Today, we are releasing version 2.1.0, the first major update of RhodeCode Enterprise.
But let me sum up a bit before I go on with the specs. It's just 6 weeks and 2 minor updates ago since we released 2.0.0 and boy, it felt like 6 months. We were blown away by the feedback and success of 2.0.x and our wildest dreams were exceeded. But we did not stand still and went directly into collecting customer feedback for 2.1.x and 2.2.x and dove deep into coding.
And these are the major points of today’s new release RhodeCode Enterprise 2.1.0:
1. Git Pull Requests
Our most wanted feature got finally implemented. You can now do pull requests not just only for Mercurial but also for Git and they work in the same way. A Pull request is a great way to collaborate on source code since it allows the development of more complex features or changes on a seperate copy / fork of a repo. When the work on the copy is finished then a user can request a merging of his/her code into the original repository.
Pull requests is number one of two code approval workflows RhodeCode Enterprise currently has. The 2nd workflow is to directly commit into the development branch of the original repo and another user checks, approves or comments the changeset and merges it into the stable or master branch. During the next months we will introduce a 3rd way of code approval and code review which will make the whole procedure far more streamlined, safe and easier to understand.
2. IP Whitelist Inheritance
RhodeCode Enterprise is made for enterprises (surprise, surprise!) and often needs to handle many multiple teams in different subnets. Until now, it was a time-consuming and error-prone job to set and change the firewall settings in RhodeCode Enterprise and so often teams just left their installation wide-open. Which surely caused some headaches at the IT security department.
With version 2.1.0 we now introduce IP whitelist inheritance which means that every new user or team automatically inherits the system-wide IP rules. You just need to change the ruleset at one position and not at each of hundreds of users or teams. This feature alone is major for us, since security is our highest concern in RhodeCode Enterprise and we strongly recommend everyone to upgrade to this new version.
3. Update Check
Since it's always good to stay up-to-date, we added the possibility to check if you existing RhodeCode Enterprise version is the latest one. Just go to the page Admin > Settings > System Info and click the "check new version" link. RhodeCode will connect to our public API, fetch a list of latest versions, compare it with your version and optionally displays a recommendation to run an upgrade. No hidden information are sent to us, all computing is done on your local server. If an upgrade is recommended then please open your Installer script on the command line and start the very convenient and fully automated upgrade process.
4. Up to 3x Faster!
We not just only added features, but we also spent time in re-engineering the existing system. We made it far, far more responsive by using better algorithms and by optimizing the way data is handled internally. As an example, the changeset page loads now 3x times faster and browsing large repositories and changesets is real fun now. We will from now on always spend at least 20% of development time on these optimizations and have some very ambitious performance milestones set which will make the life of many of our enterprise users who have thousands of users or tens of thousands of repositories so much better.
5. Shortcuts
To save even more of your valuable time, we introduce global keyboard shortcuts which cover the most often used clicks and buttons. With just 1 key stroke you reach the search bar and with 2 keys you create a new Gist. Type "?" inside your browser window to get an overview about all new shortcuts. Over time we will add more shortcuts and wishes and requests are very welcomed!
6. There Is More
You can now for example delete a file directly in the web frontend and you can assign multiple API keys to a user including an expiration date and description text. Please have a look at our versions page for a list of all changes and additions in RhodeCode Enterprise 2.1.0.
How to Upgrade
If you are already using the RhodeCode Enterprise Installer then please open it and select "Check for new RhodeCode Enterprise version". It will guide you through the upgrade process if you are not already on the latest version. A manual upgrade can be done by following the instructions for your operating system at our knowledge base.
We already have some great new things in mind for 2.2.0 and there will be minor updates in between. Please keep on sending us your feedback to the new version and thanks again for your ongoing support!
Sebastian