Latest Ubuntu Offers Business-Added Cloud Features and Sleek New Desktop Interface

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Canonical today announced availability on April 28 of the Ubuntu 11.04 suite of products for businesses. Spanning corporate and developer desktops, servers and the leading open-source cloud implementation, Ubuntu 11.04 offers businesses of all sizes an open-source alternative.

“This release comes at a time of accelerating corporate adoption of Ubuntu and delivers a range of improvements specifically relevant to the corporate environment.”

“Ubuntu 11.04 offers exciting opportunities for businesses to improve the reliability, security and manageability of desktop, cloud and server deployments, challenging the traditional license or subscription fee model and embracing open-source technology,” said Jane Silber, CEO of Canonical. “This release comes at a time of accelerating corporate adoption of Ubuntu and delivers a range of improvements specifically relevant to the corporate environment.”

Ubuntu 11.04 for the cloud

Ubuntu Server 11.04 – already the industry-standard open-source cloud OS – improves on its built-in cloud infrastructure (Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud based on Eucalyptus), providing an easy-to-use, affordable alternative for companies looking to build private clouds compatible with Amazon’s public cloud infrastructure.

Ubuntu Server 11.04 adds the OpenStack “Cactus” release as a technology preview, downloadable through the Ubuntu software repositories. Ubuntu features the most tightly integrated implementation of OpenStack on an operating system available today, giving companies evaluating OpenStack a unique opportunity to assess the latest release.

Ubuntu Server 11.04 will be fully available on Amazon’s EC2 on the day of release; users can trial Ubuntu Server 11.04 on the Amazon cloud on April 28 for an hour for free. Simply follow the links on www.ubuntu.com.

Ubuntu 11.04 for the corporate desktop

For desktop deployments, Ubuntu 11.04 offers a choice of Unity-- a new, simplified and modern interface -- or the option to retain the “classic” Ubuntu interface. Unity makes its first appearance in this release and will be the interface of Ubuntu for all users in the next long-term support (LTS) release in April 2012. Desktop deployments of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS can test what’s coming in the next LTS release while retaining the option of the current, “classic” desktop experience.

Ubuntu 11.04 for servers

Ubuntu Server supports the latest server hardware, with a list of certified systems available at http://www.ubuntu.com/certification. Ubuntu 11.04 certifications will be published there as they pass testing. Certifications enable businesses to make informed decisions when choosing hardware and decide if point release upgrade is needed when purchasing new server hardware for use with Ubuntu.

Technical updates

Ubuntu Server
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Server provisioning eased through addition of cobbler and mcollective
14 percent reduction in typical power usage through addition of PowerNap 2.0.
New Linux Kernel, 2.6.38, which includes:
    - AppArmor support in Kernel for improved security
    - Support for Intel’s Intelligent Power Sharing (IPS)
    - filesystem improvements to btrfs, Ext4 and XFS
    - driver updates and hardware support updates
libvirt, the virtualisation API updated with extensive bug fixes and feature updates.
Default dhcpd server updated from dhcp3 to isc-dhcp (version 4)
Fully certified J2EE stack in Ubuntu based on Jonas + Oracle JDK + Postgres. Certification was completed by OW2.

Ubuntu for cloud deployments
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Eucalypus 2.02 integrated with security and efficiency improvements.
OpenStack ‘Cactus’ release in technology preview as a download for Ubuntu.
cloud-init updated to 0.60 bringing resizing and hostname attribution at first boot.

Ubuntu for desktops
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Ubuntu “Unity” mode provides new interface on graphic cards with OpenGL support.
Ubuntu “classic” mode provides continuity of experience for businesses while offering a clear upgrade path.

Availability

Ubuntu 11.04 and Ubuntu Server 11.04 will be available from www.ubuntu.com for download from April 28 onward.

Ubuntu Server 11.04 will be available to trial on AWS for free for an hour from www.ubuntu.com from April 28 onward.

About Canonical

Canonical provides engineering, online and professional services to Ubuntu partners and customers worldwide. As the company behind the Ubuntu project, Canonical is committed to the production and support of Ubuntu – an ever-popular and fast-growing open-source operating system. It aims to ensure Ubuntu is available to every organisation and individual on servers, desktops, laptops and netbooks.

Canonical partners with computer hardware manufacturers to certify Ubuntu, provides migration, deployment, support and training services to businesses, and offers online services direct to end users. Canonical also builds and maintains collaborative, open source development tools to ensure that organisations and individuals can participate fully in innovations within the open-source community. For more information, please visit the Canonical website.