Red Hat refashions Linux

Red Hat has provided details of its forthcoming Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 3.0, an enterprise platform with enhanced scalability, performance and cross-platform compatibility features.

Red Hat said the release, due in October, would help to transform Linux into an operating system suitable for more businesses. It incorporates several improvements, such as support for all common server platforms, a logical volume manager and enhanced Java support. "These are things that firms such as [investment bank] Morgan Stanley have told us they need to get the most out of their computer infrastructure," said Red Hat's director of marketing, Paul Salazar. "From our point of view this is a watershed release."

Red Hat Enterprise Linux now supports seven hardware platforms, including AMD x64, Itanium, and the IBM zSeries, iSeries and pSeries, Salazar added. "Previously we offered a version for IBM mainframes, but this was not based on the same source code as our other offering," he said. The new version uses the same source code and compiler tools for each of the seven platforms, which would make migrating software from one to another much easier.

Salazar said the new version benefits from several technologies that have been "back ported" from Linux 2.5, notably a much improved memory manager. "Much to Intel's chagrin, many of our customers are still working on 32bit platforms and have been looking at ways to work around its associated 4GB memory limit," he added. RHEL 3.0 supports a maximum 8GB of RAM and has increased various memory limits in the kernel compared with the previous x86 version.

Gary Barnett of analyst company Ovum said Red Hat is now offering an enterprise-class product, but it will require the support of software vendors to win the hearts of Windows customers. "Red Hat has improved the overall manageability of its Enterprise Linux operating system. It addresses the total cost of ownership challenges raised by the Microsoft platform in terms of how easy it will be to administer and run," Barnett added.

The new version includes a significant upgrade to the Red Hat Network tools, which can now monitor the health and status of Linux and Windows servers.

A server software provisioning capability will be added to the software over the coming weeks, said Salazar.

The pricing for RHEL 3.0 will be announced when the product ships in the third week of October. Red Hat customers that have a full subscription to the previous version can upgrade free of charge.

See also:

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Survey finds one in four UK SMBs switching to Linux from proprietary operating systems  08 Dec 2003

Red Hat tips free Fedora

Availability announced of complete Linux deployment built from open source components  10 Nov 2003

Linux giant revamps its portfolio

Red Hat is to tweak its core development tools as it begins shipping Fedora  06 Nov 2003

Returning an open verdict

Windows or Linux? Bob Tarzey examines the issues you should consider when looking at open-source software.  20 Oct 2003

Suse plans longer cycle

Linux distributor Suse said it will provide a more predictable platform for corporate buyers  29 Sep 2003

Linux fights off worms

Red Hat's Linux modified to cut scope for worm atttacks  29 Sep 2003

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