Dell to Sell Red Hat Linux ES on PowerEdge

SAN FRANCISCO—Dell Inc. will ship the Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES operating system with select PowerEdge servers, the company announced Wednesday at the LinuxWorld conference here.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES is especially designed for print and file servers and other edge-of-network applications. The package will be sold for $349 on the PowerEdge 4600, 2650 and 1650, together with a one-year subscription to the Red Hat Enterprise Network.

The goal is to woo more small- and medium-business customers to the Dell-Linux camp. SMB customers with fewer than 1,000 employees will account for 53 percent of the growth in IT spending this year, according to market research firm IDC.

However, the customer will also receive a $100 rebate coupon good for any online Red Hat Global Learning Services eLearning course with a suggested retail price equal to or greater than $325 a course.

“This hardware and software bundle answers a growing demand for Linux in the small- and medium-business space,” said Linda Hargrove-York, Dell vice president of worldwide enterprise marketing. “It enables customers to get the most relevant, standards-based technology for their business and install it with minimal downtime.”