Startup CenterRun Inc. will give Opsware Inc. a run for its money in chasing data center management opportunities with the latest release of its namesake automated configuration management tool.
The Redwood City, Calif., startup this week announced Version 2.0 of its tool, which provides automated change management for complex Web applications.
CenterRun 2.0 adds clustering support for BEA WebLogic and IBM WebSphere Web application servers, providing automated application deployment for clustered applications.
The startup, which has operated in stealth mode since its launch early this year, provides a unique automation layer for managing application updates and configuration changes. That automation layer eliminates the burden on users to create custom scripts to make changes to applications. “All others require you to package applications and write scripts to use their system. With ours you dont have to write them and track them,” said CEO Aaref Hilaly.
The automation also allows CenterRun to detect changes to the application and report back any differences.
Rival Opswares Intelligent Software Modules package up scripts for a variety of third-party applications in a standard packaged format. “That doesnt mean you can easily pull together all that information,” said Basil Hashem, a co-founder and senior director of product management at CenterRun.
The new release also provides the ability to compare different servers to see what the configuration differences are.
CenterRun is made up of a Master Server that connects to remote agents on each managed server, including servers running across multiple data centers. A Local Distributor spans out to connect to multiple agents using either Secure Shell (SSH) Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or TCP/IP. The Master Server runs on Windows NT or Windows 2000 and Sun Microsystems Inc.s Solaris. The agents and Local Distributor run on Windows NT/2000, Solaris and IBMs AIX. Linux support is planned by years end. The software starts at $1,000 per managed server.