RPath
Encyclopedia
rPath, Inc. is a technology company based in Raleigh, North Carolina
that provides a platform (a "service factory" ) for enterprise IT organizations, independent software vendor
s (ISVs) and on-demand service providers to automate the process of constructing (or packaging), deploying and updating software stacks across physical, virtual and cloud-based environments. rPath models the entire software stack and manages all of its components and dependencies under version control . It acts as a model-driven and version-controlled repository and software distribution hub .
s , but rPath industrializes the operational aspects of the data center
by modeling software stacks and enabling them to be intelligently managed . This approach has the potential to transform the way IT manages its relationship with the business units and the technology . The rPath solution is suitable for organizations where change is an ongoing process. For these companies, the ability to industrialize the process and procedures will result in improved quality of service at reduced cost .
System Version Control
rPath provides a commercial version control platform for deployed software systems. rPath is not a source code management system. Rather, it is an operational management platform that applies the principles and disciplines of source code control to the management of deployable software systems—specifically, system manifests, packages, binaries, policies and system configuration
s. System version control is the technological foundation that ensures systems can be quickly reproduced, patch
ed and updated, rollback
-ed and reported on .
Deep System Modeling
rPath also provides a deeply modeled system inventory. This inventory granularly describes the desired state of every file, binary
, application component, and software stack on every production system—with complete information about applied policies and dependencies—as version-controlled system manifests. These manifests are actionable models for managing the complete lifecycle of deployed systems, providing the basis for understanding change impact and controlling change. Also, rather than applying universal updates, patch
es and updates can be targeted to only the systems that require change .
Hierarchical System Definition
rPath allows definition of systems as layered variants of common base platforms. For example, the standard corporate web server stack may start with a standard build of Red Hat Enterprise Linux
(RHEL), but add a specific custom version of the Apache HTTP Server
and remove all availability of FTP. With this feature, IT administrators can avoid redundant and error-prone patch
ing and application updates across thousands of instances by applying changes once to these base platforms .
Policy-Based Control
rPath enables IT groups to define and automatically enforce build-time policies that govern how systems are constructed. These policies may enforce specific best practices, inject management agents, policies or metadata, or control which versions of software are or are not included. By using the policy-based controls and hierarchical definitions in rPath organizations can check that a system is compliant by comparing it to a reference architecture based on centrally defined policies .
Automated Dependency Discovery
When rPath imports new or existing software artifacts into system version control, it automatically analyzes each software artifact to discover its entire software supply chain, including operating system
(OS) components, middleware
and libraries. This information enables build-time system construction and validation and reduces the number of maintenance failures and outages that result from missing dependencies and conflicting components. “Ovum considers the automated dependency-checking capability to be an extremely useful and often overlooked feature that all such tools should employ .”
Release Lifecycle Management
rPath ensures stakeholders in each phase of the lifecycle are working from a consistent system definition, eliminating the risk of system “drift” between lifecycle stages and enabling a clean software build
environment. rPath also provides access control and workflow to ensure controlled and auditable handoff between development, test, staging and production phases of the release lifecycle .
, an open source software package management
and configuration
software that forms the core of rBuilder. It allows rollback
s, incremental ("changeset") updates, and distributed downloading which removes the need for programs such as apt
or yum
.
s for its independent software vendor
s (ISVs) and end-user customers . It was co-founded by Erik Troan, co-author of Red Hat Package Manager (RPM), the Linux
standard package management system
. rPath was one of the first entrants into the software appliance
market and its innovative integrated lifecycle management quickly set it up apart from other solutions. rPath’s rBuilder product consistently scored at the top of the software appliance
market in the capability categories . In 2009, rPath made a transition to selling to enterprise IT organizations.
Windows Server 2008 and 2003 as well as Red Hat Enterprise Linux
4 and 5, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
10, and CentOS
. The solution is also available on-premise, as a dedicated hosted solution, and SaaS
.
