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Red Hat Advanced Server Gets DoD COE Certification
DaveAtFraud writes "CNET is reporting that Red Hat Advanced server has been certified as a 'Common Operating Environment' (COE) when running on an IBM server by the U.S. Department of Defense. Red Hat Advanced Server is the first version of Linux to receive this certification. The certification clears the way for broader use of Linux in governement computer systems. Its interesting to note that the certification effort was made for the more proprietary (and costlier) Red Hat Advanced Server and not the basic Red Hat distribution." This despite the best efforts of certain lobbyists.
Why is this even worth noting? Certification efforts aren't especially cheap. If you're going to expend time and resources getting a version of your product certified, why not put the effort into the version that is likeliest to generate enough revenue as a result of the certification to pay for the effort.
After all, while RedHat is in relatively good financial condition, it's not like they have around $40 billion in the bank (unlike some operating system companies). Certifying Advanced Server is a good use of limited resources.
That said, any government security certification is a Good Thing in the commercial marketplace, too - it helps when the engineers need to make a positive case to their PHB's, and gives one more "checklist item" that can get marked in their favor when comparing RH to other vendors.
-- Josh Turiel
"2. Do not eat iPod Shuffle."
Anyhow, all these distro's really have in common is the kernel code which makes them linux. The rest of the software (FTP, wm's, editors) bundled is up to the bundler. It is these choices that can make a distro more secure from another. EX: ssh v. telnet, std ftpd v. vsftpd, vi v. emacs (Sorry, I just had to ;-}) et al; The DOD is going to certify the whole bundle and not just individual pieces. Basically, they don't trust their admins (contractors mostly) to pick the right pieces on their own, so they will find a good bundle and certify that with special instructions.
Who are you? The new #2 Who is #1? You are #617565. I am not a number, I am a free man! Muhahaha.
You say superior services, not platforms, but it sounds like you're taking programs that could otherwise be cross-platform using them to push Linux for its own sake. Or, are you doing something with perl that would tie it to Linux?
(Ready to be modded into oblivion for implying that Linux should exist just for its own sake...)
/syle
Thanks in advance.
There was a LOT of bureaucratic inertia standing in the way of this effort inside the DoD. In the office this little initiative started in within ESC, the push for this cost two program managers and one engineer their positions, with extra effort made to derail their careers. Another person had to keep his head down and toe the line for a long time. The replacement for the second program manager was frusterated and constrained and a little scared, having entered the arena of combat by stepping over the corpses of the previous two (figuratively).
The efforts by DISA and Red Hat were started because the little program that those people worked on provided the customer for the product. Sure, there was a lot of "anecdotal" demand for Linux, but this was the first formal acquisition program that was committed to it. The guinea pig, so to speak.
Let's give proper respect to RH (those involved know who he is) at Red Hat, who took that first call and pitched it to his management, even though it looked like all the risk was on Red Hat.