Fedora core Linux operating system

For many, the linux operating system name Red Hat epitomises Linux, as it is probably the best-known Linux company in the world. Founded in 1995 by Bob Young and Marc Ewing, Red Hat, Inc. has only recently started showing signs of profitability, due to services and its Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system product line. However, Red Hat Linux 9 was the last version in the Red Hat Linux product line, which was replaced by Fedora Core in late 2003. While Fedora is officially sponsored by Red Hat, it is developed with community participation, has a short life-span and serves mainly as a testing base for Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

What is so special about Red Hat linux operating system and Fedora Core? It is a curious mix of conservative and leading-edge packages put together on top of many knowledge-intensive utilities developed in-house. The packages are not the most up-to-date; once a new beta version is announced, the package versions are frozen, except for security updates. The result is a well-tested and stable distribution, the beta program and bug reporting facility are open to the public and there are several mailing lists. Red Hat Linux has become a dominant Linux distribution on servers around the world.

One other reason for Red Hat's success is the variety of popular services the company offers. The software packages are easy to update via Red Hat Network, a free repository of software and valuable information. A vast range of support services and enterprise linux operating system products are available from the company and, while not always cheap, you are virtually assured of an excellent support by highly skilled support personnel. The company has even developed a certification program to further popularise its distribution - the RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineer) training and examinations are now available in most parts of the world. All these factors have contributed to the fact that Red Hat is now a recognised brand name in the IT industry.

Pros: Widely used, excellent community support, lots of innovation.
Cons: Limited product life-span of the free edition, poor multimedia support, concerns over the Red Hat to Fedora transition
Software package management: up2date (RPM), YUM (RPM)
Free download: Yes

	Fedora linux operating system Summary
Distribution:	Fedora Project
Home Page:	http://fedora.redhat.com/
Origin:	USA
Mailing Lists:	http://fedora.redhat.com/participate/communicate/
User Forums:	Fedora Forum . LinuxQuestions.org . Unixboard.de (German)
Sponsored User Forums:	LinuxForums.org
Sponsored User Forums:	LinuxQuestions.org
Documentation:	http://fedora.redhat.com/docs/
Download: Mirrors:	http://fedora.redhat.com/download/mirrors.html See also: LinuxQuestions.org - ISO Downloads . The Linux Mirror Project
Related Web Sites:	Fedora Project . Fedora NEWS . Fedora Forum . Fedorazine . The Unofficial Fedora FAQ . Fedora Tracker . RPM Search . freshrpms.net . Rex's RPMs . Dries APT/YUM RPM Repository . DAG: APT/YUM RPM Repository . ATrpms . PyVault RPM Repository . Planet CCRMA . nrpms.net . BIOrpms . The Fedora Legacy Project . . Alpha Core . Fedora PPC . Fedora People . Freshmeat . Fedora Brazil . Fedora France . Fedora Italy . Fedora Netherlands . Fedora Portugal . Fedora Romania . Fedora Spain
Reviews:	4: Mad Penguin . LinuxPlanet 3: QuebecOS (French) . PCInpact (French) . Linux Times . PPCNerds (PPC) . Linux Planet . NewsForge . eWEEK . OSNews . RedHat.com . OSNews . OSNews 2: Linux.com . OSNews . OSNews . eWEEK . Qwert.cz (Czech) . Mad Penguin . Linux.com . OSNews . OSNews . LinuxPlanet 1: Flexbeta . . Pro-Linux (German) . eWEEK . OSNews . LinuxElectrons . OSNews
Status:	This distribution is active.