ZeroTurnaround has released the next version of its continuous delivery software for Java applications. LiveRebel 2.5 has new "audit trails" to keep track of all build and update actions and also features configuration scripts ("Config scripts") that update Java applications along with associated environments, services, and databases.

New server management features have also been included to help automatically discover configured servers and enable users to create server groups and apply actions to them in batches. There are also automatic updates that ensure that users leverage the most up-to-date version of LiveRebel.

NOTE: The firm released LiveRebel 1.0 in May of 2011 as a tool to bring "hotpatching technology" to JRebel to production environments with safeguards like compatibility checks and what it calls "stop-the-world" updates. Formerly known as JavaRebel, JRebel is a plug-in for the JVM that enables instant reloading of changes made to a Java class file.

At the time of LiveRebel 2.0's appearance in February of this year, the firm asserted that it had only then realized that "hotpatching was just the beginning" for LiveRebel. "Wouldn't it be great if there were a tool that could be dropped into an existing infrastructure, easily start managing the production servers, and would allow any and all updates to be applied with no downtime?"

Now as we get to LiveRebel 2.5 we also see Virtual Host Support to allow users to deploy, update, and remove applications to virtual or physical hosts. Single Sign On capabilities — meaning that users no longer need to log into the LiveRebel Command Center with a separate password — and 360-degree visibility into running tasks so that users can continue to work in LiveRebel uninterrupted while monitoring running tasks in the background.

"We aim to provide immediate value by integrating with Continuous Integration tools like Jenkins/Hudson and Bamboo and major application servers like Tomcat, JBoss, Oracle Weblogic, IBM WebSphere, Glassfish, and Jetty," said Jevgeni Kabanov, founder and CEO of ZeroTurnaround.

"Businesses with a dependency on complex server environments can now deploy, update, and rollback application versions quickly and easily using our technologies to improve efficiency and the bottom line; tens of thousands of Java developers have used JRebel to eliminate long restarts in development, and we want to replicate that same experience for Operations with LiveRebel," continued Kabanov.