Software

Red Hat Linux 6.0 is Red Hat's latest distribution, and ithas improved noticeably since the days of version 5. In keepingwith the high standards of modern distributions, Red Hat Linux 6.0is relatively easy to install, preconfigured, aesthetic andfunctional. It comes with the standard Linux applications(including Netscape) and also includes a special applications CD,with over 50 various commercial applications (most of which aredemo versions which expire or are disabled). GNOME (running bydefault with the Enlightenment window manager), Red Hat's desktopenvironment, is well-configured and attractive. In addition toaesthetic improvements, Red Hat made some significant technicalchanges in its newest distribution, including the complete adoptionof the EGCS (Experimental GNU Compiler System). Still, many thingswill be familiar to users of previous Red Hat releases.

Red Hat Linux 6.0 comes with three CDs (and a floppy, just incase), the first being an auto-booting installer which looks ratherlike previous Red Hat installers. It presents three installationoptions: Workstation-class, Server-class and Custom. The 400+ pageinstallation guide contains very little information regarding theinstallation options, but having tested them, Ireally recommend a custom install.

Before proceeding with any kind of installation, however, theinstaller offers a choice of eleven languages which are mostlyimplemented (though some need more work than others). These aremainly just for the installation process, although GNOME doessupport a few languages; so if you install in another language forthe fun of it, your system could end up running in it. Afterlanguage selection, the installer offers a choice betweeninstallation and upgrade.

Figure 1.Screen Shot

Upgrading is a rather quick process; a large part of theconvenience aspect of Red Hat is the ability to upgrade, whetherone is dealing with individual packages (via RPM/GnoRPM) or acomplete system. Upgrading is rather automated compared toinstallation, which presents various options.

The workstation-class installation is quite functional andeasy to use but is not as complete or fun as a custom installation;KDE, among other things, is noticeably missing. The server-classinstallation is meant for servers and will be of little interestexcept to network enthusiasts. It is not exactly up-to-date, andstill runs FVWM2 (AnotherLevel) instead of the newer desktopenvironments; it is reminiscent of Red Hat releases from quite awhile ago. The custom installation is probably what most userswould want, and is simple enough to make if one knows what hardwareis inside the machine.

Custom installation allows the user to choose packages eithercategorically or one by one; in the latter case, the installerkeeps track of dependencies between packages. The user is alsogiven the choice of which programs to be launched automatically atstartup, and is required to partition his own drives. A choice ofeither Disk Druid orfdisk isgiven for partitioning the drives. Disk Druid is menu-driven andsimple enough, as long as one is familiar with partitioning; thetime-tested fdisk is just as adequate. Although both partitioningprograms perform the same task in basically the same way (selectingpartitions, sizes and mount points), using a menuing system seemsto be easier for most people.

Video configuration can be a bit problematic. Curiously,although the lists of available monitors and video cards are quitelong, the installer cannot probe for the video card. Probing for acard instead of querying the user should not be very difficult toimplement, since X can probe successfully. The video mode testsfailed even though my card and monitor were listed, but afterinstallation, X worked fine. Also, if one could test variouspreconfigured monitor frequencies against the standard X testpattern, a better picture could be had. Since you will presumablyhave this Linux system for a while before reinstalling, it would beworth the effort to have an optimally configured display. Too badthis option is not available.

If you do not know your hardware, installation can be ahang-up. The only thing the installer could successfully detect wasmy mouse; everything else had to be entered manually. Again, thisis fine if you know your hardware, and it is probably even saferthan probing. However, new Linux users to whom Red Hat is oftenrecommended and people who do not know what is inside theircomputers might prefer the computer to figure out for itself whathardware is present. Certain other installers probe successfully,so accurate probing is possible. Since ease of use has long beenone of Red Hat's main attractions, it seems the installer couldstand to be brought up to a level on a par with the overall qualityof the distribution.

Despite the need to enter hardware information manually,installation is not exactly difficult and an experienced user couldreasonably expect to complete an installation in approximatelythirty minutes. Once the installation process is at an end, theoption is presented to have X start up by default at boot time. Ifyou answer yes, reboot and log in, you will be greeted by amysterious footprint on the desktop, shaped oddly enough like a Gwith toes.

Red Hat has taken an active role in supporting the productionof GNOME, a high-quality desktop environment based entirely on freesoftware. Red Hat Linux 6.0 installs GNOME on workstation andcustom installations. GNOME is not actually a window manager initself—it is a desktop environment which allows you to use thecompatible window manager of your choice (Enlightenment, bydefault).

One of the particularly nice characteristics of moderndistributions is that their desktop environments come thoroughlyconfigured. This means you can bring up menus, point and click,drag and drop, etc. without having to configure the menus, and themenu options actually correspond to the programs on your system. OnRed Hat Linux 6.0, GNOME is better configured than KDE orAnotherLevel (FVWM2), both of which menus are incorporated intoGNOME's menuing system. GNOME also has the remarkable programGnoRPM, which is a Red Hat Package Manager for GNOME. Thisgraphical program offers a simple point-and-click system forinstalling, upgrading, uninstalling, querying, verifying andsearching through RPM packages. In conjunction with LinuxConf andvarious control panels, this makes for easy point-and-clickadministration and configuration.

