Although Apache CloudStack doesn’t get anywhere near as much attention as fellow open-source cloud project OpenStack, its developers continue beavering away, adding new enhancements and improvements.

The latest version of the platform, CloudStack 4.6, comes with “dozens” of new features and improvements, and is the first in what will be a much more rapid roll-out schedule, according to the Apache Software Foundation.

“This 4.6 release of Apache CloudStack marks a significant shift in how we release CloudStack,” said Sebastien Goasguen, Vice President of Apache CloudStack. “With a focus on quality and speed of releasing software, we implemented a new release workflow which allows us to have a production-ready release branch all the time, and allows us to quickly release new features. From now on, CloudStack will be released much faster without regression and with increased quality in each version.”

The Apache Software Foundation lists the following new features and improvements in Apache CloudStack 4.6:

• NuageVsp Network Plugin
• Bind integration with Globo DNSAPI
  SAML 2.0 Plugin
• Managed storage for KVM
• Improved CloudByte Storage Plugin
• Use SSH for commands sent to Virtual-Router
• Baremetal Advanced Networking Support
• Instance Password Generation length can now be changed

While Apache CloudStack is often considered analogous to OpenStack, its users contend the former platform has the more narrowly defined purpose of the two. Whereas OpenStack has grown into broad collection of over a dozen different projects to provide a complete cloud computing platform, CloudStack remains a simple cloud infrastructure orchestration platform.

“If you’re a service provider or enterprise that just needs to do this piece of orchestration and fit in well with existing technology without being completely converted to the OpenStack way, then CloudStack wins that use case nine times out of 10,” said Giles Sirett, CEO and founder of ShapeBlue, a London-based CloudStack integrator, in an interview with TechTarget.

And Sirett isn’t alone in thinking along those lines. Depsite its lack of media attention, CloudStack has the backing of some of Asia and Europe’s biggest service providers, as well as firms like Apple, Inc., British Telecom, China Telecom, Datapipe and Verizon.

The Apache Software Foundation adds that CloudStack enables billions of dollar’s worth of business transactions annually across the cloud, and is for many companies, the open-source platform of choice for telcos to set up on-demand, elastic public cloud computing services, as well as enterprises and others looking to set up a private or hybrid cloud for use by their own employees.

CloudStack version 4.6 is available to download from today.