Sun to support Red Hat Linux

Plus: EMC bolsters low-end storage; Opera unleashes new browser for Linux.

Six weeks after discontinuing its own version of Linux, Sun last week said it will sell and support all three of Red Hat’s Enterprise Linux operating systems on Sun x86 server hardware. The two companies said the deal also will include plans for Red Hat to distribute Sun’s Java technology. Sun will sell and support Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS, Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES and Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS.

In collaboration with Red Hat, Sun will provide global services and support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the companies said. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is expected to be available from Sun by the summer.

EMC enhanced its low-end CX200 storage system last week by adding a model with a single controller, Advanced Technology Attachment drives and a 60% boost in performance.

Existing CX200 drives now support high-performance Fibre Channel drives and ATA drives in one box. Customers can use the Fibre Channel drives for transactional and file-based data and the ATA for disk-backup applications. Customers can migrate from one type of storage to another without taking the system down. The CX200 now supports up to 6 terabytes of data.

The company also rolled out user-executable upgrades for Clariion software applications that don’t require the customer to take the system down. A 108G byte Clariion CX200 is available for about $10,000.

Opera Software announced a version of its Web software aimed at improving the Internet messaging and surfing experience of Linux users. Opera 7.11 is available on the open source Linux operating system, coming after last week’s release of a 7.11 version for Microsoft Windows. The latest version of Opera for Linux can be downloaded from the company’s site.

With the new version, the company offers an integrated e-mail client and e-mail organizer, which automatically categorizes and sorts e-mail messages, a spokeswoman said.