New Book Review: "IBM WebSphere DataPower SOA Appliance Handbook"

New book review for IBM WebSphere DataPower SOA Appliance Handbook, by Bill Hines, John Rasmussen, Jaime Ryan, Simon Kapadia, and Jim Brennan, IBM Press, 2008, reposted here:

A couple months ago, I read through this near 900-page text in preparation for the project I am currently leading to move my client from proprietary software built in-house to a suite of WebSphere branded products that includes DataPower. While the scope of the project ended up changing to exclude work on DataPower, the background that this book provided was immensely valuable in getting an understanding of the client product environment from both an architecture perspective and an in-the-trenches development perspective.

Prior to reading this text, I read through other material such as Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the IBM RedBooks series "IBM WebSphere DataPower SOA Appliances", but even though IBM RedBooks provide valuable information, and I regularly reference both IBM product manuals and IBM RedBooks while working with the rest of the WebSphere branded suite of products being used for this particular project, such as WebSphere Message Broker Toolkit and WebSphere Transformation Extender Design Studio, I find this book much more practical for DataPower.

While I extolled the benefits that vendor neutrality provided another IBM Press text, "Enterprise Master Data Management: An SOA Approach to Managing Core Information" (see my review), what the authors provide here is intended to focus on DataPower, and additional non-IBM background material is provided to both those new to this space and those who need to get acquainted with the particular contexts in which DataPower might apply.

My focus was on the DataPower XI50 integration appliance, although this text also covers the XA35 entry level product and the XS40 security appliance. The Chapter 1 introduction to appliances and the DataPower family outshines all of the presentations found readily via search engines, including those from IBM, and the coverage of DataPower setup, configuration, networking, services, management, and security literally starts from square one. The best practices and insight you will not find from any other printed material is what sets this book apart. Well recommended.