Red Hat Unwrapped

COVER STORY Red Hat intro Red Hat’s future Red Hat Unwrapped hen Bob Young and Mark Although it was only just released in time to make this issue, Red Hat, the Ewing founded Red Hat back Win 1995 their goal was, above US market leader’s, Advanced Server distribution is the subject of an exhaustive all, to make people think “Red Hat” when they thought Linux, just like they thought test. Its aim – to find out whether Red Hat purchasers are in good hands. “Heinz” when they thought about ketchup. The Red Hat was intended as a BY ULRICH WOLF symbol, a synonym for Linux and Open Source. Of course this is not quite what has happened – an operating system is not as simple as tomato ketchup whether viewed from the technical or from the marketing perspective. What is left over from the Young era is the strong business orientation; Red Hat never has been a Geek to Geek business. The commitment to Open Source and the GPL is what is mainly responsible for the benevolent attitude the Community has shown – despite there having been some technical and strategic decisions which might be considered to be questionable emanating from the main company head- quarters in Raleigh. Red Hat and the Consumer Red Hat has concentrated almost entirely on the business to business market for the past 3 years, working on the premise that profits in that area are more easy to come by than on the OTC market. But a larger user base is important to the long term success of a software product. No problem, anyone can download ISO images of the current distribution. End users who insist on buying a box are although the added value has stayed now costs US $60 a year. The customer is being asked to spend more each year, more or less on the same level. regularly notified of patches for this Until about two and a half years ago amount and can apply them via a GUI. COVER STORY fresh Red Hat boxes were available for Preferential access to the ISO images is around £30 to £40, however, now even part of the package and this is useful at Red Hat Advanced the Personal box with its lean content times when FTP servers are feeling the costs up to £50. The increase in price for strain. The Enterprise version comprises Server test . 20 the Professional version, which now genuine system management features: We put Red Hat’s flagship product through a series of grueling tests to see if it lives up weighs in at around £180, has been even allowing you to group servers by task, to its promise. more alarming. New Professional and also to manage the privileges for multiple Personal versions appear twice a year on administrators, setup local proxy servers Scott Harrison a fairly regular basis. in enterprise networks and so on. Those Interview . 24 wishing to subscribe to the Enterprise Scott is the director of Red Hat’s Northern Red Hat Network version of Red Hat Linux will have to pay Europe division. We managed to ask his The Red Hat Network is the central about US $240 annually. views on the future. instrument for keeping a Red Hat system It is interesting to note how the Red Hat reliably up-to-date. A basic subscription Network has been hardened over the 18 September 2002 www.linux-magazine.com Red Hat intro COVER STORY years. Anonymous access was originally based Red Hat Database, Webserver, the (that is more expensive) desktop and available via the up2date update agent; Online-Shop, Interchange, or their workstation distributions that would mandatory registering for the service was Embedded Tools for the eCOS realtime seem to confirm this trend. then introduced in 2001. The service level operating system. When it comes to database systems demo still allowed you to use up2date to Red Hat does not automatically lead Red Hat is apparently incapable of steer- keep your Red Hat system up to date you to thinking about embedded systems. ing a straight course. On the one hand without paying the registration fees. But However, the former Cygnus developers Red Hat has its own Open Source based this backdoor has since been closed. The are responsible for a major portion of Red Hat Database product in its portfolio, purchasers of the Personal and of the turnover. The Services division for and this product is probably equal to Professional distributions now have time Embedded Systems has returned a double most tasks. On the other hand Red Hat limited access to the basic version of the figured million dollar sum each year. The seems to be assisting the database giant, Red Hat Network. Sony Playstation 2, which was developed Oracle, in an attempt to open some doors For companies and private users using Red Hat’s compiler technology, is to the large enterprise market. The logical Ximian’s Red Carpet is an alternative that one of the prestige projects in this area. result of this is an unusual hesitance to works with various distributions, that For Embedded Systems with a small market their own product. offers more packages and is often much memory base Red Hat does not use Linux Despite their efforts to make their name more up to date. but eCOS. But the eCOS operating system synonymous with both Linux and Open is also Open Source. Source in general, Red Hat will have to Training and Certification accept being measured on the strength of Red Hat has managed to establish the Forthcoming their Linux distributions. Their prices RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineer) as a From a business point of view Red Hat is would seem to indicate that they are by quasi-standard for Linux certifications certainly an attractive proposition, no means lacking in self-confidence. I and training. In contrast to the LPI (Linux especially in comparision with the other Professional Institue) multiple choice Linux and Open Source enterprises that What ever happened to… tests available previously, the RHCE started up in the 90s. However, expecting Bob Young: The exams are practically oriented. The test profitability does not seem to be a very charismatic Red Hat candidate is required to solve the types of realistic option at present. founder and former problems that real-world administrators Although Red Hat has returned neutral used automobile are faced with. The inclusive system operating results in some quarters, the salesman,Robert F. administration courses cost around company is still struggling with a large Young,was one of £1,600 or just the exam for £480; students problem common to many enterprises the first to discover and teachers at recognized schools can who went on shopping sprees during the the commercial potential of free software apply for a 50 percent reduction. New Economic boom: namely write offs way back in 1995. After handing over his Courses are also available for other Red on goodwill and immaterial items related offices to Matthew Szulik in 2000 he was Hat products such as the PostgreSQL to acquirements. These figures may ruin still actively involved with the Red Hat board the balance sheets for some time to come. but has gradually sold a major part of his Red Hat shareholding. Red Hat and the Red Hat closed the last financial year, Software Patents which ended in February 2002, with a He is now the owner of a small business loss of US $140 million, with a turnover called Lulu Enterprises that organizes techni- cally oriented events whose fun factor and Red Hat is planning to compile a portfolio of of only US $79 million. software patents for strategic reasons. At the proximity to the participants distinguishes The most recent turnover figures show same time the company intends to continue them from traditional events.The first“Lulu no signs of a drastic slump, Red Hat does actively opposing software patents. Tech Circus”will be taking place September seem to be riding the storm prevailing in A welcome side effect of this is that analysts 27 through 29 in Raleigh,North Carolina,on the IT sector more comfortably than other tend to rate an enterprise by the amount of Red Hat's home territory and the site of a “intellectual property”it has collected. And software companies. Times of crisis may large IBM branch. also be a good opportunity for value for patents are the units used to measure intel- Colin Tenwick: While money Open Source solutions. On the lectual property.The fact that the principle he was responsible of free software is diametrically opposed to server side of the business, competition for Red Hat's Euro- this and the fact that intellectual property is from other Unix systems still plays a pean activities, impossible to quantify does not seem to much more important role than the Tenwick was never trouble Red Hat too much. Microsoft landscape, and although Red short of a catchy Red Hat has promised not to pursue patent Hat is a player on the mainframe Linux phrase,much in the infringements if these occur in a Freeware scene, the company does not seem to tradition of Larry Ellison or Scott McNealy. context.This promise was formulated in the have risked its neck as much as its Linux But he did not stick to this position for long. classical form of a legal statement of intent, rival SuSE, for example. He is now CEO of the Stepstone online but it will prove difficult to pursue Red Hat in More recently, it seems that Red Hat’s career and recruitment service that is also any way, should the company then decide known for it disposition to loud marketing – focus may be shifting to the corporate that it is going to renege on this promise although this line of business does require a desktop and there have been some some time in the future.

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