JBoss tries to bulk up its Rolodex of partners

Seeking to expand its network of partners, JBoss is expected to introduce on Monday a program to host third-party open-source projects aligned with its back-end software.

The JBoss Open Source Federation is a Web site for hosting and managing commercial open-source projects that work with JBoss' Java-based software. The site will provide the ability to manage source code, track bugs and run forums, according to company executives.

JBoss builds a suite of middleware products, including its namesake Java application server that is used to build and run Java programs. The company is announcing the hosting site at JBoss World, its first customer conference, which is taking place this week in Atlanta.

Also at the conference, JBoss is introducing JBoss Network, a program for providing technical documentation and administration. The software provides an automated way to update large installations of JBoss-related software, according to company executives. JBoss plans to offer the JBoss Network software to projects hosted on the company's federation site.

With the new programs, JBoss is looking to build a larger partner network and encourage open-source software that works with JBoss products, said Marc Fleury, the company's president.

He said the JBoss federation is an alternative to sites that host nonprofit open-source projects such SourceForge and the Apache Foundation.

JBoss also said that version 3 of its Hibernate database-access software is available. The update will conform with the forthcoming Enterprise Java Beans 3.0 specification and make it easier to query data from databases that store information for analysis.