rPath, the App Logistics™ company for the cloud, today announces free Puppet support for rPath customers and general availability of rPath Cloud Engine 6.5, application automation software. The release includes bundling of open source Puppet and is aimed to help enterprises move from partial automation to fully automated application delivery. rPath will host a webinar on March 7, from 2 - 3 p.m. Eastern time, to unveil details on the free Puppet support and rPath Cloud Engine 6.5.

With this move, rPath helps Puppet users keep the scripts and modules they’ve created and easily migrate from a complex programming approach to push-button, end-to-end automation. With rPath Cloud Engine 6.5, enterprises can take advantage of rPath’s platform-agnostic App GPS technology to ensure fast, consistent, reliable application deployment, update, and maintenance. Use of the Puppet bundling, including full support, is no extra cost for rPath customers.

“Puppet is a powerful framework for run-time configuration, but it isn’t designed for complex enterprise app delivery,” says Michael Torto, CEO of rPath. “rPath Cloud Engine was designed from the start to help large-scale enterprises achieve turnkey app deployment and update. By bundling Puppet open-source, we’re helping customers migrate from a pieces parts approach to a complete, risk-free solution.”

Because Puppet is a complex tool requiring developer skills and processes to maintain, companies trying to apply Puppet to deploy enterprise applications are coming up short. With Puppet, systems are built from the ground up, which doesn’t leverage the speed offered by modern image deployment and takes an inordinate amount of time and effort to piece together an end-to-end application automation solution. As a result, business stakeholders in need of on-demand service are left waiting for applications core to the business.

“Enterprise customers have moved ahead in terms of application development for the cloud, but there remains a need for technology and support in deploying applications in the cloud where a scalable, supported offering makes sense,” says Jay Lyman, senior analyst at 451 Research. “rPath Cloud Engine 6.5 with support for Puppet can help automate cloud application deployment and enable enterprise users to progress from cost savings to ROI through operations and business efficiency.”

rPath Cloud Engine 6.5 General Availability

rPath Cloud Engine 6.5, including bundling and support of Puppet, is generally available March 7, 2012. For pricing and more information, please contact sales@rpath.com.

Webinar

rPath will present a webinar on Wed., March 7, from 2 to 3 p.m. Eastern time, to unveil details on and a demonstration of rPath Cloud Engine 6.5 and the Puppet open source bundling and support. For more details on this announcement and to register for the webinar, go to rPath.com/cloudengine65.

About rPath, Inc.

rPath is App Logistics™ for the cloud. Headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., rPath takes the chaos out of application delivery. Cloud builders, buyers and providers must use apps to squeeze the most money out of the cloud, and rPath’s platform-agnostic App GPS™ technology gets the app there faster, more consistently and reliably than any other solution. Leading managed service providers, cloud technology vendors and enterprises use rPath to offer platform-as-a-service (PaaS), enterprise app stores, and continuous delivery. Find out more at www.rpath.com.

rPath, App Logistics, and App GPS are trademarks or registered trademark of rPath. All other brand names and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.