Dell First-To-Market With Red Hat Linux 7; Dell Factory Installs Red Hat Linux 7 Worldwide to Ease Adoption and Enhance Network Security in the Linux Environment

Business Wire, Sept 25, 2000

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

ROUND ROCK, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 25, 2000

Dell(tm) (Nasdaq:DELL), a world leader in Internet commerce and infrastructure computing, today announced first-to-market availability of Version 7 of the Red Hat Linux operating system on Dell PowerEdge(tm) servers and Dell Precision(tm) Workstations worldwide.

The new operating system is also available on select configurations of Dell desktop and notebook PC products.

Customers will see significant enhancements in the network security features of Red Hat Linux 7. Dell and Red Hat, as part of their One Source Alliance, worked closely during the development of Red Hat Linux 7 to ensure smooth installation and interoperability of the operating system on Dell server and client products.

Announced last June, the One Source Alliance was designed to accelerate commercial adoption of the Linux operating system and to support businesses building Internet infrastructures. Red Hat Linux 7 includes installation and configuration improvements, increased scalability and manageability, and enhanced security features for more secure communication via the Web.

"The immediate availability of Red Hat Linux 7 offers a flexible and stable open source operating environment for customers building or growing their E-commerce initiatives," said Michael Lambert, senior vice president of Dell's Enterprise Systems Group. "Last year, we led the market by offering Red Hat Linux as a pre-install option on Dell PowerEdge servers and Dell Precision Workstations. We've also seen increased demand for Linux on our OptiPlex business desktops.

"This year we'll lead the market again, by being the first to offer the benefits of Red Hat Linux 7 on select configurations of our desktop and notebook products, as well as our line of servers and workstations."

The new version offers excellent support and stability for Dell hardware and enhanced features for smooth installation and deployment, making it easier to incorporate the operating system into a company's IT infrastructure. Red Hat Linux 7 provides Dell desktop users with a more customizable desktop environment with additional digital software options and increased security for default installations.

In a recent benchmark test, Dell PowerEdge 8450 and Dell PowerEdge 6400 servers running Red Hat Linux including TUX 1.0 were named as the fastest Web solutions of those tested in a Web server environment. Test results for 35 servers running SPECweb99, the Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation's benchmark for measuring the performance of Web servers, have been posted on SPEC's Web site, http://www.spec.org since August 1999. The SPECweb99 benchmark simulates how many individual visitors can be connected to a particular Internet or intranet site simultaneously.

"The availability of Red Hat Linux 7 pre-installed on Dell client and server platforms delivers a critical new piece to the open standards enterprise computing landscape," said Matthew Szulik, president and CEO of Red Hat Software. "Both Dell and Red Hat are recognized leaders in Internet-based, next-generation computing, and we believe that a Red Hat Linux 7 on Dell solution provides a great deal of value for our combined E-business customer base."

About Dell

Dell Computer Corporation (Nasdaq:DELL) is the world's leading direct computer systems company, based on revenues of $28.5 billion for the past four quarters, and is a premier provider of products and services required for customers to build their Internet infrastructures. The company ranks No. 56 on the Fortune 500, No. 154 on the Fortune Global 500 and No. 3 on the Fortune "most admired" lists of companies. Dell designs, manufactures and customizes products and services to customer requirements, and offers an extensive selection of software and peripherals. Information on Dell and its products can be obtained on the World Wide Web at www.dell.com.

Dell is a trademark of Dell Computer Corporation.

Fortune 500 is a registered trademark of Time Inc.

Dell disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others.