Canonical Set to Release Ubuntu 9.10 Server Edition

There's news out of Canonical today that the release of Ubuntu 9.10 Server Edition -- codenamed Karmic Koala -- is just around the corner. It's the greenest release yet, with a heavy emphasis on power management and cloud computing tools.

Ubuntu 9.10 includes Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud (UEC), a system designed to help users build and support private clouds. It's underlying technology relies on Eucalyptus, an open source infrastructure for implementing cloud computing on clusters.

"Ubuntu 9.10 Server Edition puts Ubuntu users at a unique advantage in being able to quickly and simply deploy and manage cloud environments. We strongly believe that businesses which are already embracing virtualized environments, will take the next logical step to these self-service, super-efficient architectures and that Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud will be at the heart of that effort," Canonical's Director of Corporate Services, Steve George said in a statement.

Ubuntu 9.10 also integrates PowerNap, a tool for putting servers to sleep when they're not being used. Dustin Kirkland, a Core Developer of the Ubuntu Server says, "PowerNap operates sort of like a screen saver for servers. Besides watching the console and terminals for keyboard activity, it also watches the system's process table for activity."

"Alternatively, a system administrator can force the system to powernap immediately by either running /usr/sbin/powernap directly, or sending powernap the 'now' signal with: service powernap now," adds Kirkland. "In fact, this is what the Eucalyptus Node Controller does, such that it can maintain state, and directly control its managed nodes."

Ubuntu Server Edition 9.10 sports several core and kernel improvements, including:

* The addition of MySQL 5.1

* Upgraded directory stack and Single Sign On tools for improved directory integration

* Django is now a fully supported framework

* Support for the USB 3.0 protocol

Ubuntu 9.10 Server Edition will be available for free download October 26, 2009. If you want to know more about deploying Ubuntu Server Edition within an enterprise environment, check out these online and classroom training courses.