A few weeks ago I blogged about various integration options for WebSphere Portal. I mentioned Web Application Integrator (WAI) as a good solution for external ween sites.
IBM has released a new version of WAI specifically for Portal 7. This new version is available on
the IBM Solutions Catalog here:
https://greenhouse.lotus.com/catalog/home_full.xsp?fSearchValue=Web%20application%20integrator#
Here is the overview from the catalog
Web Application Integrator for IBM WebSphere Portal is a solution which allows external web applications to be integrated with IBM WebSphere Portal version 6.0.x, 6.1, 6.1.0.3+ or 7.0.x, and IBM WebSphere Portal Express 6.0.x, 6.1, 6.1.0.3+ or 7.0.x.
It allows Portal customers to further leverage their investment in Portal by using it to centralize access to external web applications within the enterprise. Examples of such external web applications include home grown, in-house web apps, as well as our own IBM web based products like Lotus Connections, Lotus DWA, and Lotus Quickr.
Web Application Integrator for IBM WebSphere Portal 7.0.x requires a minimal level of 7.0.0.1 with cumulative fix 4 and maintains functionality from previous versions.
When working with the WAI in previous versions I had issues trying to integrate within a Virtual Portal. Has anyone tested out this functionality to see if it has been better implemented? Otherwise I have used this to test potential solutions of displaying an older .NET application within a portal look and feel. This proved to be much more aesthetically pleasing then utilizing an IFrame.
Thanks for the comment. I agree that WAI is much better than using iFrames.
I haven’t tried the new WAI for Portal 7. When I get a chance, I will try it out and let you know.
It is great this tool, but when i open the page with the url of the web application that have the html tag that i generated, the url of the websphere portal is overwrited with the one that have the web application. It is a way two keep the url of the portal?
There is no way to keep the portal URL The idea behind WAI is to provide easy integration by injecting the portal navigation into your app. This way, when the user goes from portal to your application it looks like you’re still in portal, but you are not.
The best you can do is change the URL of your application to be similar to portal if you can.
Do we have support for WAI in web sphere portal 8.0. Can some one point me to any docs relating to wai on Portal 8.0
WAI is supported in Portal 8 when you use a theme from Portal 7 or older. IBM is currently working on updates to WAI to support the new Portal 8 theme, but it is not ready yet. We hear that WAI should support Portal 8’s new theme in the fourth quarter of this year.