Red Hat has finally released version 5 of their Enterprise Linux server. While it won't be officially supported by OTM for some time, there are some exciting new features:
- redhat.com | Features
- !! Xen virtualization capabilities and management features !!
- Newer kernel with improved performance
- Improved Security
- Ability to use the RH Global File System
- Lots of misc little stuff that doesn't matter that much
Of course (grin) I'll be testing OTM on it within the next month and also plan to run the normal suite of Java benchmarks, to see how it performs. All-in-all, I'm not expecting great performance gains -- however the inclusion of Xen virtualization capabilities is my greatest interest. This now puts Linux on-par with AIX, HP-UX and Solaris with the ability to create lightweight, high-performance virtual machines (i.e. like AIX MPARs).
Also - CentOS is also closing in on their v5.0 version, for those of us who don't (or can't) shell out thousands in licensing fees. CentOS 5 is currently in beta and you can find more information here:
Hope this helps!
--Chris