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CohesiveFT Adds Ubuntu 9.04 SE and Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 to its Elastic Server Platform

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CohesiveFT today announced the addition of both Ubuntu 9.04 Server Edition (Jaunty Jackalope) and Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 (Lenny) operating systems to its Elastic Server platform, the company’s web-based factory for real-time virtual and cloud server assembly. The Elastic Server platform lets users assemble custom virtual and cloud servers using a point-and-click, self-service interface. The addition of the most recent stable versions of Ubuntu and Debian as operating system options gives users the ability to assemble and deploy their custom Ubuntu or Debian Elastic Servers to numerous virtual and cloud environments including Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2).

Ubuntu is a widely popular operating system distributed freely by Canonical based on GNU/Linux. Ubuntu is available under the GNU/GPL but is commercially supported by Canonical. Debian is also an extremely popular operating system based on GNU/Linux. Debian is not supported by a commercial enterprise but by an independent decentralized organization of developers.

The Elastic Server platform is a complement to virtualization and cloud offerings. Users assemble custom servers by choosing from a library of popular components. Once assembled, these custom application stacks can be configured to a variety of virtualization and cloud-ready formats, downloaded and deployed in real-time. There are over three thousand users of the service who have assembled more than seven thousand Elastic Server images for public and private use. The addition of Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope and Debian Lenny operating systems highlights CohesiveFT’s platform momentum following recently introduced support for Eucalyptus, Fedora Core 10, ElasticHosts, and KVM.

3Tera To Debut AppStore, A Marketplace For Cloud Components

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3Tera has announced the introduction of the 3Tera AppStore, a marketplace for cloud components where enterprise users, software vendors and datacenter experts can exchange production-ready, scalable and highly available cloud components on a pay-per-use basis.

3Tera’s AppStore is a globally available portal offering enterprise-class, supported software stacks, packaged for use in public, private and hybrid AppLogic cloud deployments. The AppStore catalog spans all types of datacenter infrastructure elements and complete applications, from networking components (such as load balancers, firewalls, routers, traffic managers, content switches), server components (such as Web servers, directory servers, databases, application servers) and storage solutions, as well as application software stacks, management and monitoring tools.

Users of the 3Tera AppStore can find pre-configured, ready-to-use appliances to add to their 3Tera AppLogic catalogs provided by trusted software vendors. Many are free or offered on a trial basis, while others are offered on a pay-per-use basis. For ISVs, the AppStore provides a way to publish and distribute enterprise-class, production ready, cloud components and generate revenue every time users run them in public or private clouds powered by AppLogic. Datacenter architects and consultants can package and publish complete application infrastructures to the AppStore that are ready to run, complete with value-added capabilities such as clustered solutions, high-availability, disaster recovery, on-demand scalability or automated backups and security.

Initial AppStore partners include CohesiveFT, GlobalLogic, Layer 7 Technologies, SOASTA, Tap In Systems, and Zeus Technology.

3Tera is working with established infrastructure and software vendors to populate the AppStore catalog of available appliances. The Beta version of the 3Tera AppStore will go live in Q3 2009.

Apologies For The Radio Silence

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We would like to apologize to our readers, and particularly those who subscribe to our RSS feed and/or e-mail newsletter, for not posting any news for the past couple of days. We moved offices and it took us a while to get our internet access back. But we’re back now, and here’s an overview of what happened while we were sitting on a tropical island in no-internet-hell.

Veeam has a new CFO (William H. Largent)

BlueStripe Software raised Series B funding to the tune of $8 million from Valhalla Partners and Trinity Ventures.

