SpringSource dm Server catching on

The recently announced alpha driver of IBM WebSphere Application Server v7 support for OSGi applications is covered in a brief dzone interview with Kirk Knoernschild of the Burton Group.

As Kirk notes in his blog, SpringSource dm Server has already brought OSGi to the enterprise. dm Server v1.0 shipped in September 2008 and v2.0 will enter RC1 in the next few weeks.

The WAS alpha has some features in common with dm Server, notably repositories and applications along similar lines to plans and PARs. Immitation is the sincerest form of flattery or, putting it another way, IBM has validated dm Server's approach.

I'm still waiting for technical details of WebLogic DM Server, but since it is microkernel based (unlike WAS) and with a name like that, it's likely to validate dm Server further.

Meanwhile GlassFish and JBoss support for OSGi is coming along nicely, so it'll be fascinating to see what kind of OSGi application models these projects end up providing.