Open source network monitoring software vendor Zenoss announced the release of Zenoss Enterprise 2.5, the company's commercial version of its flagship product. It sports several new features, most notably Amazon EC2 monitoring that provide users with dynamic snapshots of performance and the ability to drill down on performance issues with "inside the instance" monitoring.

Zenoss Enterprise 2.5's focus is on scalability and security with an eye toward future datacenter platforms and technologies. Additional new features include:

I'm beginning to think the folks at Zenoss never sleep. How else can the popular open source network monitoring software vendor explain all the recent announcements and news they've been making the last few days? Let's start with the contest.

The new Community ZenPack Contest captures the cloud computing craze. "Zenoss in the Clouds ZenPack Contest" is aimed at users who want to create modules, or ZenPacks, to allow Zenoss to monitor cloud infrastructureand service providers, or deploy cloud-based technologies.

If you'll be at Ohio LinuxFest this weekend, then be sure to check out Zenoss Community Day on September 25th. Zenoss, the open source network monitoring software vendor, is hosting a free daylong event at the Hyatt Regency and Columbus Convention Center for its current users and anyone who wants to know more about the project. There will be plenty of hands-on product training, followed by a LinuxFest pre-party at a nearby watering hole.

I caught up with Zenoss VP of Community, Mark Hinkle, to find out more about this event and what's in store for the future of Zenoss. Here's what he had to say.