CohesiveFT added both Fedora Core 10 and Internal Eucalyptus Cloud Deployment Option to its Elastic Server platform

Tranxition has announced general availability of LiveManage for Virtual Migrations 7.0

VMware has announced vSphere, its infamous cloud operating system (and then some)

rPath has announced rBuilder 5

Pano Logic has appointed Parmeet S. Chaddha as executive vice president of engineering

VMware put out their financial numbers for the first quarter of 2009

Leostream released Connection Broker 6.0

Citrix today announced that the beta release of XenServer 5.5 (code-named “Project George”) is available

CohesiveFT Releases VPN-Cubed for EC2

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CohesiveFT today announced the release of VPN-Cubed for EC2, a specially packaged version of the company’s customer-controlled cloud security offering for Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). Amazon EC2 users now have immediate access to this specific VPN-Cubed use-case allowing them to create and configure their own VPN-Cubed overlay network inside of and across EC2’s geographically distinct regions. The VPN-Cubed overlay network provides four key capabilities EC2 users currently cannot control: static addressing for the user’s EC2 devices; topology control by using VPN-Cubed managers as virtual switches, virtual bridges or virtual routers; use of popular enterprise protocols like UDP Multicast for service discovery; and lastly encrypted communications between all devices on the overlay network.

VPN-Cubed for EC2 is available as a Free Edition which provides a high availability version for use in one EC2 region or in one EC2 VLAN, and a paid version which allows creation of a reliable, cross-region, cross-VLAN overlay network. Both are available through Amazon DevPay as “Paid AMIs”. EC2 users can now get their own highly available and secure VPN-Cubed overlay network up and running quickly and easily.

VPN-Cubed is the first commercial solution that enables customer control in a cloud, across multiple clouds, and between private infrastructure and the clouds. VPN-Cubed provides an overlay network that allows the customer control over addressing, topology, protocols, and encrypted communications for their devices deployed to virtual infrastructure or cloud computing centers. VPN-Cubed gives customers the confidence and flexibility to utilize cloud computing by offering a layer of security that the customer controls inside of 3rd party environments.

CohesiveFT Adds KVM Format To Its Automated Elastic Server Platform

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CohesiveFT today announced support to automate the deployment of Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) servers via the Elastic Server web-based factory. Elastic Server is an automated “factory” that allows IT professionals to assemble, deploy, and manage virtual servers using a simple point-and-click interface. Beginning today, customers can assemble custom servers for deployment to the Kernel Virtual Machine format.

KVM is a Linux kernel virtualization infrastructure licensed under the GNU GPL.  It provides a mechanism for splitting a single physical computer into multiple virtual machines.  KVM’s approach differs from other virtualization formats in that it requires no patching of the kernel and takes advantage of performance improvements available on hardware containing virtualization extensions (Intel VT or AMD-V).

The Elastic Server platform is a complement to virtualization and cloud offerings. Users assemble custom servers by choosing from a library of popular components. Once assembled, these custom application stacks can be configured to a variety of virtualization and cloud-ready formats, downloaded and deployed in real-time. Completed server stacks can be distributed through the Elastic Server platform. There are more than two thousand community users contributing nearly five thousand Elastic Servers to the market. The addition of KVM follows CohesiveFT’s recent addition of Virtual Iron, support for Amazon EC2 in Europe, the Ubuntu operating system, and the industry’s first commercial cloud security solution, VPN-Cubed.

CohesiveFT Elastic Server Now Supports Virtual Iron

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Virtual Iron is now available as a download option for CohesiveFT‘s Elastic Servers.

CohesiveFT functions as an automated “factory” that allows IT professionals to assemble, deploy, and manage virtual servers (i.e., virtual appliances) using a simple point-and-click interface.

More information is available both at the CohesiveFT blog and the Virtual Iron blog.

“CohesiveFT has created a compelling platform that reduces the complexity of creating production-ready virtual servers comprised of multi-sourced components,” said Chris Barclay, director of product management at Virtual Iron. “Now, with the addition of Virtual Iron within Elastic Server, our customers can easily take advantage of existing Elastic Servers or create their own custom servers. CohesiveFT’s create once, run anywhere platform simplifies deployments and gives customers choice of virtualization vendor. This is yet another way that Virtual Iron customers can do more with less.”