Red Hat Offers Launchpad for IT Transformation with Latest Version of Red Hat Virtualization

Tighter portfolio integration and automation enhancements to KVM-based virtualization platform provides an open, powerful foundation to enterprises seeking IT modernization without lock-in

RALEIGH, N.C. -

Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE: RHT), the world's leading provider of open source solutions, today announced the general availability of Red Hat Virtualization 4.1, the latest release of the company’s Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM)-powered enterprise virtualization platform. Providing an open source infrastructure and centralized management solution for virtualized servers and workstations and built on the enterprise-grade backbone of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Red Hat Virtualization 4.1 delivers expanded automation capabilities through integration with Ansible by Red Hat while new networking and storage capabilities offer a stable, flexible foundation for IT innovation.

Icon-Red_Hat-Media_and_documents-Quotemark_Open-B-Red-RGB

The vast majority of enterprise IT innovation is built on a virtualized foundation, making open virtualization technologies like Red Hat Virtualization vital as businesses look to save money while remaining nimble enough to address evolving end user and customer demands.

Gunnar Hellekson

director, product management, Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Red Hat Virtualization, Red Hat

Red Hat Virtualization enables customers to virtualize traditional applications, which can reduce IT expenses through infrastructure consolidation and helps to integrate existing workloads with new technologies, like private cloud and container-based workloads. This means that enterprises can optimize current infrastructure while better addressing future IT needs, all without the cost, complexity, and lock-in of proprietary virtualization solutions.

A key enhancement to Red Hat Virtualization 4.1 is deeper integration with Red Hat’s broad portfolio of open hybrid cloud technologies. This includes extended support for Red Hat CloudForms and Ansible by Red Hat, allowing for a single management interface across heterogeneous datacenter infrastructure and the automation of role-based administration and operational tasks. Tighter integration with Red Hat OpenStack Platform helps further bridge the gap between traditional and cloud-enabled workloads, and continued alignment with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.3 delivers improved support for Windows-based workloads and hot CPU unplug support.

Additional new capabilities and enhancements in the latest version of the platform include:

  • Improved automation with Ansible by Red Hat, making it possible for end users to automate Red Hat Virtualization platform using a variety of Ansible 2.3 modules that enhance virtual machines, storage, network, and more.

  • Enhanced high availability without power management allowing virtual machines to be restarted even when power management fencing is not enabled or available, a feature that is key for multi-site clusters.

  • Advanced storage performance and scaling, with the Storage Pool Manager (SPM) now able to delegate storage operations to other datacenter hosts, allowing common storage operations to run in parallel for higher throughput. Additionally, advanced single storage performance and improved block storage management help administrators to remove snapshots faster when a virtual machine is not in use and help reclaim storage space from within the virtual machine, respectively.

  • Open Virtual Network (OVN) for Open vSwitch, available as a Tech Preview, provides software-defined networking (SDN) capabilities for enterprise deployments. OVN offers the ability to isolate overlay networking and subnet management in Red Hat Virtualization 4.1 for streamlined datacenter deployment and exposes an OpenStack Networking (Neutron)-compatible API to use with existing Neutron automation.

Availability
Red Hat Virtualization 4.1 is available now via the Red Hat Customer Portal.

Supporting Quotes
Gunnar Hellekson, director, product management, Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Red Hat Virtualization, Red Hat
“The vast majority of enterprise IT innovation is built on a virtualized foundation, making open virtualization technologies like Red Hat Virtualization vital as businesses look to save money while remaining nimble enough to address evolving end user and customer demands. Red Hat Virtualization 4.1 does this by linking a broad portfolio of technologies, from Linux containers to OpenStack-based hybrid clouds, into a unified stack, creating a crucial tool for digital transformation.”

  • About Red Hat
  • Red Hat is the world's leading provider of open source software solutions, using a community-powered approach to provide reliable and high-performing cloud, Linux, middleware, storage and virtualization technologies. Red Hat also offers award-winning support, training, and consulting services. As a connective hub in a global network of enterprises, partners, and open source communities, Red Hat helps create relevant, innovative technologies that liberate resources for growth and prepare customers for the future of IT. Learn more at http://www.redhat.com.



  • Forward-Looking Statements
  • Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: risks related to the ability of the Company to compete effectively; the ability to deliver and stimulate demand for new products and technological innovations on a timely basis; delays or reductions in information technology spending; the integration of acquisitions and the ability to market successfully acquired technologies and products; fluctuations in exchange rates; the effects of industry consolidation; uncertainty and adverse results in litigation and related settlements; the inability to adequately protect Company intellectual property and the potential for infringement or breach of license claims of or relating to third party intellectual property; risks related to data and information security vulnerabilities; the ability to meet financial and operational challenges encountered in our international operations; ineffective management of, and control over, the Company's growth and international operations; and changes in and a dependence on key personnel, as well as other factors contained in our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (copies of which may be accessed through the Securities and Exchange Commission's website at http://www.sec.gov ), including those found therein under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations". In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic and political conditions, governmental and public policy changes and the impact of natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.