Red Hat and Fedora Linux

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Red Hat Linux is currently the most popular Linux distribution. As a company, Red Hat provides software and services to implement and support professional and commercial Linux systems. Red Hat has split its Linux development into two lines: Red Hat Enterprise Linux and the Fedora Project. Red Hat Enterprise Linux features commercial enterprise products for servers and workstations, with controlled releases issued every two years or so. The Fedora Project is an Open Source initiative whose Fedora Core release will be issued every six months on average, incorporating the most recent development in Linux operating system features as well as supported applications. Red Hat freely distributes its Fedora version of Linux under the GNU General Public License; the company generates income by providing professional-level support, consulting services, and training services. The Red Hat Certified Engineers (RHCE) training and certification program is designed to provide reliable and highly capable administrators and developers help to maintain and customize professional-level Red Hat systems. Red Hat has forged software alliances with major companies like Oracle, IBM, Dell, and Sun.

Currently, Red Hat provides several commercial products, known as Red Hat Enterprise Linux. These include the Red Hat Enterprise Advanced Server for intensive enterprise-level tasks; Red Hat Enterprise ES, which is a version of Linux designed for small businesses and networks; and Red Hat Enterprise Work Station. Red Hat also maintains for its customers the Red Hat Network, which provides automatic updating of the operating system and software packages on your system. You can also use the same Red Hat Network update tool to automatically update Fedora Linux. Specialized products include the Stronghold secureWeb server, versions of Linux tailored for IBM and Itanium-based servers, and GNUPro development tools.

Red Hat also maintains a strong commitment to Open Source Linux applications. Red Hat originated the RPM package system used on several distributions, which automatically installs and removes software packages. Red Hat is also providing much of the software development for the GNOME desktop, and it is a strong supporter of KDE. On Red Hat, GNOME and KDE are configured to appear the same, using a standardized interface called Bluecurve.

Red Hat provides an extensive set of configuration tools designed to manage tasks such as adding users, starting servers, accessing remote directories, and configuring devices such as your monitor or printer. These tools are accessible on the System Settings and Server Settings menus and windows, as well as by their names, all beginning with the term "redhat-config" (see Chapters 4 and 5). Of particular note is the new package management tool that lets you easily install or remove software packages, arranged in recognizable categories.

Note 

Though Red Hat supports both the GNOME and KDE desktop interfaces, the Bluecurve interface provides the same look and feel for both desktops, integrating them into one visually similar interface, with menus, windows, and panels appearing approximately the same, though their underlying capabilities differ (see Chapters 6 and 7).

The new release of Red Hat features key updates to critical applications as well as new tools replacing former ones. Red Hat includes the GNOME desktop, the Apache Web server, GNU Compiler Collection (GCC), and GNU Java Compiler (GJC). New configuration tools, including redhat-config-packages for managing software and redhat-config-xfree86 for configuring your display hardware, have been added and others have been updated, redhat-config-networks, for instance, which now supports wireless networks. Red Hat now installs both the Postfix and Sendmail mail servers and lets you seamlessly switch between both.

Installing Red Hat has become a fairly simple process, using a graphical interface with each step displaying detailed explanations and advice. The Red Hat and Fedora distributions organize their installation to cater to several different uses, as a server, a workstation, and a personal desktop. The personal desktop option installs preselected software (such as office and multimedia applications) for home and personal use. It features a streamlined GNOME desktop interface. The workstation option installs desktop, office, development, and administration software. The server option installs all the standard servers, including the mail and FTP servers, along with default configurations and server administration tools. You can also elect to customize your installation, selecting your own mix of installed software.

The Red Hat Fedora distribution of Linux is available online at numerous FTP sites. Red Hat Fedora maintains its own FTP site at fedora.redhat.com, where you can download the entire current release of Fedora Linux, as well as updates and third-party software. Red Hat was designed from its inception to work on numerous hardware platforms. Currently, Red Hat supports Sparc, Intel, and Alpha platforms. See www.redhat.com for more information, including extensive documentation such as Red Hat manuals, FAQs, and links to other Linux sites.

