Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Development
    • Development

    Ximian to Roll Out Red Carpet Enterprise

    By
    Peter Galli
    -
    October 4, 2002
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Open-source desktop company Ximian on Monday will release Red Carpet Enterprise, a behind-the-firewall solution that provides users with centralized software maintenance and version management for Linux servers and workstations.

      The Red Carpet Enterprise deployment consists of a server storing Linux software that is distributed to workstations and servers; a process or interface for controlling how this software is updated; and a method for initiating the updates on various corporate machines.

      Administrators can set up the Red Carpet server, using either a Web-based administration console or a command line interface, to centrally configure and distribute software selections, manage users or organize groups of machines for software installation and updating.

      Updates for workstations and servers can be initiated automatically “on demand” by Red Carpet client users, or unattended on specified schedules using the Red Carpet Daemon and its Autopull capability.

      Red Carpet Enterprise users will be able to control the software stored on their internal Red Carpet servers and for many of these users who are building custom Linux software, this new solution will manage the installation and updating of these applications.

      “This entire system is a product that can be installed and customized inside the firewall and does not require professional services or a lot of consulting. Its meant to be delivered and offered as a product,” John Perr, vice president at Ximian, told eWEEK.

      Users will pay $2500 for the server software, which runs on top of Red Hat Linux 7.3 and is deployed behind the firewall, as well as a license fee for each system they want to manage. The license fee starts at $200 a system, but volume discounts kick in as the number of systems grows.

      Customers also have the option of subscribing to the Red Carpet Library, which provides software updates to Linux software from Ximian, their Linux distributions or other third-party software. This service starts at $60 a year per system.

      Ximian to Roll Out

      Red Carpet Enterprise”>

      “Customers have been increasingly asking us for a solution that lies behind the firewall because even though our other offerings are secure, users like the government often have policies that dictate that the entire solution must be deployed behind the corporate firewall,” Perr said.

      As Linux on servers becomes more prevalent, and companies increasingly depend on it for more functions and seek to customize their own Linux distributions, having a behind-the-firewall solution is increasingly important, he said.

      Keith Erskine, product manager for Red Carpet Enterprise, told eWEEK that this latest offering is not only compatible with a host of Linux distributions but also provides those users with their own Linux environments and an easy way to set up, deploy and maintain those environments throughout the company.

      Beta testers agree. Jeff Davis, a senior systems programmer at Houston-based Amerada Hess Corp. told eWEEK that Red Carpet Enterprise is much easier to use and administer than Red Carpet CorporateConnect, which he currently uses to update some 300 systems.

      Davis said that while he did not run custom software applications on the new offering or distribute in-house software that way, “I understand that reasoning. We dont support a lot of remote offices and are using other mechanisms to do that. If we had lots of remote sites this would be a good and valuable way to do that,” he said.

      Amerada is using Red Carpet Enterprise to distribute Ximain software updates, Ximian security fixes, Red Hat updates and Red Hat security fixes. “I moved from Red Hat Network to Ximians Red Carpet CorporateConnect because it was more flexible and customizable at the time,” he said.

      Ximians Perr pointed out that the firm would continue to offer CorporateConnect, its hosted service for those companies that want the convenience of hosting or are looking to start with smaller deployments.

      Ameradas Davis said he had already bought a server on which to run the Red Carpet Enterprise solution—a Dell PowerEdge 1650—and would be phasing in the rollout, one group of systems at a time. Over the next few weeks, the new Ximian package will be installed on 32 new systems, followed by a rollout to existing Ximian clients.

      While it is not functionally that different than the existing solution, one key change is that management of the server has moved to the customer, who can now point clients to their server rather than to Ximians.

      “The whole interface is also much easier to use and, for me, is quicker and easier to manage. The security aspect is not the key factor to me,” he said.

      Peter Galli
      Peter Galli has been a financial/technology reporter for 12 years at leading publications in South Africa, the UK and the US. He has been Investment Editor of South Africa's Business Day Newspaper, the sister publication of the Financial Times of London.He was also Group Financial Communications Manager for First National Bank, the second largest banking group in South Africa before moving on to become Executive News Editor of Business Report, the largest daily financial newspaper in South Africa, owned by the global Independent Newspapers group.He was responsible for a national reporting team of 20 based in four bureaus. He also edited and contributed to its weekly technology page, and launched a financial and technology radio service supplying daily news bulletins to the national broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation, which were then distributed to some 50 radio stations across the country.He was then transferred to San Francisco as Business Report's U.S. Correspondent to cover Silicon Valley, trade and finance between the US, Europe and emerging markets like South Africa. After serving that role for more than two years, he joined eWeek as a Senior Editor, covering software platforms in August 2000.He has comprehensively covered Microsoft and its Windows and .Net platforms, as well as the many legal challenges it has faced. He has also focused on Sun Microsystems and its Solaris operating environment, Java and Unix offerings. He covers developments in the open source community, particularly around the Linux kernel and the effects it will have on the enterprise.He has written extensively about new products for the Linux and Unix platforms, the development of open standards and critically looked at the potential Linux has to offer an alternative operating system and platform to Windows, .Net and Unix-based solutions like Solaris.His interviews with senior industry executives include Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Linus Torvalds, the original developer of the Linux operating system, Sun CEO Scot McNealy, and Bill Zeitler, a senior vice president at IBM.For numerous examples of his writing you can search under his name at the eWEEK Website at www.eweek.com.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×