The IBM Workload Deployer appliance provides a solid foundation for private cloud strategy, enabling the rapid adoption and deployment of both infrastructure and Platform as a Service (PaaS) offerings. This tool uses the concept of patterns to describe the logical configuration of both the physical and virtual assets that comprise a particular solution. 

The use of patterns allows an organization to construct an individual element or integrated solution once, and then dispense the final product on demand. Virtual system patterns are comprised of an operating system and IBM software solutions, such as WebSphere Application Server and WebSphere Virtual Enterprise. Virtual application patterns are designed to support a single application workload.

This book focuses on the virtual systems capability of the IBM Workload Deployer and specifically addresses the process of building customized virtual systems that go beyond the standard capabilities of the virtual images available with the product.