Red Hat launches desktop client

Posted on 4 May 2004 at 14:45

Barely days after Red Hat strangled support for Red Hat Linux 9, the Linux leader has bounced back into the desktop/standalone client arena with new client software.

Announced today at a London press event, the Red Hat desktop will be available from 15 May with an initial focus on extending relationships with existing server customers to the desktop.

The desktop is built on Red Hat Enterpise Linux and upgrades will be synchronised with the 12-18 month cycle of the ES, AS and WS server/workstation systems. CEO and President Matthew Szulik said the desktop and workstation systems will coexist in the product range, serving different markets.

The client software supports x86, Itanium2, AMD64 and Intel EM64T-based hardware and includes the Mozilla browser, Novell's Evolution calendaring and PIM suite, the OpenOffice 1.1 office suite and GAIM instant messaging. It also integrates a range of third-party apps such as Acrobat, Flash, Java, Real PLayer and the Citrix ICA client for remote access to applications.

It will not be available as a standalone boxed product. Rather the Red Hat, will offer a range of packages based on a set number of clients, a management server and support options. The $2,500 starter pack includes 10 clients, 10 desktop management modules, a Red Hat Network Proxy Server, 30 days' phone support and a year online support. At the other end, $13,500 will get you 50 clients and modules, the Red Hat Satellite server and the same support. A $3,500 extension pack is available to add 50 more clients and there will also be volume discounts.

Szulik said that Red Hat had waited until now to launch its desktop strategy as previously key components had not been mature enough. He said that increased IT spending on hardware refreshes, customer needs for more security, reliability, vendor neutral formats and to move away from reliance on a Microsoft and the great Longhorn upgrade beginning to loom large meant that now was the right time to focus on the desktop. However, he said Red Hat has had a desktop initiative for more than five years.

He said he expected the market to unfold pretty much the same way as Linux acceptance into the server market, with existing users having the confidence to extend that use to the desktop arena.

He added that Red Hat is also in discussions with IBM, Dell and HP to preload the software on their machines, although it may take 12 to 18 months before that comes to fruition.

Szulik would offer no estimates as to how many desktops Red Hat was aiming to shift. He said Red Hat was focussing on the 'pain points' of managing Microsoft desktops on a large scale which he estimated at $5 -$6,000 a year per desktop. Hence Red Hat's desktop product comes with a server thrown in to more easily manage the clients and security features such as SELinux, Execshield and 'lockdown' provisions in upcoming versions.

Even so, Gartner reckons businesses running Windows 95 stand to benefit far more than those running 2000 or XP. In which case it may be smaller businesses that have the greatest urge to move rather than the corporates initially targetted by Red Hat and Novell with their desktop strategies. But they have their own challenges - they're not big enough to experiment or move a department at a time. Any decision to move to Linux is an all or nothing gamble.

Author: Matt Whipp