brand. Specifically, Oracle iPlanet Web Server
Oracle iPlanet Web Server
Oracle iPlanet Web Server is a web server designed for medium and large business applications. Oracle iPlanet Web Server builds on the earlier Sun ONE Web Server, iPlanet Web Server, and Netscape Enterprise Server products....
and Oracle iPlanet Web Proxy Server.
Products
The suite of iPlanet offerings included:- iPlanet Application Server (a Java EE application serverApplication serverAn application server is a software framework that provides an environment in which applications can run, no matter what the applications are or what they do...
system, based on the Netscape Application ServerNetscape Application ServerNetscape Application Server was an integrated software platform. It was developed originally by Kivasoft, which was later acquired by Netscape....
and NetDynamics Application ServerNetDynamics Application ServerNetDynamics Application Server was the first Java-based integrated software platform. The product was developed by NetDynamics Inc., a Silicon Valley start-up company founded in 1995 by Zack Rinat and Ofer Ben-Shachar...
) - iPlanet Calendar Server
- iPlanet Directory Server (an LDAPLightweight Directory Access ProtocolThe Lightweight Directory Access Protocol is an application protocol for accessing and maintaining distributed directory information services over an Internet Protocol network...
server), renamed to Sun Java System Directory ServerSun Java System Directory ServerThe Sun Java System Directory Server is Sun Microsystems' scalable LDAP directory server and DSML server. The Java System Directory Server is a component of the Java Enterprise System... - iPlanet Instant Messaging Server
- iPlanet Messaging Server (a SMTP, IMAP, POP3 and webmail mail server)
- iPlanet Meta Directory
- iPlanet Portal Search (formerly Netscape Compass)
- iPlanet Portal Server
- iPlanet Web Server (an HTTP and HTTPSHttpsHypertext Transfer Protocol Secure is a combination of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol with SSL/TLS protocol to provide encrypted communication and secure identification of a network web server...
web serverWeb serverWeb server can refer to either the hardware or the software that helps to deliver content that can be accessed through the Internet....
), renamed to Sun Java System Web Server - iPlanet Web Proxy ServerProxy serverIn computer networks, a proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. A client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource available from a different server...
, renamed to Sun Java System Web Proxy ServerSun Java System Web Proxy ServerThe Sun Java System Web Proxy Server is a proxy server software developed by Sun Microsystems.-Overview:The Sun Java System Web Proxy server, or SJSWPS , is a popular HTTP/1.1 Proxy server software developed by Sun Microsystems...
The suite also included a number of server-side infrastructure components, including distributed event management and tools for managing large populations of iPlanet server instances.
Additionally, iPlanet sold "iPlanet E-Commerce Applications", a suite of software tools intended for building e-commerce websites:
- iPlanet BillerXpert (for handling billing and related financial processing activities)
- iPlanet BuyerXpert (for business to business procurement software)
- iPlanet ECXpert
- iPlanet MerchantXpert
- iPlanet SellerXpert (for implementing b2b and b2c sales websites)
- iPlanet TradingXpert
- Netscape PublishingXpert