We’re proud to announce the public availability of Zimbra 6.0 (Codename Guns and Roses) RC1 Open Source edition.

To say that this is a HUGE step towards the final GA version of 6.0 would be a gross understatement.

The Zimbra engineering team has been working night and day to get all the of brand new features into this release, and we think it’s ready for you to test.

Please remember that we do not encourage nor want you to run this is a production environment. It is a “beta-quality” release, which means that there are known and unknown issues that may be very bad for you and your users.

There were 1104 bugs and features fixed in this release (RC1), with 2636 bugs and feaures fixed since 5.0. So, as you can see, there are just TONS of stuff in this newest beta.

Those network edition customers who’ve been accepted into the beta will receive an email with more detailed information. If you wish to test the Network Edition, please feel free by downloading it below. Upgrades are not permitted and are not supported unless your organization is part of the Network Edition Beta program.

We’re also announcing that beginning later today, testzimbra.com (our live hosted demo) will be running Zimbra 6.0, so you can get a preview without having to install it yourself.

If you hit an issue, please feel free to post here in our forums. The Zimbra staff and our awesome moderation team stand ready to help you. Should you find a bug, please search for it in our bugzilla to see if it’s already been reported. If not, please file it.

For more information on features included in this release, please visit Zimbra Product Portal and also be sure to read the release notes included inside the package.

Open Source Edition Downloads: Enterprise Messaging and Collaboration Software by Zimbra

Zimbra – Products: Network Edition BETA Downloads