IBM prepares own version of Linux
Will launch broad initiative, including its own version of OS.
By Carmen Nobel and Scott Berinato, PC Week
Looking to push Linux further into the enterprise, IBM next month plans to announce a far-reaching strategy that includes bundling the operating system on PCs and developing its own version of Linux for its RS/6000 servers.
IBM (NYSE:IBM) will announce on March 2 at LinuxWorld in San Jose, Calif., plans to offer Linux-based Netfinity servers, low-end RS/6000 servers and workstations, and Linux-based PC 300-series desktop PCs, sources said.
IBM also will lead a new trend by announcing support for more than just one commercial Linux vendor. IBM plans to announce licensing deals with several top Linux distributors, including Red Hat Software Inc., Pacific HiTech Inc., Caldera Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:CDRQ) and S.u.S.E.
And for the RS/6000 version, at least, IBM will not only support other vendors' Linux offerings but will also develop its own version of the operating system specially configured to run on the PowerPC chip, according to sources close to the Armonk, N.Y., company.
Support for Red Hat
Server vendors to date have announced support mainly for Red Hat Linux, which became one of the most widely used versions of Linux last year after Red Hat Software received ample funding from Intel Corp.
Since then, companies such as Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HWP), Dell Computer Corp. (Nasdaq:DELL), Silicon Graphics Inc. (NYSE:SGI) and Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ) have signed deals to bundle and support Red Hat Linux in their server hardware.
IBM's move to license additional vendors' Linux products could push other vendors to support multiple versions of the operating system as well. Compaq and Dell, for example, are in talks with Caldera about licensing the company's OpenLinux, according to sources.
"These vendors don't want to hitch their wagons to one Linux distributor," said one source who is familiar with the IBM deal. "Red Hat has done a great job, but they're one $20 million company."
IBM's Linux plans also will include middleware support, according to one IBM official who requested anonymity. In addition, IBM has bids in with several large scientific customers to create enormous clusters of Netfinity servers running Linux, officials said.
Meeting opposition
The news that IBM will support several Linux distributors is receiving mixed reviews from observers, who are both pleased to see the industry paying attention to Linux and worried that support for myriad versions will breed chaos.
"This is how you ruin Linux," said Kimball Brown, an analyst at Dataquest Inc., in San Jose, Calif. "I think what Intel is doing is right--investing in one version of Linux. The more you support all the versions, the more of a mess it becomes."
Others see the benefit of diversity."It's limiting for people to glom onto Red Hat as the be-all and end-all when they're not the only game in town," said Steve Durst, a networking consultant for the U.S. Air Force, in Bedford, Mass.
Other news expected at the show includes the following:
Caldera will preview the 2.x version of its OpenLinux operating system, which is based on the new Linux 2.2 kernel. OpenLinux 2.x will ship about three weeks after the show, said sources close to the Orem, Utah, company.
San Francisco-based LinuxCare Inc. will follow IBM's distributor-agnostic lead by announcing full 24-by-7 Linux support on all major Linux platforms, officials said.
Pacific HiTech, of Oakland, Calif., will announce a bundle of its TurboLinux 3.0 with a Linux version of IBM's DB2 database, sources said.
LinuxWorld rollout
IBM to announce massive Linux strategy that spreads across servers, PCs and several Linux distributors
Caldera to preview its 2.x version of OpenLinux, based on the 2.2 kernel
LinuxCare to introduce 24-by-7 support for all variations of Linux
Pacific HiTech to start bundling TurboLinux with IBM's DB2 database.
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