, NEI, EMC
, and IBM
. Key technology partnerships include VMware
, Red Hat
, Microsoft
.
focused on bringing self-service private and hybrid cloud computing
to the enterprise. The three vendors have combined the best in self-service, automation and elasticity to deliver a complete enterprise cloud computing
solution that will help IT departments transform into internally managed versions of a public cloud computing
service like Rackspace
or Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud
(EC2) . The coalition was announced on August 24, 2010 .
NRE offers the foundations for a complete enterprise cloud computing
solution. newScale provides a self-service IT storefront with on-demand provisioning from a menu of private or public cloud computing
service options; rPath is the “service factory,” or a centralized software distribution hub for managing IT system construction and change; and Eucalyptus
Systems provides private cloud computing
infrastructure for elastic scaling of workloads based on dynamic demand. The complete solution is delivered by MomentumSI .
"One of the main benefits of this coalition is agility, helping multiple departments within IT to accelerate testing and deployment of new business applications. [The NRE Alliance] offers enterprise IT organizations a faster on-ramp to on-demand IT service delivery ."
"The NRE Alliance delivers on the four key elements of an enterprise cloud—self-service, automation, elasticity and integration. It is these same four keys to the enterprise cloud which newScale, rPath, Eucalyptus
Systems and MomentumSI have come together to provide. Building and managing a private cloud is now within reach ."
While newScale is the storefront and orchestration engine, rPath is the "service factory," which provides the "back-end automation" for the storefront .
"rPath automates the assembly of new, ready-to-deploy software stacks. The process is based on an automated build-time dependency discovery that resolves the entire dependency chain. The resulting information is the basis for a detailed model that defines what software, policies and configurations belong on a system. These models define entire application stacks or any layer of a stack (such as OS
or middleware
). Each model is version controlled to ensure consistency over time ."
The models rPath generates "act as ‘blueprints’ of the systems and system configurations representing a complete business service. The blueprints describe every piece of software and the relationships among software components. Policy enforcement associates policies with services and governs the specifications and relationships among the technology elements ."
"Once rPath has modeled each service, it makes it available as a standardized and reusable component within the newScale catalog. The models can then be used to automate provisioning of similar services across development, test, and/or production environments, generating new images on-demand or incremental updates to deployed systems ."
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
that provides a platform (a "service factory" ) for enterprise IT organizations, independent software vendor
Independent software vendor
Independent software vendor is a business term for companies specializing in making or selling software, designed for mass marketing or for niche markets...
s (ISVs) and on-demand service providers to automate the process of constructing (or packaging), deploying and updating software stacks across physical, virtual and cloud-based environments. rPath models the entire software stack and manages all of its components and dependencies under version control . It acts as a model-driven and version-controlled repository and software distribution hub .
Technology Overview
rPath takes a different approach to automation than that of many traditional management-tool vendors . To many in IT, automation is seen as the codification of runbookRunbook
In a computer science system or network, a runbook is a routine compilation of the procedures and operations which the administrator or operator of the system carries out. Runbooks are often used in information technology departments of commercial companies and NOCs as a reference for system...
s , but rPath industrializes the operational aspects of the data center
Data center
A data center is a facility used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems...
by modeling software stacks and enabling them to be intelligently managed . This approach has the potential to transform the way IT manages its relationship with the business units and the technology . The rPath solution is suitable for organizations where change is an ongoing process. For these companies, the ability to industrialize the process and procedures will result in improved quality of service at reduced cost .
