Understanding Linux

Linux^® is an open source operating system (OS) and IT infrastructure platform. It was originally conceived of and created as a hobby by Linus Torvalds in 1991. Linus, while at university, sought to create an alternative, free, open source version of the MINIX operating system, which was itself based on the principles and design of Unix. That hobby has since become the OS with the largest user base, the most-used OS on publicly available internet servers, and the only OS used on the top 500 fastest supercomputers.

Perhaps the best thing about Linux is that it's open source. Linux is released under the GNU General Public License (GPL). That means that anyone can run, study, share, and modify the software. The modified code can also be redistributed, and even sold, but must be done so under the same license. This differs greatly from traditional operating systems—Unix and Windows, for example—which are proprietary, locked-down, and delivered as-is and unmodifiable.

Red Hat initially saw success supporting a custom distribution of Linux, then named “Red Hat^® Linux.” The growth and reliability of Red Hat Linux made the two synonymous in many people’s minds. Since those early days, Red Hat’s solutions and technologies have built on this success to include nearly all aspects of the IT stack.

Red Hat curates, secures, and supports a Linux distribution—now known as Red Hat Enterprise Linux, a change that took place in 2003 as a result of merging with the Fedora Linux Project. Today, Red Hat Enterprise Linux supports and powers software and technologies for automation, cloud, containers, middleware, storage, application development, microservices, virtualization, management, and more.

Linux plays a major role as the core of many of Red Hat’s offerings. It’s far beyond simply being an operating systems for servers—Linux is the foundation for the modern IT stack.

Security isn’t something that you can simply deploy and forget. It must be an integrated part of any business—and any deployment strategy.

The best security is layered

Security isn’t a feature. Security is holistic. When it comes to IT security, the operating system plays a part in a larger story that goes from physical hardware to the people with access to that hardware as well as the applications deployed on the hardware. The broader view of security also takes into account risk management, compliance, and governance. Securing one aspect doesn’t mean everything is secure—you have to address all parts.

Because Linux is modular its security can be more easily managed. Each piece that makes up the Linux operating system has the ability to be audited, monitored, and secured. Linux has built-in tools and modules—like SELinux—to help further lock down, monitor, report, and remedy security issues. There’s also a concerted effort within Linux to separate the user space from the kernel space, meaning that the processes running throughout the system aren’t all necessarily available to users (depending on role privileges) and, likewise, the user processes aren’t available to the system as a whole. This is the key concept and enabler for technologies like containers and virtualization—which require distinct, separated, and secure workloads and permissions.

Of course there’s no such thing as a perfectly secure operating system, but there are steps you can take—and advantages that Linux offers—to get closer to being secure.

Red Hat is one of the leading contributors to the Linux kernel and associated technologies in the greater open source community. Red Hat engineers help improve features, reliability, and security to make sure your infrastructure performs and remains stable—no matter your use case and workload. We offer a robust Linux training curriculum developed by our support team and field personnel, giving you guidance to make the most of your platform.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux powers the applications that run your business with the control, confidence, and freedom that comes from a consistent foundation across hybrid cloud deployments. With thousands of certified hardware, software, and cloud solutions, Red Hat is the world's leading provider of open source, enterprise IT solutions and is trusted by 90% of the Fortune 500.