IBM application Server - Introduction

I have been studying about IBM WebSphere Application server for a little while and thought of sharing what i have gathered with you all.
I will write set article from first step describing

• IBM WebSphere Application Server
• How to download WAS
• How to select WAS for you requirement
• IBM forum and frequently asked questions page.

1.     IBM WebSphere Application Server

WebSphere Application Server (WAS) is a software product that performs the role of a web application server. More specifically, it is a software framework and middleware that hosts Java based web applications. It is the flagship product within IBM's WebSphere software suite. It was initially created by Donald Ferguson, who later became CTO of Software for Dell and the first version was launched in 1998.

2.     Few Things to know at Start

Developer	IBM , http://www.ibm.com/
Website	http://www-01.ibm.com/software/webservers/appserv/was/
Initial Release	1.0  22 June 1998; 17 years ago
Stable Release	8.5.5 / 14 June 2013; 2 years ago
Preview release	9.0 / 14 March 2014; 19 months ago
Written in	Java
Operating system	AIX, Windows, Solaris, Linux, HP-UX, z/OS, IBM i,VMWare ESX / ESXi
Available in	English, French, German, Brazilian-Portuguese, Czech, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese
Type	Java EE Container
License	Commercial(Do not download yourself – contact IT)
Version History	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_WebSphere_Application_Server#Version_history
Software Product Compatibility Reports	http://www-969.ibm.com/software/reports/compatibility/clarity/index.html
System Requirements	http://www-03.ibm.com/software/products/en/appserv-was and go to System Requirements tab
Downloads	http://www-03.ibm.com/software/products/en/appserv-was and go to Downloads tab
What’s New	http://www-03.ibm.com/software/products/en/appserv-was and go to What’s New tab
Memory	Minimum 1 GB of physical memory recommended