Open source firm Red Hat has unveiled the latest version of its Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization (RHEV) platform as it guns for VMware in the enterprise space.

According to Red Hat RHEV 3.0 features over 1,000 new features and enhancements, although this number does include bug fixes, which CBR believes is perhaps a disingenuous thing to boast about.

The new features included in RHEV 3.0 include improvements to its server and desktop virtualisation management tools and increased performance within the Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) hypervisor.

From a management point of view, Red Hat says the, "system is now a Java application running on JBoss Enterprise Application Platform on Red Hat Enterprise Linux." The updated platform supports two, four and eight-socket systems and more than 1,000 virtual machines (VMs).

RHEV 3.0 also features self-service provisioning, so users can set up their own VMs. Red Hat says this will potentially ease the burden on IT administrators as well as making the provisioning process more efficient.

One of the more interesting new additions is Marketplace, an App Store-style feature where users can find downloads from ISVs for backup, disaster recover and so on.

At a launch event in London Red Hat execs stressed that the company was not looking to usurp VMware in the virtualisation space, and insisted that there was room in the market for both open source and proprietary.

In fact, Navin Thadani, speaking via a live broadcast from the US, said 80% of RHEV customers are also VMware customers, while 45% of large enterprises they company surveyed said they were already running a dual source environment and around 30% said they were looking at the possibility.

Phil Andrews, Red Hat’s vice president of Northern and Eastern Europe, added: "We’re not looking at taking on the 800-pound gorilla [VMware]. We believe the industry is now mature enough that customers are looking at alternatives and dual source environments, particularly where Linux is involved."

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization 3.0 is available now and the company is offering a 60 day full trial.