Breaking News - General:
Ximian Releases Red Carpet
Enterprise Version 1.4
Ximian, Inc., a leading provider of desktop and server solutions enabling
enterprise Linux adoption, announced the availability of version 1.4 of Red
Carpet Enterprise, its solution providing enterprises with centralized
software management of Linux-based workstations and servers. The server-based
Red Carpet Enterprise deploys entirely behind the firewall and enables
organizations to automatically control the installed Linux software on
heterogeneous groups of systems either on demand or according to a preset
schedule. Among a host of enhancements, version 1.4 extends its broad platform
support to include the SuSE Linux Enterprise Server and Red Hat Enterprise
Linux server product lines. Ximian will debut Red Carpet Enterprise 1.4 at the
Linux on Wall Street conference being held today at the Roosevelt Hotel in New
York.
Red Carpet Enterprise 1.4 adds support for both SuSE Linux Enterprise
Server
8.0 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS/ES (formerly called Red Hat Advanced
Server 2.1). In addition to being able to manage Linux systems running those
operating systems, the Red Carpet server itself can be installed on servers
utilizing those distributions. Version 1.4 now includes the unique capability
to activate, track and manage systems when they cannot be identified by IP
address or hostname. Importantly, the new release also adds the new "RCE
Mirror" capability, enabling Red Carpet Enterprise to automatically add new
packages and security updates from other software repositories, both public
and privately accessible, such as the SuSE Maintenance Web system.
"Software management is vital to helping corporate IT departments realize
true
cost savings through Linux adoption," said David Patrick, CEO of Ximian. "Red
Carpet Enterprise provides that solution. From web servers and workstations
using commodity Linux distributions to mission-critical data center systems
running certified, enterprise Linux operating systems, Red Carpet Enterprise
delivers powerful, scalable and secure software management."
"IDC research published last fall identified software and system management
costs as critical factors to achieving lower total cost of ownership with
Linux-based solutions," said Al Gillen, research director, Systems Software,
IDC. "With its Red Carpet Enterprise software, Ximian is addressing that
issue, providing centralized software deployment and updating for systems
running a broad range of Linux distributions."
Custom Software Management and Updating
Red Carpet Enterprise enables administrators to centrally distribute and
maintain software as well as organize groups of machines for software
deployment and updates. The administrator has total control of the system
through an intuitive web-based administration console and a powerful command
line interface. Updates for workstations and servers can be initiated
automatically "on demand" by users of the Red Carpet client, or unattended on
specified schedules. The web-based administration console also includes
flexible reporting, detailing download and installation activities.
The Red Carpet Enterprise server tightly integrates with the Red Carpet
graphical client and Red Carpet daemon software used to update hundreds of
thousands of end user Linux desktop and server systems worldwide. Its
intuitive software channels and automatic dependency and conflict resolution
let users easily install, update and maintain software over the Internet from
Ximian, leading Linux distribution providers and a growing library of other
third-party independent software vendors (ISVs). Especially important for
mixed computing environments, Red Carpet uniquely provides multi-platform
support, updating systems running a broad range of Linux distributions,
including Red Hat, SuSE, Mandrake and more.
"Red Carpet Enterprise is essential to the management of 400 new Linux
desktop
systems we're deploying," said Paul Rogers, project manager, Desktop
Replacement Project at the Met Office, the world leader in short range weather
forecasting. "We evaluated a range of different Linux management approaches
and quickly concluded that only Red Carpet Enterprise offers the security and
sophisticated software dependency resolution we need to control standards and
costs."
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