System Version Control
rPath provides a commercial version control platform for deployed software systems. rPath is not a source code management system. Rather, it is an operational management platform that applies the principles and disciplines of source code control to the management of deployable software systems—specifically, system manifests, packages, binaries, policies and system configuration
System Configuration
A system configuration in systems engineering defines the computers, processes, and devices that compose the system and its boundary. More general the system configuration is the specific definition of the elements that define and/or prescribe what a system is composed of.Alternatively the term...
s. System version control is the technological foundation that ensures systems can be quickly reproduced, patch
Patch
-Computing:* Patch , fix for a software program* Patch , UNIX utility* Patch, a 3-D Bézier curve used in computer graphics, or a primitive in some 3-D software packages* Patch Media, website for local news and events-Electronics:...
ed and updated, rollback
Rollback
In political science, rollback is the strategy of forcing change in the major policies of a state, usually by replacing its ruling regime. It contrasts with containment, which means preventing the expansion of that state; and with détente, which means a working relationship with that state...
-ed and reported on .
Deep System Modeling
rPath also provides a deeply modeled system inventory. This inventory granularly describes the desired state of every file, binary
Binary
- Mathematics :* Binary numeral system, a representation for numbers using only two digits * Binary function, a function in mathematics that takes two arguments- Computing :* Binary file, composed of something other than human-readable text...
, application component, and software stack on every production system—with complete information about applied policies and dependencies—as version-controlled system manifests. These manifests are actionable models for managing the complete lifecycle of deployed systems, providing the basis for understanding change impact and controlling change. Also, rather than applying universal updates, patch
Patch
-Computing:* Patch , fix for a software program* Patch , UNIX utility* Patch, a 3-D Bézier curve used in computer graphics, or a primitive in some 3-D software packages* Patch Media, website for local news and events-Electronics:...
es and updates can be targeted to only the systems that require change .
Hierarchical System Definition
rPath allows definition of systems as layered variants of common base platforms. For example, the standard corporate web server stack may start with a standard build of Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a Linux-based operating system developed by Red Hat and targeted toward the commercial market. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is released in server versions for x86, x86-64, Itanium, PowerPC and IBM System z, and desktop versions for x86 and x86-64...
(RHEL), but add a specific custom version of the Apache HTTP Server
Apache HTTP Server
The Apache HTTP Server, commonly referred to as Apache , is web server software notable for playing a key role in the initial growth of the World Wide Web. In 2009 it became the first web server software to surpass the 100 million website milestone...
and remove all availability of FTP. With this feature, IT administrators can avoid redundant and error-prone patch
Patch
-Computing:* Patch , fix for a software program* Patch , UNIX utility* Patch, a 3-D Bézier curve used in computer graphics, or a primitive in some 3-D software packages* Patch Media, website for local news and events-Electronics:...
ing and application updates across thousands of instances by applying changes once to these base platforms .
Policy-Based Control
rPath enables IT groups to define and automatically enforce build-time policies that govern how systems are constructed. These policies may enforce specific best practices, inject management agents, policies or metadata, or control which versions of software are or are not included. By using the policy-based controls and hierarchical definitions in rPath organizations can check that a system is compliant by comparing it to a reference architecture based on centrally defined policies .
Automated Dependency Discovery
When rPath imports new or existing software artifacts into system version control, it automatically analyzes each software artifact to discover its entire software supply chain, including operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
(OS) components, middleware
Middleware
Middleware is computer software that connects software components or people and their applications. The software consists of a set of services that allows multiple processes running on one or more machines to interact...
and libraries. This information enables build-time system construction and validation and reduces the number of maintenance failures and outages that result from missing dependencies and conflicting components. “Ovum considers the automated dependency-checking capability to be an extremely useful and often overlooked feature that all such tools should employ .”
Release Lifecycle Management
rPath ensures stakeholders in each phase of the lifecycle are working from a consistent system definition, eliminating the risk of system “drift” between lifecycle stages and enabling a clean software build
Software build
In the field of computer software, the term software build refers either to the process of converting source code files into standalone software artifact that can be run on a computer, or the result of doing so...
environment. rPath also provides access control and workflow to ensure controlled and auditable handoff between development, test, staging and production phases of the release lifecycle .
