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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5

Compare desktops

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop client products are available on an annual per-system Basic subscription basis.

Every Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop subscription includes three Red Hat Network modules, Update, Management and Provisioning, which greatly simplify large scale client deployments.

Additionally, two options are available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop that provide additional features: Workstation and Multi-OS.

Common uses

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop

A general purpose client solution suitable for desktop and laptop systems, offering a comprehensive suite of personal productivity applications such as OpenOffice, Firefox browser, and Evolution email client.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop with Multi-OS option

Provides virtualization capabilities with the ability to host up to 4 guest operating environments.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop with Workstation option

Provides support for larger client systems. Ideal for high end desktop applications, such as engineering, CAD/CAM, etc. Includes the full suite of Red Hat Enterprise Linux server applications for use in workgroup environments. Equivalent to earlier WS products. Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop systems configured with the Workstation option are also available with Standard support.

Subscription features

Basic subscription (per system)

  • Web-based comprehensive support [2]
  • 2 business day response
  • Unlimited incidents
  • Red Hat Network Update, Management, & Provisioning modules[4]

Comparison table

Product Features (general)
  • Download ISOs: OS, source, and documentation ISO images
  • Covered under the Open Source Assurance program
  • Includes Red Hat Network Update, Management and Provisioning modules
  • Product Updates and Upgrades
  • Installation and documentation media kit - DVDs only (Optional purchase)
  • Supports X86 32-bit and 64-bit systems
  • Includes full suite of desktop and personal productivity applications
  • Supported by leading ISV applications
  • Certified on leading OEM hardware
Product Features (option specific)
Options None Multi OS Workstation Workstation with Multi OS
Maximum CPU processor sockets supported [3] 1 1 2 2
Maximum memory supported 4GB 4GB Unlimited Unlimited
Includes virtualization support No Yes - up to 4 guests No Yes
Includes open source server applications (e.g. Apache, Samba, NFS), supported for use on personal clients for testing and development purposes or to share data with peers. [2] No No Yes Yes
Includes the Red Hat Enterprise Linux software development stack No No Yes Yes
Pricing
Price per system per year - Basic support $80 $120 $179 $219
Price per system per year - Standard support (Workstation only) N/A N/A $299 $339

Notes

[1] USA: Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. (EST), Global: Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (EST). For detailed information on included support and service levels, see the Service Level Agreements.

[2] The Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop Subscriptions only cover personal clients systems. A client system's primary purpose is to run applications and provide services to a single user at a time, typically working from a directly connected keyboard and display.

[3] A CPU processor socket refers to a physical processor connection point in a desktop system. A socket may contain a multi-core and/or hyperthreading processor (CPU). Note that the socket capacity refers to the maximum number of processors that the desktop system can be configured with, not the actual number. Consequently a desktop system can be upgraded with additional processors with no change in subscription.

[4] Red Hat Network Update Module, a service that provides access to an intuitive graphical interface for managing system updates and errata, priority errata email notifications, dependency checking, and optional auto-update.

All Red Hat Enterprise Linux products are based on the same core kernel, libraries, and utilities, and also share the same major package sets. However, because they address different use case scenarios, there are some differences between family members in terms of their server package sets.

Packages that are not part of the core Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop or only available with very limited functionality required for runtime support include the software development stack, Emacs and Eclipse as well as typical server packages like amanda-server, arptables_jf, bind, caching-nameserver, dhcp, freeradius, inews, inn, krb5-server, netdump-server, openldap-servers, pxe, quagga, radvd, rarpd, redhat-config-bind, redhat-config-netboot, tftp-server, tux, vsftpd, and ypserv.