Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Beta 2 Now Available

  
    
  
  
    
      Red Hat (NASDAQ:RHAT), the world's leading provider of open source 
      solutions, today announced the availability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 
      5 Beta 2. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, to be released in early 2007, will 
      provide the latest open source technologies for improved performance, 
      security and flexibility. With a continued focus on technologies 
      designed to drive costs out of deploying and managing infrastructure 
      software, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 will deliver comprehensive 
      integration that will significantly raise the bar for 
      commercial-strength Linux virtualization in an x86 server environment.
    
    
      Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, now available in Beta 2, incorporates a new, 
      fully integrated server and storage virtualization solution. This 
      release enables an integrated virtualization solution by coupling server 
      virtualization with Red Hat's clustering support. For enhanced 
      availability, failover at either the application or virtual machine 
      level is provided by Red Hat Cluster Suite. Red Hat Global File System 
      and Cluster Logical Volume Manager technology allows application data to 
      be securely accessed and shared by any guest from any system.
    
    
      "The incorporation of virtualization technologies into operating system 
      software is a major industry development that will have long term impact 
      on how customers design their computer infrastructure, how they deploy, 
      and how they plan for scalability, availability and continuity," said Al 
      Gillen, Research VP, System Software at IDC. "Red Hat's approach of 
      integrating virtualization software and clustering technology together 
      with file system software gives Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 the 
      capability to go beyond basic server consolidation, and empowers users 
      to address more sophisticated virtualization requirements."
    
    
      Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 represents the result of nearly two years of 
      development spread across the entire core product, and Linux kernel 
      enhancements accrued from version 2.6.9 to 2.6.18. Extensive 
      enhancements to the kernel, network and I/O subsystems ensure optimal 
      performance and scalability. Users will realize unmatched resistance to 
      security exploits through the inclusion of comprehensive security 
      profiles and improved compiler and runtime buffer management 
      technologies.
    
    
      Additionally, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 presents dramatically improved 
      desktop capabilities and new application development tools that make 
      working in a Red Hat Enterprise Linux environment better than ever.
    
    
      "The release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Beta 2 is a great indicator 
      for customers on what to expect in our next release. Integrating 
      technologies such as virtualization is challenging and exciting, and the 
      resulting product will enable customers to utilize their systems more 
      effectively than ever before," said Tim Yeaton, Senior Vice President of 
      Enterprise Solutions, Red Hat. "We continue to drive down costs by 
      optimizing performance, manageability and availability. Other 
      customer-driven innovations, such as security, are inherent to our 
      development model."
    
    
      Customers and partners can now download Red Hat Enterprise Linux Beta 2 
      to deploy pilots for production environments. To learn more, please 
      visit http://www.redhat.com
    
    
      About Red Hat, Inc.
    
    
      Red Hat, the world's leading open source solutions provider, is 
      headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., with satellite offices spanning the 
      globe. CIOs and other senior-level IT executives have ranked Red Hat as 
      the industry's most valued vendor for two consecutive years in the CIO 
      Insight Magazine Vendor Value study. Red Hat is leading Linux and open 
      source solutions into the mainstream by making high-quality, low-cost 
      technology accessible. Red Hat provides an operating system platform, 
      Red Hat Enterprise Linux, along with applications, management, and 
      middleware solutions, including JBoss Enterprise Middleware Suite. Red 
      Hat is accelerating the shift to service-oriented architectures and 
      enabling the next generation of web-enabled applications running on a 
      low-cost, secure open source platform. Red Hat also offers support, 
      training and consulting services to its customers worldwide and through 
      top-tier partnerships. Red Hat's open source strategy offers customers a 
      long term plan for building infrastructures that are based on and 
      leverage open source technologies with a focus on security and ease of 
      management. Learn more: http://www.redhat.com
    
    
      Forward-Looking Statements
    
    
      Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute 
      "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private 
      Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements 
      provide current expectations of future events based on certain 
      assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to 
      any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially 
      from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of 
      various important factors, including: risks related to the integration 
      of acquisitions; the ability of the Company to effectively compete; the 
      inability to adequately protect Company intellectual property and the 
      potential for infringement or breach of license claims of or relating to 
      third party intellectual property; risks related to data and information 
      security vulnerabilities; ineffective management of, and control over, 
      the Company's growth and international operations; adverse results in 
      litigation; the dependence on key personnel as well as other factors 
      contained in our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (copies of 
      which may be accessed through the Securities and Exchange Commission's 
      website at http://www.sec.gov), 
      including those found therein under the captions "Risk Factors" and 
      "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results 
      of Operations". In addition, the forward-looking statements included in 
      this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this 
      press release and these views could change. However, while the Company 
      may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in 
      the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. 
      These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as 
      representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date 
      of the press release.
    