Conary
rPath developed ConaryConary (package manager)
Conary is a free software package management system created by rPath and distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License Version 3. It focuses on installing packages through automated dependency resolution against distributed online repositories, and providing a concise and...
, an open source software package management
Package management system
In software, a package management system, also called package manager, is a collection of software tools to automate the process of installing, upgrading, configuring, and removing software packages for a computer's operating system in a consistent manner...
and configuration
Software configuration management
In software engineering, software configuration management is the task of tracking and controlling changes in the software. Configuration management practices include revision control and the establishment of baselines....
software that forms the core of rBuilder. It allows rollback
Rollback
In political science, rollback is the strategy of forcing change in the major policies of a state, usually by replacing its ruling regime. It contrasts with containment, which means preventing the expansion of that state; and with détente, which means a working relationship with that state...
s, incremental ("changeset") updates, and distributed downloading which removes the need for programs such as apt
Advanced Packaging Tool
The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...
or yum
Yellow dog Updater, Modified
The Yellowdog Updater, Modified is an open-source command-line package-management utility for RPM-compatible Linux operating systems and has been released under the GNU General Public License. It was developed by Seth Vidal and a group of volunteer programmers...
.
History
rPath was founded in 2005 and was originally known for packaging applications as virtual applianceVirtual appliance
A virtual appliance is a virtual machine image designed to run on a virtualization platform ....
s for its independent software vendor
Independent software vendor
Independent software vendor is a business term for companies specializing in making or selling software, designed for mass marketing or for niche markets...
s (ISVs) and end-user customers . It was co-founded by Erik Troan, co-author of Red Hat Package Manager (RPM), the Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
standard package management system
Package management system
In software, a package management system, also called package manager, is a collection of software tools to automate the process of installing, upgrading, configuring, and removing software packages for a computer's operating system in a consistent manner...
. rPath was one of the first entrants into the software appliance
Software appliance
A software appliance is a software application that might be combined with just enough operating system for it to run optimally on industry standard hardware or in a virtual machine....
market and its innovative integrated lifecycle management quickly set it up apart from other solutions. rPath’s rBuilder product consistently scored at the top of the software appliance
Software appliance
A software appliance is a software application that might be combined with just enough operating system for it to run optimally on industry standard hardware or in a virtual machine....
market in the capability categories . In 2009, rPath made a transition to selling to enterprise IT organizations.
Platform Support
rPath provides system automation for MicrosoftMicrosoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
Windows Server 2008 and 2003 as well as Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a Linux-based operating system developed by Red Hat and targeted toward the commercial market. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is released in server versions for x86, x86-64, Itanium, PowerPC and IBM System z, and desktop versions for x86 and x86-64...
4 and 5, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is a Linux distribution supplied by SUSE and targeted at the business market. It is targeted for servers, mainframes, and workstations but can be installed on desktop computers for testing as well. New major versions are released at an interval of 3-4 years, while...
10, and CentOS
CentOS
CentOS is a free operating system based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux . It exists to provide a free enterprise class computing platform and strives to maintain 100% binary compatibility with its upstream distribution...
. The solution is also available on-premise, as a dedicated hosted solution, and SaaS
Saas
SAAS is an abbreviation for* Social Accountability Accreditation Services* Software as a service * Student Awards Agency for Scotland* Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences* South Australian Ambulance Service...
.
Partnerships
rPath has a number of key implementation and distribution partnerships including GlobalLogicGlobalLogic
GlobalLogic is an offshore software R&D services company that was founded in 2000 by Rajul Garg, Sanjay Singh, Manoj Agarwala and Tarun Upadhyay and has headquarters in McLean, Virginia and San Jose, California. It is a privately held company funded by New Enterprise Associates, Sequoia Capital,...
, NEI, EMC
EMC
EMC may refer to:In organizations:* EMC Corporation, an information management company* IEEE Electromagnetic Compatibility Society, a worldwide professional engineering society* Eastern Media Centre, a television channel in the UK...