If you purchase Red Hat Linux from Red Hat, you are entitled to online support services. Although Linux is free, Red Hat as a company specializes in support services, providing customers with its expertise in developing solutions to problems that may arise or using Linux to perform any of several possible tasks, such as e-commerce or database operations.

The Fedora Project

The Fedora core release is maintained and developed by an Open Source project called the Fedora Project. The release consists entirely of Open Source software. Development is carried out using contributions from Linux developers, allowing them free reign to promote enhancements and new features. The project is designed to work much like other open source projects, with releases keeping pace with the course of rapid online development. The Fedora Core versions of Linux are entirely free. You can download the most current version, including betas, from fedora.redhat.com. You can update Fedora using the Red Hat update agent (RHN) to access the Redhat Fedora Yum repository. Updating can be supported by any one of several Yum Fedora repositories, which you can configure RHN to access in the /etc/sysconfig/rhn/sources configuration file. The Fedora Project release replaces the original standard Red Hat Linux version that consisted of the entry-level Red Hat release. In addition to the Fedora Core software, the Fedora project will also provide popular compatible packages as part of the Fedora Extras and Fedora Alternative Collections.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

The Red Hat Enterprise line of products is designed for corporate, research, and business applications. These products focus on reliability and stability. They are released on a much more controlled schedule than the Fedora Project versions. What was once the low-cost consumer version of Red Hat Linux will be replaced by a scaled-down commercial Enterprise version for consumers and small business. Red Hat offers three Enterprise versions—one for the workstation and two for servers. Red Hat Enterprise AS provides the highest level of support from intense mission critical requirements for all aspects of network support, including servers, databases, and security. Red Hat Enterprise ES provides a similar package, but one geared to mid-level business requirements. The Red Hat Enterprise WS implements a workstation with a wide range of clients that can be used for either Red Hat Enterprise ES or AS networks.

Red Hat Documentation

Red Hat maintains an extensive library of Linux documentation that is freely accessible online (see Table 1-1). From its home page, you can link to its support page, which lists the complete set of Red Hat manuals, all in Web page format for easy viewing with any Web browser. These include the Reference Guide, the Getting Started Guide, and the Installation Guide. Tip, HOW-TO, and FAQ documents are also provided. Of particular note are the Hardware Compatibility Lists. This documentation lists all the hardware compatible with Red Hat Linux. For PC users, this includes most hardware, with few exceptions. All the Red Hat documentation is freely available under the GNU General Public License. Before installing Red Hat Linux on your system, you may want to check the online Installation guide. This is a lengthy and detailed document that takes you through each step of the process carefully. If your system is designed for any special tasks, be sure to consult the Customization guide, which covers a variety of topics, such as automatic installation on networks using Red Hat kickstart; network services like Samba, Apache, and FTP; system administration tools; and software package installation and management. Red Hat also provides documentation on implementing PPP Internet connections, Samba file sharing, Apache Web server, firewalls, and mail servers.

Table 1-1: Red Hat Linux Resources

References	Description
www.redhat.com	The Red Hat Web site
www.redhat.com/support	The Support page for Red Hat Linux, including links to current online documentation
fedora.redhat.com	The Fedora Project, current free Open Source releases of Red Hat
fedora.redhat.com/docs	Documentation and support tutorials for Fedora Core releases
The Official Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide	A getting-started guide for first-time users
The Official Red Hat Linux x86 Installation Guide	A detailed installation guide for Red Hat Linux
Red Hat Linux Installation Gotchas	Installation troubleshooting
Red Hat Reference Guide	The Red Hat Reference
Red Hat Customization Guide	Topics covering common customization tasks and tools, such as server configurations
Official Red Hat Linux Security Guide	A comprehensive guide to all aspects of user, system, and network security
Red Hat Linux System Administration Primer	An overview of administration tasks and concepts

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