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Red Hat Enterprise Linux
By Erik Rodriguez
This article provides information about Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is widely used on web servers, and other mission-critical applications in networking.
History
Red Hat (Nasdaq: RHAT) is one of the original distros of Linux. Their success has largely been attributed to continued efforts to improve Linux by functionality and ease of use. Red Hat Linux is currently the most popular platform for web servers. Previous version of Red Hat Linux were dis-continued. The last "free" version of Red Hat Linux was version 9, which is no longer supported. Free versions of Red Hat Linux are distributed under the Fedora Project. Official "Red Hat" builds of Linux now cost money, and give users entitlements to the Red Hat Network. For more info on the RHN, see this article.
Red Hat Enterprise Products
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is quickly becoming the industry standard for production servers. What makes RHEL so special? There are several key aspects that make RHEL superior over other distributions of Linux.
- Stable Builds
- Scalable Hardware Support
- Cluster and Load Balancing Support
- Longer Release Dates and Support
- Enhanced Remote Management
RHEL uses an 18 month release cycle. This means 12 months of development and 6 months of testing. RHEL release candidates (RC) are put through rigorous testing in various environments.
Multiple hardware versions are also available to include x86, SPARC (from sun), and even the 390 (from IBM). This is largely due to the fact the enterprise level organizations are using extremely powerful supercomptuers or mainframes. Special enhancements have been done to kernels for support with over 8 CPU's (SMP builds) and memory over 6 GB.
RHEL has the ability to use IP load balancing to distribute the load across multiple servers. This utility, called Piranha, is mostly used in web farms or high traffic web environments. RHEL also can be used with a cluster manager to provide high availability using clustering technology.
Release dates are longer compared to other versions of Linux. RHEL version releases are every 12-18 months, ensuring hardware support by vendors and other 3rd party participants. Each version of RHEL is also supported for 5 years after the release dates. No other version of Linux is supported for 5 years.
Remote management via the Red Hat Network allows system administrators to easily manage a server or group of servers running RHEL. Among many features, the RHN allows for scheduling of system reboots, installation of packages, and automatic application of errata and bug fixes. Each server reports to the RHN to "check in." Any system that don't checking with a 24-hour window will be reported via e-mail to the server administrator.
Cost
There are several different versions RHEL, and each has a different cost associated with it. Prices can range from $179 (for the WS client edition), to $2499 (for the AS server edition). Note that these prices are per year and represent the cost of support and entitlement to the Red Hat Network.
Why RHEL?
So why use RHEL? Why not just use fedora, or another type of completely free distro? Costs associated in an enterprise-level environment are often labor intensive. It is cheaper for an organization to pay $2500/year instead of paying a sysadmin by the hour to manage the server and apply updates. So, in the long run, RHEL is a cheaper solution. Add that to the fact it provides more security and attention and other distros of Linux and it's a no-brainer. This does not mean that other distros of Linux are not secure, it simply includes the fact the the RHN applies errata and bug fixes automatically. This is done generally before a sysadmin even learns of the problem or finds/applies a patch.
Try RHEL?
You can do an evaluation of Oracle 10g by using VMware on your windows XP workstation and Red Hat Enterprise Linux. This will allow you to install RHEL and give you the updates service for a term of 30 days. More info here:
http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/linux/vmware/vmware_redhat.html
Skullbox.Net recommends the use of Red Hat Enterprise Linux... Try it here.
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