    
      LINUX is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. RED HAT and JBOSS are registered 
      trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. and its 
      subsidiaries in the US and other countries.
    
  
Red Hat (NASDAQ:RHAT), the world's leading provider of open source
solutions, today announced the availability of Red Hat Enterprise
Linux 5 Beta 2. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, to be released in early
2007, will provide the latest open source technologies for improved
performance, security and flexibility. With a continued focus on
technologies designed to drive costs out of deploying and managing
infrastructure software, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 will deliver
comprehensive integration that will significantly raise the bar for
commercial-strength Linux virtualization in an x86 server environment.

   Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, now available in Beta 2, incorporates
a new, fully integrated server and storage virtualization solution.
This release enables an integrated virtualization solution by coupling
server virtualization with Red Hat's clustering support. For enhanced
availability, failover at either the application or virtual machine
level is provided by Red Hat Cluster Suite. Red Hat Global File System
and Cluster Logical Volume Manager technology allows application data
to be securely accessed and shared by any guest from any system.

   "The incorporation of virtualization technologies into operating
system software is a major industry development that will have long
term impact on how customers design their computer infrastructure, how
they deploy, and how they plan for scalability, availability and
continuity," said Al Gillen, Research VP, System Software at IDC. "Red
Hat's approach of integrating virtualization software and clustering
technology together with file system software gives Red Hat Enterprise
Linux 5 the capability to go beyond basic server consolidation, and
empowers users to address more sophisticated virtualization
requirements."

   Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 represents the result of nearly two
years of development spread across the entire core product, and Linux
kernel enhancements accrued from version 2.6.9 to 2.6.18. Extensive
enhancements to the kernel, network and I/O subsystems ensure optimal
performance and scalability. Users will realize unmatched resistance
to security exploits through the inclusion of comprehensive security
profiles and improved compiler and runtime buffer management
technologies.

   Additionally, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 presents dramatically
improved desktop capabilities and new application development tools
that make working in a Red Hat Enterprise Linux environment better
than ever.

   "The release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Beta 2 is a great
indicator for customers on what to expect in our next release.
Integrating technologies such as virtualization is challenging and
exciting, and the resulting product will enable customers to utilize
their systems more effectively than ever before," said Tim Yeaton,
Senior Vice President of Enterprise Solutions, Red Hat. "We continue
to drive down costs by optimizing performance, manageability and
availability. Other customer-driven innovations, such as security, are
inherent to our development model."

   Customers and partners can now download Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Beta 2 to deploy pilots for production environments. To learn more,
please visit http://www.redhat.com

   About Red Hat, Inc.

   Red Hat, the world's leading open source solutions provider, is
headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., with satellite offices spanning the
globe. CIOs and other senior-level IT executives have ranked Red Hat
as the industry's most valued vendor for two consecutive years in the
CIO Insight Magazine Vendor Value study. Red Hat is leading Linux and
open source solutions into the mainstream by making high-quality,
low-cost technology accessible. Red Hat provides an operating system
platform, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, along with applications,
management, and middleware solutions, including JBoss Enterprise
Middleware Suite. Red Hat is accelerating the shift to
service-oriented architectures and enabling the next generation of
web-enabled applications running on a low-cost, secure open source
platform. Red Hat also offers support, training and consulting
services to its customers worldwide and through top-tier partnerships.
Red Hat's open source strategy offers customers a long term plan for
building infrastructures that are based on and leverage open source
technologies with a focus on security and ease of management. Learn
more: http://www.redhat.com

   Forward-Looking Statements

   Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements
provide current expectations of future events based on certain
assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to
any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially
from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of
various important factors, including: risks related to the integration
of acquisitions; the ability of the Company to effectively compete;
the inability to adequately protect Company intellectual property and
the potential for infringement or breach of license claims of or
relating to third party intellectual property; risks related to data
and information security vulnerabilities; ineffective management of,
and control over, the Company's growth and international operations;
adverse results in litigation; the dependence on key personnel as well
as other factors contained in our most recent Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q (copies of which may be accessed through the Securities and
Exchange Commission's website at http://www.sec.gov), including those
found therein under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations". In addition, the forward-looking statements included in
this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of
this press release and these views could change. However, while the
Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some
point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation
to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon
as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the
date of the press release.

   LINUX is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. RED HAT and JBOSS are
registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. and its subsidiaries in the US
and other countries.