Analysis of Red Hat Linux Operating System - Article Example

?Linux is a free and open source operating system for computers, mobile phones, televisions, video game consoles, and so on. One distribution of Linux in particular, known as Red Hat, is a popular Unix-like version of Linux that allows users to enjoy all of the working components of their electronic devices under an open source license. The history of Red Hat is central to the history of Linux distributions emerging from the 1990s, including making milestones in the advancement of open source operating systems. For instance, Version 3.0.3 of Red Hat, released in 1996, introduced the Executable and Linkable file format into popular usage among Unix systems. Among other innovations, such as the Anaconda graphical installer and the firewall configuration tool Lokkit, Red Hat is an established name in the open source operating system market space. This may be due, in part, to its appealing graphical interface for users and the accessibility of its programmer interface, which is intelligently presented. By reviewing this interface, as well as some advantages and disadvantages of the operating system, why exactly Red Hat is a respected name in Linux circles may become clearer. Red Hat is ostensibly based on the design principles of simplicity, robustness, and security (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2007). Simplicity refers to simple abstractions and simple components, which leads to faster and more efficient use of hardware resources. Red Hat exemplifies this characteristic by focusing on a simple desktop for users to customize. Robustness refers to the ability of a system to resist failure after the addition of a new feature or component. When a system is multiprogramming, it is ideal if the system does not fail because it cannot adequately distribute resources to handle the increased load. Red Hat, because it has been developed and re-released over nine versions, is incredibly robust in handling large memory loads. Lastly, Red Hat is based on a secure design, which means Red Hat has extended Linux’s reputation as a secure environment, primarily by buffering overflows integrated in the standard software stack, smartcard authentication support, and SELinux security. The Red Hat Linux desktop consists of GNOME and KDE, which offer a wide range of features. The KDE desktop for Red Hat (in Figure 1), features a main menu icon at the lower left, which is a red hat. The desktop includes a number of files and folders, depending on what software is installed on the user’s computer. KDE is very similar to the standard Microsoft Windows format for the central desktop, particularly in how the standard option places the taskbar at the bottom of the screen, with a main menu button at the lower left, and desktop icons arranged vertically along the left side of the desktop. KDE uses a file management and web browser called Konqueror, which is a standard setting in Red Hat installations. Lastly, the KDE Control Center window allows for additional customization of the operating system for the user. In contrast, the GNOME desktop for Red Hat Linux (in Figure 2) is slightly different from KDE (McCarty, 2004). The principal dissimilarity is GNOME’s use of Nautilus, which like Konqueror, is the default file manager and browser. Another notable difference is GNOME’s use of a drawer, which is a clickable icon that leads to links to other launchers. GNOME also features a “Start Here” facility that allows for other kinds of configurations, including changes to peripheral devices, default applications, themes, GNOME’s appearance, and so on. A Red Hat Linux user is given a choice between the KDE and GNOME desktop interfaces. Beyond the basics of Red Hat’s desktop and user interface, however, one finds a rich array of tools for a programmer to manipulate and control his or her machine. The Unix shell in Red Hat, like an MS-DOS window, allows the user to execute commands. Again, beyond the desktop and point-and-click interface, the Linux shell is actually more sophisticated. The major elements of the programmer interface include virtual consoles, shell aliases, and shell scripts. Virtual consoles are shell prompts in a non-graphical environment that are accessible from a local machine; they allow programmers to execute shell commands in the absence of the terminal window. Red Hat provides six virtual consoles, which are switchable with a simple keystroke. Only one console is viewable at a single time, but they can be quickly switched on the screen. Virtual consoles can be especially helpful during the install of the original operating system, especially if an error occurs and diagnostics are needed. In that case, the installer displays error messages on virtual consoles, among which a user can switch through using the single keystroke already discussed (McCarty, 2004). Shell aliases in the programmer interface allow advanced users to establish abbreviated command names, to clarify common options for commands, and to set arguments for a specific command. In Red Hat, the default configuration defines several commonly used aliases already, which a user can access once logged in as the root user. “Self-aliased” is a term that refers to an alias that refers to itself. For example, an arbitrary command such as X –i is aliased as simply X. The “-i” suffix refers to confirmation before deleting files, which assists the programmer in preventing accidental data loss while accessing critical data as the root user. All in all, shell aliases are an important feature of the Red Had Linux operating system because they allow programmers to work within their desktop environment relatively quickly, without having to type out long command sequences. In other words, they represent the kind of flexibility one typically desires to see in an operating system that values shell command language. Thirdly, Red Hat has a unique set of shell scripts that allow programmers to interact with their machines in a wide variety of ways. Shell scripts are files that hold sets of commands that will be executed once commanded by the shell. When commands are stored in a shell script, users can conveniently run them repeatedly in order to achieve some outcome. Similar to other programming languages, shell scripts resemble algebraic functions that allow users to refer to a value by name, then to manipulate that value. Unix systems, not just Red Hat, use shell variables as an expedient method of transferring values between commands; likewise, programs make use of a