iPlanet

iPlanet was a brand of enterprise software products developed and marketed jointly by Netscape Communications Corporation and Sun Microsystems, Inc., following their alliance announced in 1999. The iPlanet product line aimed to provide a comprehensive suite of server-side software for businesses, encompassing areas like web serving, application serving, e-commerce, messaging, and directory services.

The creation of iPlanet was a strategic move to challenge Microsoft's dominance in the server software market. By combining Netscape's well-known web server and application server technologies with Sun's robust Java platform and server infrastructure, the alliance hoped to offer a compelling alternative for businesses seeking to build and deploy enterprise applications.

Key products under the iPlanet brand included:

• iPlanet Web Server: A popular web server used for hosting websites and web applications.
• iPlanet Application Server: A Java EE application server for developing and deploying enterprise applications.
• iPlanet Directory Server: A Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directory server for managing user identities and access control.
• iPlanet Messaging Server: A messaging server for email and collaboration.

Over time, Sun Microsystems acquired Netscape, and the iPlanet brand was eventually phased out. The technologies and products that were part of the iPlanet suite were rebranded and integrated into Sun's overall product offerings. While the iPlanet name is no longer in active use, its legacy lives on in the technologies and concepts that continue to influence enterprise software development. The individual components have been developed into other products, many of which are under the Oracle umbrella after Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems.