JPA Support in WebSphere Application Server Traditional

• WebSphere Traditional 8.5 supports Java EE 6 technologies; this means 8.5 supports up to JPA 2.0. It is also important to note that WebSphere Traditional 8.5 will not be supporting later Java EE technologies in the future.
• WebSphere Traditional 9.0 supports Java EE 7 technologies; this means 9.0 supports up to JPA 2.1. It is also important to note that WebSphere Traditional 9.0 will not be supporting later Java EE technologies in the future.
  
  

JPA Support in WebSphere Application Server Liberty

• WebSphere Liberty supports up to Jakarta EE 9 technologies (dependent on release version); this means Liberty supports up to JPA 3.0. It is also important to note that Liberty plans on supporting future releases of Jakarta EE technologies in the future.

Hibernate support in WebSphere Application Server Traditional:

• According to Hibernate's release compatibility guide,  https://hibernate.org/orm/releases/#compatibility-matrix, Hibernate 5.6 is built with JPA 2.2. JPA 2.2 is a Java EE 8 technology.
• Since neither WebSphere Traditional release (8.5 / 9.0) supports Java EE 8 technologies, there is not a Traditional WebSphere release that supports Hibernate version 5.6

Hibernate support in WebSphere Application Server Liberty :

• WebSphere Liberty supports up to Jakarta EE 9 technologies. This means that WebSphere Liberty supports JPA 2.2 and therefore Hibernate version 5.6

Note : You need to use the above compatibility matrix or check with Hibernate support regarding supported EE technology and/or Java versions. WebSphere Application server supports any version level supported by the underlying Java/Jakarta EE technology.

Spring support in WebSphere Application Server:

• What version of Spring Framework and Spring Boot can be used with WebSphere and Liberty application servers?
  Please review the following link for more information: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6612943