PCmag.com has an article suggesting BSD as an alternative to Windows. “Fussed over by perfectionist academics and then
torture-tested by generations of brutal college students,
BSD is perhaps the most robust, secure, and reliable of
operating systems. It is common for a BSD-based operating
system to run for years without maintenance or rebooting.”

ZDNet has a guest column that starts like this: “Microsoft is leading the charge to restrict the free flow of computer-security
vulnerabilities.”

CNet has a short item saying Sony will delay the release of its CIMV PictureBook from the fourth quarter of this year to
January 2002 due to shortages of Transmeta’s 5800 Crusoe processor.

From NWFusion.com: “Internet Security Systems (ISS) Monday
warned of a serious vulnerability that could
leave Unix systems from Sun,
Hewlett-Packard, IBM, SGI, Compaq and
Caldera open to attack.

The flaw, a buffer overflow vulnerability
discovered in the Unix graphical interface
called Common Desktop Environment (CDE),
could allow savvy remote attackers to gain
complete root control over the affected
systems.”

Anonymous Reader writes, “TUXIA announced today that Nanozilla, an embedded Browser derived from the open source Mozilla project, is now available for VIPER, TUXIA’s customizable Personal Information Manager (PIM) Suite for PDAs based on the Intel StrongARM architecture. Nanozilla for VIPER runs on Nano-X and supports Supports HTML 4.0, JavaScript, Cookies, CSS, XML, XUL, and conforms to W3C Internet Standards. Full text at LinuxDevices.com.“

Byte.com has a column by Moshe Bar benchmarking Linux and FreeBSD in several areas. “Overall, I believe we have now reached a very stable and well-performing Linux.
Needless to say, FreeBSD is as stable and fast (or faster) as ever. The 2.4 Linux kernel
has grown out of its early problems and there is no reason anymore to hold on to the old
2.2 kernels, especially on new servers. The TCP/IP subsystem (with zero-copy and
other very important features) takes the last out of your Linux server. ”

From PR Newswire: Global Information Group (GIG),
developer of Linux-based 3D software application GIG3DGO Advanced(TM), has
launched an active and innovative reseller program and completed agreements
with several resellers.

– By Grant Gross –

Say you’re a business owner who could use high-powered Linux computing clusters for in-depth analysis or complex mathematical computations, but you’re a little intimidated by the time and effort it takes to set up a cluster. IBM has a deal for you — a complete Linux cluster all wrapped up in an easy-to-install package.

In an effort to distance itself from a handful of other Linux cluster packages available, IBM on Tuesday announced the IBM eServer Cluster, what IBM is calling the “first pre-packaged Linux cluster.” Dan Powers, v.p. of IBM’s Linux division says the clustering package was released in response to requests from customers who wanted an easier to install and maintain Linux cluster.

“Clusters have started out in the educational and scientific communities, but commercial customers are starting to use this more and more,” Powers says. “You’ve got the financial industry where they do a lot of economic analysis, and many industries where you start to talk about business intelligence or doing any kind of e-commerce.

“Those customers really have come back to us and said, ‘Couldn’t you just do some pre-packaged cluster solutions for us, so that we don’t have to get assembly instructions when you pick up the cluster?’ “

In addition to IBM’s UNIX-based IBM eServer Cluster set-up and management tools and a patented cabling solution, the package includes several related “business-critical” products like the IBM WebSphere suite of e-business infrastructure software, Sendmail, Warp Solutions’ Transaction Session Manager transaction processing package, and IBM’s DB2 Universal Database.

Stacey Quandt, an Open Source analyst for Giga Information Group, says that grouping of “crown jewel” products in the cluster package should make the IBM eServer Cluster attractive to a variety of businesses, including the oil and gas, life sciences, and media content industries. The pre-packaging option could give IBM a leg up on clusters offered by competitors such as Hewlett-Packard and Dell, she says.

Quandt also says there are a number of uses for clusters that will need a “more granular approach” than the IBM offering, “but this is a broad package that would be applicable to a number of end-user customers.

“This doesn’t solve all problems,” she adds. “It’ll make it easier to deploy a cluster to some degree, but there’s obviously a degree of specialization, depending on what the application is.”

IBM’s Powers predicts that supercomputing grids being built, in which IBM is heavily involved, will use Linux clusters, and this product should make it easier for those kinds of clusters to be set up and maintained. He also says IBM’s Global Services division is being trained in setting up clusters, and customers will soon be able to contract out the set-up to IBM.

For more information, see this ZDNet story.

Posted at LinuxSecurity.com. “Due to the kernel used in the Red Hat Linux 7.1 Korean installation
program, some files are written by the installation program with the wrong
permissions.

It is recommended that all users of the Red Hat Linux 7.1 Korean
installation program use the update disk image. If users have already
installed, they should check their systems and fix the permissions on the
affected files. They can do this by installing the updated redhat-release
package.”

IBM today introduced the industry’s first
pre-packaged Linux clusters, providing customers a quick and easy way to
implement Linux solutions for e-business. The IBM eServer Cluster
integrates best-of-breed components into a single, easy-to-order and
-deploy package.