value to modify the conditions upon which they operate. Combining shell scripts, shell aliases, and shell variables, Red Hat users can avoid the limitations of customary GUI features in Red Hat, which offers programmers the simplicity and robustness that is promised by the Red Hat Linux operating system (McCarty, 2004). A number of advantages of Red Hat Linux emerge from these sorts of considerations. First, Red Hat is a company with a range of partners that aims to make the system more user-friendly, which translates into better networks, better hardware support, and better support. The Red Hat operating system features support from Red Hat itself, which is an advantage over other Linux distributions that typically do not offer personal support for issues outside of time-consuming online forums. In addition, for users concerned about Linux compatibility issues, Red Hat offers an office suite, integrated web browser, email client, and photo editor on top of the base operating system. This bundling strategy is an important feature for maintaining working components within a single system, and it is one that seems to differentiate Red Hat even from its fellow Linux distributions (Amprimoz, 2011). Especially for enterprise solutions, Red Hat seems to make more sense than other Linux distributions. Compared to other distributions like Debian and Ubuntu, which focus more on the user-friendly side of the Linux market space, Red Hat is a more established name in large-scale solutions. This is the reason why Red Hat has an advantage in its compatibility with third-party software and an advantage in its training and certification program. While these advantages are products of how people use Red Hat, not in how it is designed, there is a definite impact of popularity on the quality of an operating system. Looking, for example, at Microsoft Windows, which is backed by a financially successful company, support and compatibility are the top advantages of the Windows operating system. Red Hat Linux is a commercially viable operating system for the Red Hat company, and therefore support and compatibility are becoming large selling points for the software. There is, however, something to be said about the stability of the Red Hat distribution being both an advantage and a disadvantage at the same time. Because Red Hat is becoming an increasingly useful tool for enterprise solutions, it is becoming slower at making changes to its newest release. This has begun to change with the development of Fedora, which is a community-based project that has replaced the original Red Hat codebase (Fedora Project, 2011). The Red Hat Linux codebase was always developed and updated from within the Red Hat organization. With Fedora, on the other hand, updates to the mainstream Red Hat operating systems can be contributed by users in a more open-source kind of quality improvement. The result is a product that is both backed by a community of users and developers, along with the Red Hat organization, which has shifted more to emphasizing enterprise solutions. The end result is a system which benefits from a paid support, but also open to the public. The transformation of Red Hat into Fedora quieted the criticism that Red Hat was slow to change by opening up the Fedora system to the public for development. Of course, there are some disadvantages also to be made clear for a comparison between Linux systems like Red Hat and closed-sourced operating systems like Microsoft Windows. While Red Hat promises better hardware and software support compared to other Linux distributions, it is still not perfect. Not all hardware or third-party software finds support on a Red Hat system; however, the compatibility issues can be checked before installing a Linux distribution by using a live disc. Regardless, it is difficult for mainstream users, especially enterprises, to switch to a Linux solution without purchasing support from a company such as Red Hat. Another disadvantage of a Linux operating system such as Red Hat is the re-training that is required. Previously, we reviewed some of the features of shell commands in Linux, which are specialized to operations within that specific context. In addition, some of the point-and-click interface can differ between a Windows PC and a Linux distribution. Maintenance, in particular, is a problematic issue when dealing with a new operating system and is typically, even in the case of Red Hat, something that an inexperienced user should undertake. While maintaining a Linux computer is relatively easy compared to maintaining a version of Microsoft Windows, it is simply different and requires retooling one’s sense of what is involved in the construction of the operating system. Red Hat Linux has certainly been a driving force in the movement toward open source operating systems, and its transition into an enterprise-oriented organization has changed the dynamic of the free software movement. There are clear advantages of Red Hat even above other Linux distributions, but these advantages are accessible both through newer versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux and through Fedora, which is Red Hat’s community-supported project. By looking at some of the features and traits of the Red Hat operating system, the hope is that more people will begin to appreciate its uniqueness not only relative to closed source operating systems, but also to other distributions of Linux. Indeed, the Linux market is filled with products that fulfill either very specific or very general needs from very different sets of users. Red Hat fits within that market by providing a simple and robust code that is backed by a reliable support network. Works Cited Amprimoz, J. (2011, July 5). The Advantages of Red Hat Linux. Retrieved October 11, 2011, from Bright Hub: http://www.brighthub.com/computing/linux/articles/24777.aspx Cunningham & Cunningham, I. (2007, September 5). Operating Systems Design Principles. Retrieved October 10, 2011, from WardsWiki: http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?OperatingSystemsDesignPrinciples Fedora Project. (2011, August 16). What's the difference between Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux? Retrieved October 10, 2011, from Fedora Project Wiki: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/RHEL#What.27s_the_difference_between_Fedora_and_Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux.3F McCarty, B. (2004). Learning Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Fedora (4th ed.). New York: O'Reilly Media. Read More