IBM Boosts Linux On eServers
In what's sure to make IBM's
The latest iteration of Red Hat's enterprise software has spent the past
couple months since its release Oct. 22 going through compatibility
tests on the various server product lines -- iSeries, pSeries, xSeries,
zSeries and BladeCenter -- before garnering IBM's certification
blessing.
IBM currently been using Red Hat Enterprise v2.1 on xSeries and BladeCenter models. Enterprise Linux 3 comes in three varieties -- workstation, small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs)
and large enterprise.
Currently available only in North America and Japan, IBM officials said they expected to offer the deal throughout the world in the near future.
The deal is the latest in a multi-year contract Red Hat signed with IBM last
year to provide its software pre-loaded on Big Blue's hardware. At the time of the agreement, Red Hat officials expected to see a huge
increase in revenues as its sales force was essentially doubled with the inclusion of IBM's sales teams.
Leigh Day, a Red Hat spokesperson, said the arrangement -- similar to
deals it has with Dell
"We've seen significant customer demand for Red Hat Enterprise Linux on the IBM hardware platform," she said. "I think that is the impetus for IBM making (us) available on their servers."
In addition to hardware support, IBM will include software help for
WebSphere, DB2, Lotus, Tivoli and Rational users.
Linux customers happy, Big
Blue announced Thursday support for Red Hat
Enterprise Linux v3 on its eServer line.
, Hewlett-Packard
and Fujitsu -- has led to increased exposure for the open source-based software company.