Red Hat’s Fedora Core 3 (FC3) improves upon features included in SELinux in FC3 has a new policy management system enabled by default. According to the Fedora Project’s “At this point, the SELinux developers reviewed their choices and decided FC3 also includes the latest version of the Novell Ximian-backed “The release really shows the commitment of all parties involved in the Colin Charles, another Fedora Project community member, mentioned that the “I think Fedora Core 3 is the best release since, with its extreme focus Red Hat created Fedora Core as a community sponsored project after it Red Hat’s competitor, Novell SUSE Linux, also follows an 18-month cycle for its The difference, though, is that Fedora is supposed to truly be a community “As a member of the community, this release signifies not only Red Hat’s “Steps are always being taken to make the process more open and people are community Linux project released
Fedora Core 3 today. Fedora Core 3, codenamed Heidelberg, is loaded with
the latest versions of many open source applications and represents the
bleeding edge of Red Hat’s Linux efforts.
Fedora Core 2, including
the latest versions of SELinux and the Linux kernel 2.6.9.
The so-called targeted policy is intended to be less intrusive in
monitoring specific system daemons
policy in FC2.
SELinux FAQ, the strict policy that was first enforced was helpful for
testing purposes, as it identified “hundreds of problems” in the strict
policy itself. Based on that experience, Fedora developers concluded that
rolling out a single strict policy for all Fedora user environments wasn’t
workable.
to try a different strategy,” the FAQ states. “It was decided to create a
policy that focuses on locking down specific daemons, especially ones
vulnerable to attack or to devastating a system if broken or compromised.
The rest of the system is allowed to run as if under standard Linux
security, i.e. run the same if SELinux is enabled or not.”
Evolution groupware application, as well as
GNOME 2.8,
KDE 3.3 and the latest X.org
X11 windowing system.
project to put together a stable, feature-rich and yet cutting edge
distribution,” Fedora Project community member Jack Aboutboul told
internetnews.com. “Core 3 incorporates the latest versions of many user-favored
applications, i.e. X.org, GNOME, OOo etc., as well as the latest
in progressive code from up and coming advancements, such as SELinux and
stateless Linux.”
improved desktop features of FC3 are also a notable aspect of the
release.
on desktop usability, it makes users more productive,” Charles told
internetnews.com. “Automatic hardware detection and
great support for laptops in a constantly changing network environment
(NetworkManager) — it really just rocks.”
terminated its Red Hat Linux product line to concentrate on Red Hat
Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Fedora Core is also intended to serve as a test
bed for technologies that will eventually end up in RHEL. The community
project is structured to deliver two or three new releases every year
(this year it was two) as opposed to RHEL, which is on an 18-month cycle.
enterprise project
(SUSE Linux Enterprise Server) and a shorter six-month cycle for
its personal and professional
product line.
project; it is offered for free and there is no commercial version
available. Many pundits worried that Red Hat would only pay lip
service to the community while it still pulled the strings. But according
to at least one Fedora community member, the community is pulling its
weight.
commitment to the project and its prosperity, but to the open source
community at large,” Aboutboul said. “Furthermore, it shows that the
community continues to play an ever-growing role in the design and
development of all things surrounding the Fedora Project. Things would
not be where they were today had it not been for the amazing contributions
of community members.”
stepping up to the plate,” he continued, “which gives me faith in Red Hat’s decision to
create the Fedora Project, and in the power of the free and open source
development model.”