Linux seller Red Hat on Wednesday will unveil a new phase in its plan to profit from a premium product, introducing a new lower-priced version of its Advanced Server software, along with a new brand name. Red Hat is renaming its Advanced Server product Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS and introducing an Enterprise Linux ES version for lower-end servers that have one or two processors, said Mark De Visser, vice president of marketing for the Raleigh, N.C.-based company.
Red Hat is becoming increasingly aggressive with its high-end Advanced Server software plans, but the company wasn't successful in persuading companies to pay $1,500 to $2,500 per year for a subscription to use the Linux version on low-end servers. The new Enterprise Linux ES product costs $349 or $800 per year, depending on support levels, De Visser said. "We needed to introduce an entry-level version of the enterprise platform," De Visser said. "Advanced Server was just shooting too high."
The Enterprise Linux line also includes a WS version for workstations with one or two processors, De Visser said. It costs $179 or $299 per year for basic and standard subscription plans. The Enterprise Linux products are certified to work with computers from IBM, Dell Computer and Hewlett-Packard and with software from Oracle, Veritas, BMC, Borland and others. Red Hat guarantees that software certified to work with one version will work on future versions as well, such as the version 3.0 product coming this fall.
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News source: c|net
