Red Hat Prepares To Roll Out Linux

( 4/21/99; 3:00 PM EST)
By Jeffrey Schwartz , InternetWeek

Linux distributor Red Hat Software next week will unveil a major new version of its server offering.

Red Hat Linux 6.0 is based on the newLinux 2.2 kernel. The new release will add symmetric multiprocessing support; a new TCP/IP stack, thereby offering better performance because it uses less CPU resources for the same amount of bandwidth; and the new Gnome interface, which allows for simplified server administration, said Erik Troan, Red Hat's director of development.

Key to the new release, Troan said, is improved performance. In addition to supporting at least four processors, the new release has a new kernel service that lets a Web server send a file in a single request, rather than multiple ones, Troan said.

"This can lead to a significant improvement in Web server performance," he said, particularly for sites where a good amount of scripting is required.

Also new is improved support for peripherals such as SCSI sub systems.

One Red Hat customer, Canadian National Railways, a freight operator, said the new release will eliminate the need for third-party RAID devices.

"It will let me install Linux on RAID-equipped machines, which I couldn't do before," said Don LaFontaine, a senior systems programmer at Canadian National Railways.

Support for Gnome, one of two major open source GUIs, will be important for server administration, Troan said. "We are hoping with an easier interface with a drag-and-drop metaphor, a less technical administrator will be able to use Linux," he said.

Pricing is $40 per copy; an $80 version will come with documentation and telephone support.

© 1998 CMP Media, Inc.