Combining IBM eServer xSeries Intel processor-based servers with
high-performance cluster management software derived from IBM’s UNIX
systems, the IBM eServer Cluster can be shipped with as few as four servers
and can grow to encompass massive Linux systems powerful enough to meet any
customer need. IBM is already building Linux clusters with more than 1,000
nodes.

The IBM eServer Cluster has been tested to ensure interoperability and
maximum performance in e-commerce environments such as Web infrastructure
and collaboration/email. IBM offers comprehensive services and support for
the clusters, including installation and ongoing maintenance.

IBM also extended its range of cluster offerings by enhancing its
industry-leading UNIX-based IBM eServer Cluster sytstems, which are
powered by pSeries servers running the AIX operating system.

“Linux is the fastest-growing operating system, spreading quickly in the
world of business computing, while AIX is the fastest-growing UNIX
operating system,” said Dave Turek, vice president, emerging technologies,
IBM Server Group. “We are bringing the IBM eServer Cluster products to
market as customers increasingly ask for ready-made solutions, not an
assortment of piece parts.”

Business-Critical Software

IBM labs have tested key Linux business applications on the IBM eServer
Cluster 1300 for performance, compatibility and reliability.
Applications include:

— High Availability. Software from Mission Critical Linux, Inc.,
SteelEye Technology, Inc., and Polyserve, Inc. provide failover technology
designed to avoid downtime. Sophisticated interfaces allow customers to
implement customized reliability functions.

— e-Commerce. The IBM WebSphere suite of e-business infrastructure
software helps businesses manage high volume transactions, integrate
business processes, and create, deploy and manage e-business applications.

— Database. IBM’s DB2 Universal Database provides a powerful data
management solution for a broad spectrum of business applications. DB2
supports very large parallel databases essential for business intelligence
applications and scientific workloads.

— eMail. Sendmail’s complete line of Linux messaging, hosting and
routing products offers a robust email solution that supports many users on
a single server.

— Transaction Processing. Warp Solutions’ Transaction Session Manager
improves e-business transaction speed by quickly and efficiently routing
requests from front-end Web sites to back-end databases.

— Workload Management. Platform LSF software enables clusters to process
tasks more efficiently, and provides monitoring and reporting tools that
deliver constant, up-to-date information about the state of the cluster
environment.

IBM is working with other software vendors and plans to announce additional
applications in the future.

IBM eServer Cluster 1300’s Best-of-Breed Components

A computing cluster is a collection of servers that are connected by
hardware and software to perform as a single integrated computer system.

IBM eServer x330 and x342 Intel processor-based servers, running Red Hat
Linux 7.1, supply the processing muscle for the Cluster 1300. The servers
are harnessed together with IBM’s cluster and file system management
software, derived from the renowned IBM SP supercomputer. The SP first
gained fame in 1997 when it defeated chess champion Garry Kasparov in a
history-making chess match.

Built upon the system management tools and commands of the IBM SP
supercomputer, IBM Cluster Systems Management for Linux enables
administrators to manage hundreds of clustered servers efficiently and cost
effectively. Key administrative functions in the cluster, such as
operating system installation and configuration, may be performed from a
central point of control. The software enables operators to monitor and
control hardware and keep configuration files synchronized across all
servers. It also provides a leading-edge infrastructure for
high-availability, as well as a balanced architecture for optimal cluster
performance.

IBM’s highly-available General Parallel File System for Linux provides
shared access to files across nodes in the cluster. Scaling to nine
terabytes, the system allows customers to quickly and easily access huge
amounts of data on a cluster.

Optional high-performance switch technology from Myricom provides the
physical connection between the servers in the IBM eServer Cluster 1300.

IBM eServer x330 and x342

The IBM eServer x330, used for compute processing in the IBM eServer
Cluster 1300, is the industry’s most powerful thin server, with support for
high-performance dual processing (with Intel Pentium III processors),
unique Cable Chaining Technology and self-management tools. The x330
includes up to 4GB of 133MHz ECC SDRAM memory, and up to 72GB internal
hot-swap storage capacity.

The x342, used as the central management and storage nodes in the Cluster
1300, is a slim, space-saving 3U (5.25″) server featuring Intel Pentium III
1.25GHz processors with up to 4GB ECC SDRAM memory and up to 440.4GB
internal storage capacity with an optional three-pack Ultra160 hot-plug
expansion kit and a total of 5 PCI slots. The x342 rack system also
includes self-managing technologies from IBM’s Project eLiza initiative and
supports the IBM Remote Supervisor Adapter to simplify remote system
management by providing around-the-clock access.

An eight-node IBM eServer Cluster 1300 — including 8 cluster server nodes,
one management server node, Red Hat Linux operating system, switching, and
custom factory integration — costs $85,000. The cluster will be available
in the United States on November 26.

IBM eServer Cluster 1600

Leveraging the cluster and file management software and ultra-fast switch
from the IBM SP supercomputer, the UNIX-based IBM eServer Cluster 1600
enables IBM to create systems with up to thousands of microprocessors that
incorporate IBM’s mid-range, high-end and high performance UNIX servers,
all managed from a single point of control.

IBM Service and Support

IBM provides a full range of services and support for the IBM eServer
Cluster — from complete installation to assigning a single point of
contact for all support issues.