A large part of the improvement Red Hat made from 5.2 to 6.0comes from the technical changes in the various programs which makeup the distribution. The core of the improvement is the 2.2 kernel(2.2.5-15 to be exact), which supports more hardware and filesystems and is even better at networking than previous Linuxkernels. It also has better SMP support and countless otherimprovements in areas ranging from networking to frame buffers, andis even more modular and easier to reconfigure and recompile.Recompilation is less necessary due to the new modular approach.Developers will likely appreciate that Red Hat has moved completelyto the Experimental GNU Compiler System (EGCS), which offersadvanced platform optimizations, integrated FORTRAN and asignificantly improved C++ compiler. These days, as innovativehardware solutions push past the limits of conventional desktopprocessor speed and storage space, SMP and RAID support areincreasingly valuable and, thanks to the new Linux kernel,available. In conjunction with Glibc 2.1.1 and the latest stableversions of various libraries and programs at the time of itsrelease, Red Hat Linux 6.0 is up to date.

Security is an ever-present problem with network computers,and in this distribution, root access via TELNET has been removedand the X screen automatically locks when the screen saver comeson. Also, passwords are shadowed and, optionally, use MD5encryption (as opposed to DES). For convenience, console users dohave access to peripherals and can reboot, although this can bechanged. Security risks are always a hazard, so it is a good ideato check periodically for recent patches. In fact, a few smallpotential security problems shipped with 6.0; the fixes (via RPM)are on Red Hat's web site, along with a list of rather minorerrata.

Included in Red Hat Linux 6.0 and Red Hat EXTRA is anapplication CD with over 50 Linux applications, ranging fromdevelopmental software to productivity software, specializedcommercial applications and more. According to the box, the CD isvalued at over $1,000, and perhaps if it were full of commercialsoftware instead of disabled and expiring demo versions, it wouldbe worth that much. Nevertheless, the disc is an amazing testamentto the proliferation of applications available for Linux, and somesoftware packages are mostly or even fully functional while somedon't work at all. The CD should be looked at as a bonus, becauseyou could just download most of the software over the Net, if youknew it existed in the first place. The inclusion of commercialdemos with Linux distributions is a good idea, and software vendorsmight want to pursue other distributors as well.

In the past, the majority of complaints about Red Hat seem tohave involved the issue of support; perhaps this implies that thedistribution itself leaves little to complain about. This time, RedHat stepped up the efforts to provide support to registered usersof Official Red Hat Linux 6.0. This may partially explain therather high price of $79.95 for a collection of mostly freesoftware.

Included with the Red Hat package is a large bright yellowslip of paper stating, “For Installation Support Go To:http://support.redhat.com”, from which one might surmise thesource for installation support. In order to receive support, onemust first register via Red Hat's web site. The registrationprogram seems to work, and once registered, a user is entitled to30 days of installation support via telephone and 90 days ofinstallation support by way of e-mail. I would certainly expectthat after 90 days, someone would have his system installed.Actually, support goes a bit further than initial installation; RedHat is willing to help in the configuration of printers, soundcards and other hardware such as floppy and CD-ROM drives. Therewas no mention of Ethernet help, though this is usually easier thandealing with sound cards, so I hope Red Hat intends to help withthis too.

Installation will take much longer than thirty minutes if youtake the time to read the 400+ page “Installation Guide” and the300-page “Getting Started Guide”. The Installation Guide is acomprehensive walk-through of the installation process, with asignificant space dealing with system configuration andadministration. The Installation Guide is rather thorough andcontains enough information to turn a neophyte into a competentadministrator of his own system. The Getting Started Guide issmaller, simpler and a bit friendlier. It covers many aspects ofEnlightenment and GNOME, X, shell usage, administration,configuration and the like. Red Hat calls it “easy-to-read”--thatis a fair assessment, to say the least.

In the event that someone finds 30 days of phone support, 90days of e-mail support and 700 pages of textual support inadequate,Red Hat offers various commercial support packages ranging in pricefrom $2,995 to $60,000. Obviously, these cover more than basicinstallation.

Red Hat Linux 6.0 is a modern, up-to-date, flexibledistribution which finds itself at home in a number of areasranging from small servers to home desktops to the business world.Many businesses and institutions rely on Red Hat, as do countlesshome users. At the very least, it has recent versions of packagesand puts libraries in the right places, so things work. It doeshave a commercial feel to it—youknow when amachine is running Red Hat. Also, it does not take a minimalistapproach, so it could be a bit more complicated than a home usermight want—some might even find it a bit bulky. Actually, forGNOME/Enlightenment to function in a timely way, 32MB of RAM seemsinadequate. However, the distribution on the whole is reliable andfunctional. The price is a bit painful, so one might want toconsider the many alternatives. But, if you need to be sure of afunctional system with phone and e-mail support, manuals,applications and a Red Hat bumper sticker, the price may be worthit.