If you're a WAS admin, you're going to want to check out this April 10 webcast.

Last year, we polled our GWC members and asked them what WebSphere topics they would like more training on. The answer came back: Websphere Application Server and WebSphere MQ.

We are pleased to offer to our members free IBM WebSphere Education courses in those very topics. The videos require registration but are free to GWC members.

WebSphere MQ

• WebSphere MQ v7 Installation and Configuration
• WebSphere MQ V7 High Availability Considerations
• Using WebSphere MQ V7 Traces, Error Logs, and Failure Data Capture Files
• WebSphere MQ V7 Clustering

WebSphere Application Server

• WebSphere Application Server V8 Architecture
• WebSphere Application Server v8 Workload Management

See the official announcement

If you've been wondering where you can download the new version of IBM WebSphere Application Server v8.5 Alpha, look no further!  You can get it at IBM's new development community WASdev. 

Here's what you have to look forward to in the new version:

IBM® WebSphere® Application Server V8.5 Alpha
IBM® WebSphere® Application Server V8.5 Alpha offers an initial glimpse into the future of the industry’s leading standards-based, high performance, proven and trusted application foundation optimized for developer and operational productivity. This Alpha release is focused on a new, lightweight profile of the application server for web applications, along with a simplified configuration approach for the development environment.

Highlights of the WebSphere Application Server V8.5 Alpha include:
•    Free and frictionless download for development purposes
•    Ultra lightweight modular runtime with an install size of under 50 MB
•    Incredibly fast startup times of under 5 seconds
•    Simplified configuration for quick time to productivity
•    WebSphere Developer Tools available as Eclipse plug-ins
•    Option to participate in Community Forum and requirements input

Want to know more?  Check out IBM's new development community, WASdev, where you can download the alpha tooling.

December 13, the GWC will host a Lab Chat with Ian Robinson, Distinguished Engineer and Chief Architect, WebSphere.  Ian will discuss how WebSphere Application v8.5 Alpha addresses the developers' need for a lightweight development environment. 

Following are the details of the webcast:

Date: December 13, 2011
Topic: WAS V8.5 Alpha: The Lightweight WebSphere Application Server “Liberty” Profile
Time: 11:00 AM EST (GMT -5)

Register now!

Please click here for a list of Lab Chat dial-in numbers

This session will look at how the WebSphere Application Server is evolving to address the requirements of Developers. Developers need a lightweight WebSphere execution environment — in Eclipse or RAD — whose configuration is simple to edit, version, and share; whose footprint is closely tailored to the application's needs; and whose execution behaviour has high fidelity to the target production system. This session focuses on new improvements in the Developer Experience for web applications and demonstrates how these dramatically simplify the edit-compile-debug cycle to improve developer productivity and reduce time to value. It will also look at a new production deployment scenario in which a configured instance of a server is "embedded" in an application.

We've had over 600 people take advantage of the free IBM WebSphere CloudBurst Appliance Video Education course on the GWC. Now you have the chance to tell us what particular aspects of WebSphere MQ and WebSphere Application Server you would like further education on.

Please take a moment to complete this brief survey. The results will help us determine how to best meet the community's needs through a no charge educational offering.