The good folks beavering away at the Fedora Project have announced that the final release of Fedora 21 will come in three flavors (Server, Workstation (desktop) and Cloud) and be available before the end of this year.
Fedora 21 – Launch Schedule
* Alpha release (to flush out bugs) – September 23, 2014. Download Fedora 21 Alpha.
* Beta release (code complete but requires more testing) – October 28, 2014
* Final release (ready for general use) – Early December 2014
Note – For the Alpha release, the network installers act as generic, ‘universal’ installers, which means they offer the entire set of Fedora package groups by default, instead of only the groups associated with the product/version they are meant to represent.)
Also, the desktop version of Fedora gets a new name in Fedora 21 – It will now be called Workstation.
Different Products, Common Base
Although targeted at different segments, the three Fedora 21 products build on a common “base” set of packages.
Each product will use the same packages for key elements like kernel, RPM, yum, systemd, and Anaconda.
But keep in mind that the “base” offering is not a complete product intended for use on its own, but a small, stable platform for other products/versions to build on.
Fedora Project’s Base Working Group is developing the standard platform for all Fedora products, which also includes the installer, compose tools, and basic platform for the other products.
Target Segments
Each of the three Fedora 21 products has a unique target market.
* Fedora 21 Server – Suitable for deployment as web server, file server, database server, or platform for an Infrastructure-as-a-Service. Will debut three new server management technologies (Rolekit, Cockpit, and OpenLMI) to let developers easily install discrete infrastructure services. Rolekit is a role deployment and management toolkit offering a consistent interface for administrators to install and configure all the packages needed to implement a specific server role. Cockpit is a user interface for configuring and monitoring servers and allows remote access via browser. OpenLMI is a remote management system built atop DMTF-CIM. It can be used for scripting management functions across many machines as well as querying for capabilities and monitoring for system events.
* Fedora 21 Workstation – For use by students, hobbyists and developers on laptops and PC. Developers can leverage the platform to build server side and client applications. Features a new DevAssistant tool to let developers set up environments for their projects, so they can concentrate on writing code. Comes with GNOME 3.14 (due in late September).
* Fedora 21 Cloud – Will include images for deployment in private cloud environments like OpenStack, as well as AMIs for use on Amazon, and a new image streamlined for running Docker containers. In this version, the kernel is split into two packages – One contains minimum modules for running in a virtualized environment and the other includes the larger set of modules for a more general installation. Supports Red Hat’s Project Atomic initiative to provide tools and patterns for a streamlined operating system to run Docker containers. Atomic host will make update management easier by letting users roll back updates as one atomic unit.
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