Red Hat Starts Phasing Out For-Free LinuxRed Hat Starts Phasing Out For-Free Linux

Number one Linux vendor Red Hat is phasing out support for its for-free Linux line and pushing its customers to move instead to the for-a-fee Enterprise Linux, the company said this week.

In statements posted on its Web site, Red Hat said it will end support for Linux versions 7.1 through 8.0 at the end of this year, and put a stop to support for its most recent Linux, version 9.0, on April 30, 2004.

Red Hat wants those customers to migrate to its Enterprise Linux editions -- AS for the largest companies, ES for small- and mid-sized businesses, and WS for individual workstations -- which range in price from $179 for Enterprise Linux WS to $18,000 for Enterprise Linux AS.

Another option, said Red Hat, for companies using Linux in non-critical environments, is its Fedora Project, a program targeting developers that offers Linux as a free download.