Red Hat unveils the Linux 5.3

In the third update to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, customers will receive enhancements, including increased virtualisation scalability, expanded hardware platform support and incorporation of OpenJDK Java technologies.

Customers with a Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription will receive the Linux 5.3 update, which is available for immediate download from Red Hat Network.

“Further strengthening our long-standing relationship with Red Hat, we have collaborated to make the newly available Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 operating platform run great on Intel Xeon processor-based platforms,” said Doug Fisher, vice president, Intel Software and Services Group, and general manager, Systems Software Division.

“Together, the compelling combination of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 and Intel’s current and future Intel Xeon processor-based servers enable customers to run the most demanding, business-critical workloads on high-performance, cost-effective, reliable platforms.”

The new features include: increased scalability of virtualised x86-64 environments, support for Intel Core i7 (Nehalem) processors and inclusion of OpenJDK.

Linux 5.3 also includes enhancements spanning other components of the operating system, with the solution’s Release Notes documenting over 150 additions and updates.

These new features include device driver and architectural enhancements to simplified desktop networking and full support of the GFS2 file system.

“Through the compelling enhancements in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3, Red Hat has once again delivered a rich set of features, developed through rapid innovation with the open source community, that will benefit customers leveraging Red Hat’s reliable subscription model,” said Max McLaren, managing director, Red Hat A/NZ.

“With the challenge to carve costs out of IT budgets, the flexibility, reliability and ease of our subscription model has more value to customers than ever. With Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 today, customers have access to the latest in open source, including leading virtualisation scalability and performance.”