Red Hat Sees An Opening In Its Windows Battle 2Red Hat Sees An Opening In Its Windows Battle 2

With the introduction Tuesday of its Desktop Linux operating system, Red Hat Inc. is looking to deliver the key management and security components that the company hopes will bring Desktop Linux out of Microsoft Windows' long shadow. Red Hat's announcement comes as Microsoft wrestles with possible delays to its plans to release Longhorn, the next version of Windows in 2006.

Some companies have for years been running Desktop Linux on their PCs. What makes Desktop Linux different, the company says, are the features that now make it easier to manage and use. "We're now putting a product together for handling large-scale deployments of Linux on the desktop," says Mike Ferris, Red Hat's marketing manager for Enterprise Linux. "We're also capitalizing on questions about Longhorn."

Scheduled for availability by month's end, Desktop Linux includes Evolution E-mail, Mozilla browser, OpenOffice 1.1 office-productivity, Gaim instant messaging, and Agfa Monotype font software. The desktop operating system also includes firewall protection and the capability for IT managers to shut off certain ports into and out of the PC.

Desktop Linux is available in either proxy or satellite configurations. Under the proxy model, people's individual systems connect to a Red Hat Network proxy hosted on their network. The proxy aggregates all necessary data and performs selected tasks locally, and also communicates via the Internet with the central Red Hat Network servers. All information stored in the network database is kept on the Red Hat Network servers.

Under the satellite model, Red Hat Network capabilities reside within a firewall. This lets people connect their satellite server with the Red Hat Network over the public Internet or to run and manage their desktops without any connection to the Internet.

The Red Hat Network proxy starter pack is priced at $2,500 for 10 Red Hat Desktop subscriptions and management modules, one proxy server, 30 days of phone support, and a year of Web support. Buyers also will be able to get an extension pack for $3,500. This lets them scale up to 50 desktop subscriptions and management modules, as well as 30 days of phone support and a year of Web support. The satellite starter pack is priced at $13,500 for 50 Desktop Linux subscriptions and management modules, and the same level of support as in the proxy package.

The desktop operating system supports Intel x86 chips, as well as 64-bit-compatible AMD64 and Intel EM64T chip architectures.