, and IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
. Key technology partnerships include VMware
VMware
VMware, Inc. is a company providing virtualization software founded in 1998 and based in Palo Alto, California, USA. The company was acquired by EMC Corporation in 2004, and operates as a separate software subsidiary ....
, Red Hat
Red Hat
Red Hat, Inc. is an S&P 500 company in the free and open source software sector, and a major Linux distribution vendor. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina with satellite offices worldwide....
, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
.
The NRE Alliance
The NRE Alliance (NRE) is a coalition of newScale, rPath and Eucalyptus SystemsEucalyptus (computing)
Eucalyptus is a software platform for the implementation of private cloud computing on computer clusters. There is an open-core enterprise edition and an open-source edition. Currently, it exports a user-facing interface that is compatible with the Amazon EC2 and S3 services but the platform is...
focused on bringing self-service private and hybrid cloud computing
Cloud computing
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network ....
to the enterprise. The three vendors have combined the best in self-service, automation and elasticity to deliver a complete enterprise cloud computing
Cloud computing
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network ....
solution that will help IT departments transform into internally managed versions of a public cloud computing
Cloud computing
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network ....
service like Rackspace
Rackspace
Rackspace US, Inc. is an IT hosting company based in San Antonio, Texas. The company also has offices in Australia, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands and Hong Kong, and data centers operating in Texas, Illinois, Virginia, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong in late 2008...
or Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud is a central part of Amazon.com's cloud computing platform, Amazon Web Services . EC2 allows users to rent virtual computers on which to run their own computer applications...
(EC2) . The coalition was announced on August 24, 2010 .
NRE offers the foundations for a complete enterprise cloud computing
Cloud computing
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network ....
solution. newScale provides a self-service IT storefront with on-demand provisioning from a menu of private or public cloud computing
Cloud computing
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network ....
service options; rPath is the “service factory,” or a centralized software distribution hub for managing IT system construction and change; and Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
Systems provides private cloud computing
Cloud computing
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network ....
infrastructure for elastic scaling of workloads based on dynamic demand. The complete solution is delivered by MomentumSI .
"One of the main benefits of this coalition is agility, helping multiple departments within IT to accelerate testing and deployment of new business applications. [The NRE Alliance] offers enterprise IT organizations a faster on-ramp to on-demand IT service delivery ."
"The NRE Alliance delivers on the four key elements of an enterprise cloud—self-service, automation, elasticity and integration. It is these same four keys to the enterprise cloud which newScale, rPath, Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
Systems and MomentumSI have come together to provide. Building and managing a private cloud is now within reach ."
While newScale is the storefront and orchestration engine, rPath is the "service factory," which provides the "back-end automation" for the storefront .
"rPath automates the assembly of new, ready-to-deploy software stacks. The process is based on an automated build-time dependency discovery that resolves the entire dependency chain. The resulting information is the basis for a detailed model that defines what software, policies and configurations belong on a system. These models define entire application stacks or any layer of a stack (such as OS
OS
OS may refer to:* O.S. Old Stonyhurst, an old boy of the ancient Jesuit public school, Stonyhurst College* O.S. Engines, a Japanese manufacturer of model aircraft engines* Ocean Science, an Oceanographic Journal published by the European Geosciences Union....
or middleware
Middleware
Middleware is computer software that connects software components or people and their applications. The software consists of a set of services that allows multiple processes running on one or more machines to interact...
). Each model is version controlled to ensure consistency over time ."
The models rPath generates "act as ‘blueprints’ of the systems and system configurations representing a complete business service. The blueprints describe every piece of software and the relationships among software components. Policy enforcement associates policies with services and governs the specifications and relationships among the technology elements ."
"Once rPath has modeled each service, it makes it available as a standardized and reusable component within the newScale catalog. The models can then be used to automate provisioning of similar services across development, test, and/or production environments, generating new images on-demand or incremental updates to deployed systems ."