7.3 dedicated hat linux red server

Product: Red Hat 8.0 Pro: Available for a wide range of systems, lots of supporting software, subscription-based update feature. Con: No disk partion tool Summary:       The best known and most widely available Linux is right for a wide range of corporate and home uses. Score: Company: Red Hat

SuperGuide: Desktop Linux Blowout! Monday: Mandrake 9.0 Tuesday: Red Hat 8.0 Wednesday: SuSE 8.1 Thursday: Libranet 2.7 Friday: Lycoris Desktop/LX When you first heard about Linux, it was probably Red Hat Linux, and for good reason. Red Hat entered the market in 1994 and has become the largest and most recognized company dedicated to open source software. Red Hat now has more than 500 employees and 15 locations worldwide, with headquarters in Durham, North Carolina.

Not only is Red Hat known for Linux systems, it is also involved in a range of business ventures that complements its Linux activities. In addition to Red Hat 8.0 and Red Hat Linux Professional, the company offers a variety of operating systems and services for many different embedded and dedicated system platforms. For example, Redhat provides runtime and development operating system technologies such as Embedded Linux, EL/IX, RedBoot, uClinux, and GNUPro. It also markets the eCOS Real Time operating system, and provides custom porting and optimization services. Red Hat claims to offer one platform that spans from PDAs to mainframes.

The range of supported platforms and longevity make Red Hat one of the most capable Linux distros for business and home. A number of mainstream vendor architectures are supported including Intel's Itanium, the IBM iSeries, pSeries, and zSeries systems, Hewlett Packard's Compaq division's Red Hat Alpha Deluxe for Alpha processors (based on the Red Hat 7.2 code - customer demand will determine whether Red Hat will support other releases for Alpha), and others.

In addition to broad hardware support, commercial application bundles of Red Hat exist for Oracle 8I, plus IBM's DB2, Domino, WebSphere, and Small Business Suite. Red Hat produces its own database software, based on PostgreSQL, in addition to freely available database software and other commercial database offerings. Red Hat also offers several Electronic Commerce Business solutions, including an E-Commerce Suite, a Stronghold Secure Web Server, CCVS Credit Card Validation, and Interchange Documentation Set.

Complementing its wide range of software products, Red Hat also offers a subscription service called the Red Hat Network, which provides a convenient way to keep your system up to date with the latest software and security updates. In the past year, Red Hat has increased the number of services offered through the Red Hat Network, and uses its subscription services to differentiate itself from other vendors, particularly in the enterprise server market.

Additional Linux Resources Linux.com: News, resources and software. Linux Today: News, products, jobs. Linux Online: Downloads, news, distros, documentation. Linux Jounal.com: Monthly Linux magazine.

Key new features of Red Hat 8.0 include: USB 2.0 support GNOME 2.0 and KDE 3.0.3 desktop environments Improved support for digital cameras with gPhoto2, gtKam, and Kamera, Xfree86 4.2.0 for improved graphic display and hardware support An updated Mozilla Web browser MrProject open source project management software A Printing Configuration Tool that provides a scalable printing configuration architecture supporting over 500 printers and automatically upgrading older systems configured with the previous printtool.

Red Hat also now includes Evolution, a personal management system which integrates e-mail, calendar, and contact information. It contains many of the same features in Microsoft's Outlook, including POP3 and IMAP mail support, a calendar with tasks and appointment capability, and a contact manager/rolodex.. It even has a feature that people in many climates can enjoy - a Weather service integrated into the main interface.

Below you can find a summary list of changes and features in the latest Red Hat 8.0 release.

Upgraded Core System Components The following major components are included in Red Hat Linux 8.0 (these packages are either new or updated versions of previous packages). gcc 3.2 glibc 2.2.93 kernel 2.4.18 Web server powered by Apache HTTP Server 2.0 CUPS 1.1.15 GNU Emacs 21.2 Ximian Evolution 1.0.8 GIMP 1.2.3 GNOME 2.0 GNOME Meeting 0.93.1 gphoto2 2.1.0 KDE 3.0.3 MrProject 0.6 Mozilla 1.0.1 Postfix 1.1.11 Perl 5.8.0 XFree86 4.2.0

Installation, Setup, and Interface Enhancements The user can choose a personal desktop, workstation, server, or custom installation. An option to upgrade an existing system is also provided. The Package selection interface shows detailed descriptions of packages, with choice to install or omit specific packages. The first time a system is booted after installation, the Setup Agent gives step-by-step guidance for setting up date and time, identifying and testing the sound card, registering for Red Hat Network, and installing additional software.

New user interface features include the Red Hat Bluecurve graphical interface, a unified look, from installation through daily usage, and improved menu organization for more convenient access to frequently used tools and applications.

Integrated Applications and Tools The following applications and tools are now provided: OpenOffice.org open source office suite for creating documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Mozilla open source browser, e-mail client, address book, and html author. Ximian EvolutionTM e-mail client, contact manager and calendar. New graphical configuration tools: Personal firewall tool for dynamically adjusting security settings. Peripheral configuration tool for graphic configuration of devices. Display configuration tool to adjust resolution and placement. Sound configuration tool for simplified sound control.

Linux Standards Base 1.2 (LSB 1.2) Certified Red Hat Linux 8.0 is a Certified Product and complies with the conformance requirements for an LSBTM[1] Runtime Environment. LSB standardizes the core functionality of Linux and the suite of GNU tools allowing application developers to focus on increased functionality.

Red Hat 8.0 Now Looks Different A very nice demonstration of the capabilities in the new Red Hat Linux 8.0 software, with emphasis on desktop features, can be found at this Web site.

We previously reported a problem installing Red Hat 7.2 Personal on a Compaq Presario desktop system because of USB device support problems. This is important to note because Red Hat has continued to improve their hardware compatibility and now includes USB 2.0 support, as highlighted at the top of the features list earlier in the story. The USB 2.0 enhancement also fixes some USB 1.x problems found in earlier Linux versions.

A lot of emphasis was placed on file systems in our previous RedHat review. Red Hat's file system works quite well -- we've installed and used the ext3 file system on Red Hat 7.3 and many other systems without a single file corruption (Red Hat offers both the ext2 or ext3 file systems). Even when our systems have been abruptly turned off and on, the ext3 file system recovered from the interruptions beautifully. We've continued to use the ext3 file system with the new release, and our experiences remain positive.

Red Hat has done considerable quality assurance testing on the ext3 file system and has over two years of lab testing experience with it. Thus, the company recommends ext3 for overall use. Since our focus in these reviews is primarily desktop system usage, we concur: ext3 is the right file system for the desktop.

Like Mandrake 9.0, Red Hat comes with a comprehensive installation guide. If you don't purchase the $39.95 shrink-wrapped version, that's not a problem. Red Hat recognizes that not everyone purchases their software in stores, so they have made their installation instructions freely available at the Web site. Check out https://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-8.0-Manual/install-guide/ for an online Installation Guide.