Free Rackstar server appliance live!

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Posted by raqtweak.com, 05-12-2006, 05:03 AM
Free Rackstar server appliance live!

The Netherlands, Thursday May 11th, 2006 – Dutch company to release free server appliance software based on Fedora Core 4. www.rackstar.net

Leslie Herps, CEO Rackstar: ‘Renowned Sun Cobalt programmers and I worked on this project for 2 years. The software can be installed on new servers and even on the Sun Cobalt RAQs. Ease and simplicity were one of our main goals, things had to improve. With all the known problems in the back of our head, we made this program as fool-proof as it could get. After extensive beta testing the RackStar OS 1.0 release was received as a welcome newcomer in the web hosting world.’

The software is based on the source code of the popular Sun Cobalt RAQ server but focuses on ease and simplicity. The Cobalt RAQ was praised for its software, but was notorious for its poor –not up to date- hardware.
Other control panels or appliance software were already available for custom built powerful servers but were either to complex and/or too expensive. The Rackstar OS is free of charge, complete, but tends to keep things simple. A complete web server installation takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes of which it only requires 5 minutes of your attention. After installing, creating a new website account only takes approximately 10 seconds!

Leslie Herps, project leader of Rackstar, has received a lot of support by renowned names in the Cobalt world. Tim Hockin, Duncan Laurie and Patrick Baltz, all involved on the development of the Sun Cobalt RAQ series, have actively participated in the project. MNHTTN creative agency was responsible for the graphical redesign of the software. The system comes with 7 new refreshing styles and supports 7 languages (English, Spanish, German, Dutch, Russian, Chinese, Japanese (and soon French)). The look-and-feel of the interface can be changed with just a few clicks. The development team also had an eye for the problems they commonly encounter. As a Sun Cobalt consultant, Leslie Herps commonly has to deal with hacked or crashed servers. One of the reasons was the slow release of security patches by Sun Cobalt. The last Sun Cobalt patch is dated March 2004. This and the old base OS are the beginning of a tragedy for many. Rackstar is based on the new Fedora Core 4 OS, complete with all patches. Rackstar also offers a free of charge update service. Using the StarLinQ feature, the system can be updated with just a few clicks. Patches and non-urgent upgrades will be released frequently. Precautions against abuse and hackers have also been taken. Limitations to executing malicious scripts and SMTP abuse should drastically decrease the amount of frustrated system administrators.
Optional software, such as additional server security and backup modules can be installed for a fee.

http://www.rackstar.net/

About Rackstar
Rackstar Server Appliances is a trademark of Raqtweak B.V. which is based in the Netherlands. Raqtweak B.V. has been developing software and has been providing support for Sun Cobalt RAQs for several years. With the launch of RackStar Raqtweak creates a new and complete alternative with professional support, worldwide.
Rackstar / Raqtweak / Herps Corporate Holding
Rackstar, Raqtweak and Raqtweak B.V. are subsidiaries of Herps Corporate Holding B.V. This holding company, of which Raqtweak B.V. and Vivizi Hosting B.V. are part of, is fully owned by Leslie Herps. The Rackstar Server Appliance software and additional information as well as support and patches, is available on www.rackstar.net.

Editorial notes:
For more information regarding Rackstar, please contact:
Leslie Herps
Phone: (USA) +1-888-678-1555 | (UK) +44-871-731-1005 | (NL) +31-43-325-50-89
Mobile: +31-6-19.22.22.32
E-Mail: herps@raqtweak.com