J2EE (Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition) is a platform for developing and running large-scale, multi-tiered, scalable, reliable, and secure network applications. It uses a distributed multi-tiered application model where application logic is divided into components running on different machines depending on their function. Components include web components, enterprise beans running business logic on the server, and application clients running on the client. The J2EE platform provides containers that manage these components and offer underlying services like transaction management, security, and connectivity.