| Red Hat: A New Linux and a new way of doing business |
Mar. 14, 2007
A few months late but warmly welcomed, Red Hat Inc. introduced Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 (RHEL), the latest edition of its flagship operating system, to the world today at a press conference in San Francisco.
Red Hat built its latest release around the 2.6.18 kernel. To keep API/ABI level (Application Programming Interface / Application Binary Interface) compatibility and provide users with a stable release, only security fixes and the most important updates will be made to the heart of the operating system.
Fully supporting Xen
Virtualization is what's really new in this release. At long last, Red Hat is fully supporting Xen virtualization. Not only is it including the popular program, Red Hat has also worked with AMD and Intel to deliver what officials from both chip vendors claim will be higher levels of efficiency and performance for users.
What may be more important is that Red Hat is providing virtualization management tools. These include Red Hat Network Satellite, which provides new capabilities to manage virtualized systems, including the ability to detect and create Enterprise Linux-based guests and bring them into a managed environment. Other administrative capabilities for controlling the operation of guests are also included.
The Red Hat Network Satellite also includes modules such as Update, Provisioning, and Monitoring, which are extended to work on hosts and guests alike. With this, Red Hat claims, administrators will have the ability to manage a thousand virtual systems just as a single system would be managed.
Prepackaged servers
The core applications that everyone demands from a Linux server -- Apache, MySQL, Samba, Sendmail, and more -- have all been updated to their latest stable versions. With this new RHEL, you may not have to roll your own combination of services to get some of the more popular kind of servers.
Besides plain vanilla RHEL, Red Hat will be happy to sell you any of the following optional software packages, all of which come with comprehensive professional services and training:- Red Hat Datacenter Solution -- described as a turnkey platform that provides everything needed to implement a datacenter, or to migrate an existing datacenter to open source. The platform includes Advanced Platform, systems management, provisioning, high availability, identity management, consulting, and training services. Two versions are available to accommodate both large and small datacenters.
- Red Hat Database Availability Solution -- a platform said to enable a single database to deliver all the reliability of a clustered database system. Supported databases include Oracle, Sybase, MySQL EnterpriseDB, and DB2, among others.
- Red Hat High Performance Computing Solution -- a platform that's meant to help engineers, researchers, and financial analysts to solve difficult computational problems more quickly. According to Red Hat, it harnesses computing power distributed throughout the customer's network, and reduces complexity so that technical experts can focus on problem solving instead of IT infrastructure.
The actual operating system offerings have been simplified. With this release, Red Hat now offers Server and Client. You can choose either a base server, which will support only four Xen-powered VMs (virtual machines), or the Advanced Platform, which allows for an unlimited number of VMs and also provides enhanced clustering and storage support.
New Red Hat Desktop
The Client comes in two forms: Desktop, which is meant for office workers, and Workstation, which is aimed at power users and developers. Xen virtualization, up to a maximum of four VMs, is available for both.
Red Hat is also making its client offerings more attractive to individual Linux desktop users. Now, you can buy an individual Client without having to buy a whole pack of RHEL desktop licenses.
The desktop comes with a GNOME 2.16 desktop environment for its interface. It includes the usual favorite applications: Evolution 2.8, Firefox 1.5.0.9, GAIM 2.0, and OpenOffice.org 2.0.4. It also includes, as a technology preview, the 3D Compiz windows manager.
Mike Evans, Red Hat's VP of open-source affairs, said that Red Hat has both a one- to two-year plan and a five- to ten-year plan for the Linux desktop. Evans promised that users will soon be seeing what Red Hat has mind for tomorrow's desktop beyond RHEL 5.
New service agreement
Red Hat has simplified its standard support SLA (Service Level Agreements), which have been replaced by the Production Support Scope of Coverage. In the simplest possible terms, this new one-page SLA basically says: if we had a hand in making it, and we said it's production-ready, we'll support it.
To fulfill that promise, Red Hat has created a joint customer support center with its partners, the Red Hat Cooperative Resolution Center. This Center will work to solve user issues whether a given problem comes from Red Hat technology or from a partner's program, the company says.
For example, in a case cited by Red Hat, Japan-based financial services company Nomura Securities International Inc. recently experienced a complex issue involving multiple technology providers. "Red Hat representatives quickly addressed the issue and worked in collaboration with other vendors to provide us with a quick and effective resolution," said Leon Chen, Nomura's director of corporate technology. "This type of customer service is highly appreciated."
Partnering with open source
Part of Linux's charm is that it gives users so many software options. Unfortunately, however, some users are confused by such freedom of choice. For them, Red Hat has worked with customers and partners to develop RHX (Red Hat Exchange), which provides pre-integrated business application software stacks including infrastructure software from Red Hat and business application software from its partners. RHX is not yet available.
So it is that Red Hat is not only introducing its new Linux to the world, it's also rolling out a new way of delivering support and other open-source programs to users. For years now, Red Hat has been at the top of the Linux mountain. With this new release and business plans to support it, Red Hat clearly wants to remain the king of that mountain.
-- Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
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