OpenNebula, the open-source cloud project  managed by C12G Labs, is pleased to announce the availability of the first beta release of OpenNebula 3.0. This beta release is targeted at testers and users that would like to check the exciting new features that have been developed to meet the needs of our most demanding users. The third major release of OpenNebula brings the following unique key features in cloud computing management:

• Multi-tenancy. New advanced group and user account management tools to create isolated compartments within the same cloud and a new powerful Access Control List authorization system to implement multiple sharing scenarios with role management and fine grain permission control.
• Networking. A new easily adaptable and customizable networking system that supports Open vSwitch and VLAN tagging (IEEE 802.1Q) and enables the configuration of firewalls for VMs.
• VM Management. A new component for the management of VM Templates that can now be stored, shared and instantiated multiple times without the need for storing the VM template files.
• Accounting and Monitoring. A new component to generate accounting reports and to simplify the integration with billing tools.
• VM Image Management. The VM Image Repository is now handled with its own manager component and a scriptable set of drivers to easily tune its operations.
• SunStone Web Portal. An enhanced SunStone portal that now provides usage graphics and statistics with cloudwatch-like functionality, VNC support, and different system views for different roles. Moreover a new plugin support to easily extend SunStone with additional tabs to better integrate Cloud and VM management with each site’s own operations and tools.
• Massively Scalable Multi-tier Architectures. The new OpenNebula Zones component (oZones) allows for the centralized management of multiple instances of OpenNebula (zones) that could be hosted in different geographical locations. Several of our users are running tens of thousands of VMs per zone.
• Virtual Datacenters. Each OpenNebula Zone can be effectively shared through the Virtual Data Center (VDC) abstraction. A VDC is a set of virtual resources (images, VM templates, virtual networks and virtual machines) and users that use and control those virtual resources.

OpenNebula 3.0 uses a new database schema with a new tool to upgrade from previous OpenNebula versions. The new internal database schema greatly improves the flexibility of the code with no performance cost. There are lots of other minor features, like improvements in the libvirt driver to include additional parameters, or the ability to edit resource templates (hosts, images or VM templates). The final version of OpenNebula 3.0 will also bring new external authentication drivers (SSH, LDAP, and X509), an accounting CLI, and quota management.