IBM to preload servers with Linux
- By IDG News Service, Nancy Weil
- Apr 26, 2000
IBM Corp.'s Netfinity servers will come preloaded with the Linux operating
system, and users will be able to choose from three flavors of the increasingly
popular open-source software.
Top Linux vendors Red Hat Inc., Caldera Systems Inc. and TurboLinux Inc. separately
announced Monday that IBM will pre-install or bundle
their Linux versions on Netfinity servers. An IBM official quoted in the
written statements said that customers increasingly want Linux as an operating
system option.
IBM will continue to consider other possible Linux vendors with whom to
partner, said Jay Bretzmann, IBM manager of strategy for Netfinity.
Linux versions have different strengths and are better suited to different
uses, Bretzmann said, adding, "it's not like they're all overlapping."
In other Linux news, International Data Corp. (IDC) released
research Monday noting that "Linux server purchases are strongly tied to
the Internet." The Framingham, Massachusetts-based market researcher found
that servers running Microsoft Corp.'s Windows NT and Linux are used to
host similar applications and perform similar functions.
Linux is increasingly popular as an OS on servers running back-office software,
said Matt Eastwood, research manager for IDC commercial systems and servers.
The report found that a little more than 60 percent of spending on Windows
NT and almost 55 percent on Linux was for back-office and collaborative
software use. Though Linux remains prevalent for front-end systems that
are less robust, that is changing, he said.