Linux news... (fwd)

[Bruce Smith <bruce@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Server Makers Cast An Eye Toward Linux



October 5, 1998


PC Week via NewsEdge Corporation : Technical improvements to
Linux and backing from big-name players are encouraging
top-tier PC server manufacturers to consider selling systems
with the free operating system pre-installed. 

Red Hat Linux Version 5.2, due next month, will include support
for SMP (symmetric multiprocessing), enabling the operating
system to work better on higher-end enterprise servers,
according to Bob Young, CEO of Red Hat Software Inc., in
Research Triangle Park, N.C. 

Linux also got a big boost last week when Intel Corp. and
Netscape Communications Corp. announced investments in Red
Hat. Intel is considering investing in Linux distributor Caldera Inc.
as well, said Caldera CEO Ransom Love. 

SMP capabilities could inspire further support from server
makers. Gateway Inc., which has been doing certification tests
with Linux for six months, most likely will install Linux across its
enterprise server line next year, said Ray Hebert, senior manager
of servers at the North Sioux City, S.D., company. Hebert did
not say which models would come bundled with Linux. 

Red Hat has previously only offered limited SMP support in its
Linux version, although versions of the open-source operating
system available on the Internet do support SMP. Companies
have been wary of installing operating system software from
unknown third-party developers and should welcome Red Hat's
endorsement of SMP. 

Gateway is not alone in its plans for Linux on servers. IBM and
Dell Computer Corp. have installed Linux for several clients on a
custom basis. Officials at both companies said that if enough
customers want it, they'll likely ship Linux servers in bulk. 

Linux support grows 

Two newcomers to the PC server game, Hitachi PC Corp. and
Toshiba America Information Systems Inc., report that Linux is
topping the list of Unix versions that they will support when they
reach beyond Windows NT. 

Red Hat's Young expects six of the top 10 PC server makers to
offer Linux on their machines by next March. 

Leading PC server makers Compaq Computer Corp. and
Hewlett-Packard Co. are considering offering Linux on their
systems, but officials at both companies said no decision has
been made. 

Bundling Linux on servers will end many installation headaches
for IT managers who want to work with the operating system.
But that doesn't mean Linux will leap into the PC server
mainstream. 

"Unless the big guys package their Linux boxes with a
comprehensive Windows- like interface, I don't think they're
going to have mass consumer appeal," said Steve Durst, an
engineer with Minuteman Information Security Technology Corp.,
in Arlington, Mass. "But for geeks who need things like routers,
firewalls, etc., Linux is going to be a godsend." 

Another indication of Linux's growing viability as an enterprise
platform is coming from Informix Software Inc., which will ship
this week its Dynamic 4GL development tool kit for Linux. 

The tool kit will enable developers to build GUI applications on
and for Linux. Informix also will port its enterprise database,
Dynamic Server Version 7.3, to Linux in the first quarter of 1999
or possibly the fourth quarter of this year, according to sources
close to the Menlo Park, Calif., company.