At this point, the question is usually asked, "Okay, if Linux is so great, what is this Red Hat version, and why should I get it?" Well, I am glad you asked. There are several reasons to use Red Hat Linux:

• It is based on Linux 2.0x—The current version of Red Hat (4.2) is based upon version 2.0x of the Linux kernel. This means that it is at the same low cost as Linux—free! Anyone can use FTP to download Red Hat from the Internet and install it on their system. (This also means that the entire list of Linux's attributes applies to the Red Hat version.)
• Red Hat Package Manager is included—For the same low cost (free), Red Hat Package Manager (RPM) is included. This means that after you load Red Hat, you'll never have to load it again. The RPM is a sophisticated tool that includes intelligent file handling across package upgrades, shared file handling, documentation searching support, and package installation via FTP. You can install, uninstall, query, verify, and upgrade individual RPM packages.
• Good, clean copies—Red Hat has a commitment to providing, as the company puts it, "pristine sources." The RPM source packages include pristine, untouched sources, as well as patches and a control file, which define the building and packaging process. This enables you to work with other members of the Linux development community easily and effectively by clearly separating and documenting the code that comes from the Linux development community from any modifications that are required by Red Hat.
• Security—Red Hat leads the industry in providing the most up-to-date security features. In addition, the company strives, and succeeds, at providing the latest versions of software.
• Documentation—Red Hat provides more than 250 pages of installation and configuration information that can be downloaded via FTP or viewed from the Red Hat site. Complete coverage of the Control Panel tools, including the network, user/group, and printer tools, is included.
• Standards—Red Hat tracks both UNIX and Linux standards. Red Hat conforms to the Linux filesystem standard (FSSTND).
• Testing—Red Hat depends upon the open development model that Linus started with. Today, there are thousands of people working around the world testing applications and providing solutions for today's business and personal needs.

As you can see, Red Hat goes beyond the normal Linux system by providing tools, documentation, and standardization.

Copyright and Warranty

Red Hat Linux is copyrighted under the GNU General Public License. This section doesn't include the entire license, but it does highlight a few items. Basically, the license provides three things:

1. The original author retains the copyright.
2. Others can do with the software what they wish, including modifying it, basing other programs on it, and redistributing or reselling it. The software can even be sold for a profit. The source code must accompany the program as well.
3. The copyright cannot be restricted down the line. This means that if you sell a product for one dollar, the person you sold it to could change it in any way (or not even change it at all) and sell it to a second person for $10—or give it away at no charge to a thousand people.

Why have such a unique licensing? The original authors of Linux software didn't intend to make money from the software. It was intended to be freely available to everyone, without warranty. That is correct; there is no warranty. Does this mean you are left out in the cold when you have problems? Of course it doesn't. There are numerous resources, including this book, newsgroups, and the Web to assist you. What it does do, though, is provide the programmers the ability to release software at no cost without the fear of liability. Granted, this lack of liability is a two-edged sword, but it is the simplest method for providing freely available software.

Where to Get Red Hat Linux

Try looking on the CD-ROM that came with this book. Red Hat Linux is there. You can also get Red Hat from the Internet by pointing your browser to http://www.redhat.com/products/software.html. Here you will not only find Red Hat for each of the three supported platforms (Intel, Alpha, and SPARC), but also upgrades, updates, answers to frequently asked questions, mailing lists, and much, much more. You can call Red Hat at (888) RED-HAT1 and order products as well.

System Requirements

Red Hat keeps a listing of the system requirements and supported hardware for the three platforms—Intel, SPARC, and Alpha—that Linux will run on. Those lists are presented in this section. As with anything, these lists will change. If the particular hardware that you have is not listed, check Red Hat's Web page (http://www.redhat.com/support/docs/hardware.html) and see if it has been listed there.

System Requirements—Intel

According to Red Hat, these are the system requirements for running Red Hat Linux on an Intel platform:

• Intel 386 or greater, through Pentium Pro
• 40MB of hard drive space in character mode, or 100MB with X Window
• 5MB of memory (although 8 to 16 is recommended)
• Most video cards supported
• CD-ROM drive
• 3.5-inch disk drive

Plug and Play hardware is not, at the time of this writing, wholly supported. (There is some level of PnP support with the isapnp software.) Most Plug and Play hardware has jumpers or BIOS settings that will turn off the Plug and Play support. By turning off this support, the equipment should work with Red Hat Linux. Some Plug and Play support equipment doesn't have a way of physically turning off the Plug and Play option (such as the SoundBlaster 16 PnP). For these pieces of hardware to work with Linux, some sort of workaround must be performed.

System Requirements—SPARC

Red Hat Linux/SPARC is known to function on the following hardware:

• sun4c architecture machines (IPC, SS1, and so on)
• sun4m architecture machines (Classic, SS5, SS10, and so on)
• bwtwo, cg3, cg6, TCX frame buffers (24 bit on the TCX)
• cg14 frame buffer (in cg3 mode)
• SCSI and Ethernet on all of the preceding
• Type 4 and type 5 keyboards and mice
• External SCSI drives
• CD-ROM drives (external and internal)
• SCSI/Ether SBUS expansion cards
• Any original equipment Sun monitor for the listed frame buffers

System Requirements—Alpha

Red Hat Linux/Alpha supports a variety of hardware based on the Alpha processor and the PCI bus. Platforms on which this release is known to work include the following:

• AlphaPC64 (Cabriolet, Aspen Telluride)
• AxpPCI33 (No name)