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02.11.09 Open Source Monitoring With GroundWork 5.3 Release  By Roberto GaloppiniGroundwork, the provider of the open source based network management software, announced the availability of GroundWork 5.3. The new platform increased scalability, the number of devices managed by a single subscription, and avoids per-node licensing. Reading the press release few questions came up in my mind. I asked David Dennis, senior director of product marketing at Groundwork, more about GroundWork's customer base, how GroundWork keeps pace with open source innovation and how GroundWork benefits from using the BitRock Network Service. Key benefits of the new release include: How difficult is to keep pace with these projects? Striking the right balance between continuous Open Source innovation at the project level and the need for a stable and reliable monitoring solution is an on-going process for us. Many Open Source projects including Nagios release updates often. This type of fast release schedule is great for innovation but makes the projects difficult to maintain and service in larger, complex environments where strict Change Control procedures are typical. Since GroundWork Monitor releases are extensively regression tested and backed by our support organization the business risks associated with plain Open Source projects is minimized. As a general rule we generally prefer to update to the latest stable versions of the constituent components with each product release, thereby including project improvements a little behind the "bleeding-edge." GroundWork also releases Service Packs when critical fixes or newly discovered security vulnerabilities call for it.
Often open source vendors are taxonomized on the basis of the (commercial) license scheme, so that firms like Zenoss and GroundWork seem to use just the same model - i.e. differentiating on features their commercial and community products. On the contrary they use different open source production models, resulting in different core capabilities and configuration of activities (see "what is an open source business model" for more references on business models' building blocks). GroundWork relies on existing projects and amalgamates them, demonstrating the ability to engage in community-led open source development right at the top of the five stages of community open source engagement designed by Ian Skerrett. (Stage 5: design products so that they can be based on FLOSS, obtain competitive advantage by harnessing changes in multiple ecosystems). Enhanced maintainability via the BitRock Network Service, which notifies of available patches, updates, and technical bulletins. Continue reading this article. About the Author: In 2001 started up a small firm specialized in infrastructural solutions based on Open Source software. In 2004 launched the first Italian consortium of Open Source SMEs, becoming its president. Collaborates to academy research on Open Source organizational models and on Open Source meta-districts, keeps rubrics and writes articles on ICT magazines. http://robertogaloppini.net |
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