Fedora 16 operating system now available

Latest cutting-edge Linux OS has a major focus on cloud and virtualisation

The Fedora Project, a free software community sponsored by Linux vendor Red Hat, has made version 16 of its cutting-edge Linux desktop operating system available.

Codenamed "Verne", after French author Jules Verne, Fedora 16 has a major focus on cloud computing and virtualisation.

Users installing Fedora 16 can run the Aeolus Conductor, a web-based user interface equipped with tools for managing operating systems installed on various cloud storage systems, such as Amazon’s EC2 and Rackspace. they can also use the Conductor for private clouds using Red Hat Enterprise Virtualisation (RHEV).

The release also includes HekaFS, a version of the GlusterFS scale-out networked attached storage (NAS) file system, which can aggregate storage servers over an Ethernet link or an InfiniBand remote direct memory access (RDMA) link.

HekaFS adds authentication, encryption and multitenancy, all likely to appeal to managed service providers (MSPs).

Fedora has retained the controversial Gnome 3 user interface introduced in Fedora 15, which it has upgraded to version 3.2. The UI has been described variously as "too complicated" and "difficult to use".

Even Linux developer Linus Torvald said on Google+ recently, “Seriously. I have been asking other developers about Gnome 3, they all think it's crazy.”

Fedora is essentially a development system for Red Hat’s Enterprise Linux (RHEL) desktop and server offerings, with Fedora’s cutting-edge features normally rolled into RHEL operating systems after user road testing.

Normally available as a "Live-CD" download, the Fedora OS can be run off an optical drive and doesn't need to be installed initially, although users can opt to fully install the system should they wish.

As with earlier versions, Fedora 16 is available as 32- or 64-bit versions.

Fedora releases follow a six-month release cycle with Fedora 17 – codenamed "Beefy Miracle", after a community vote – due for release in May 2012.