January 29, 2001

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IBM Readies Powerful Intel Server For Linux Only

64-way system will be able to run any application on open-source operating system

By Paul McDougall

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n keeping with its pledge to make Linux one of its primary operating systems, IBM this week is set to unveil a version of its most powerful Intel-based server that's geared specifically to run applications written for the open-source operating system. And it doesn't do Windows.

The 64-way xSeries 430 will run IBM's Linux Application Environment on top of its own PTX operating system, meaning it will be able to run any Linux application. The system is part of IBM's Numa-Q line of servers.

IBM doesn't offer a Windows-compatible version of the system and has no immediate plans to do so, says Jim Gargan, the company's director of product marketing for xSeries servers. "It's not a reflection about how we feel about Microsoft," he says. "We've said Linux is a strategic operating system for us, and this is another way we're proving it."

Overall, Linux server shipments last year grew 24.4%, compared with a 20.2% growth rate for Windows, according to International Data Corp. Therefore, it's hardly surprising that hardware vendors are enhancing product and service offerings for the operating system.

Dell Computer this week is expected to introduce a range of server-management tools designed to make Linux systems as easy to use and manage as servers running Windows. Included in Dell's OpenManage server suite for Red Hat Linux are tools that monitor the status of servers and let users manage them remotely. Also this week, Hewlett-Packard is expected to introduce its Process Resource Manager and Service Control Manager system-management software for Linux.

These expanded technology and support offerings will make the software even more appealing, Linux users say. "The comfort level goes up when major vendors step up and say that they'll support Linux as a major operating system," says Mark Ryan, chief technology officer at the Weather Channel's Weather.com site.

Ryan uses IBM xSeries Linux servers to serve graphics and images to the Web and says the operating system won't fully take off until software vendors begin converting enterprise apps. "But when that happens," he says, "it'll be all over for the other guys."

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