The Intrepid Ibix or Ubuntu 8.10 drops 30 October. Canonical Ltd, the operating system’s commercial sponsor, announced the release of both server and desktop updates.

The server version is a pretty interesting upgrade as, according to the official release, Ubuntu’s supporting cloud computing as well as provided further virtualization enhancements.

“Ubuntu 8.10 Server Edition is a terrific milestone that underlines the value in our twin track release strategy,” said Jane Silber, COO of Canonical. “The server edition embraces cloud computing, virtualization, mail server enhancements, Java development and deployment as well as a range of services to help system administrators and developers. Our six-monthly release cycle allows us to get these features in front of users faster continuing to make Ubuntu the best option for innovative organizations.”

Translated into normal people speak, Ubuntu server is more than just the obligatory holes-patched update. Ubuntu 8.10 will see some interesting changes in the virtualization space, for instance a Virtual Machine builder. Claims are that you can build a complete Virtual Machine from the command line in just five minutes. Is this a way of coping with the competition of the latest Windows Server version’s built-in virtualisation?

Other sweeteners – better memory management, where now administrators can reduce or increase memory allocated to a virtual machine without needing a reboot.

The new Ubuntu also fully supports Apache Tomcat 6.0 and OpenJDK and also has spam detection and virus filtering options – ClamAV and SpamAssassin are now available from the main repository.

But the goodies can’t all be in the server version. Desktop users will see increased support for mobile broadband, with this version of Ubuntu being hailed as 3G-ready. Perhaps we’ll start seeing Ubuntu pre-loaded on a Netbook near you.

And here, taken from the release, are important links for all you dying of curiosity or wanting to bookmark the Ubuntu download page.

Pricing, Availability and Technical Information

• Extensive information can be found at http://www.ubuntu.com/server.
• On Thursday 30 October, Ubuntu 8.10 Server Edition will be available for download from http://www.ubuntu.com/download.
• Information on Landscape system management is available at http://www.canonical.com/landscape.
• Case studies can be found at http://www.ubuntu.com/products/casestudies.
• The Desktop press release can be found at http://www.ubuntu.com/news/ubuntu-8.10-desktop.

Related:

Entry was posted on Monday, October 27th, 2008 at 2:16 pm under Linux.

Read more entries by Erna Mahyuni.
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