OSDL delivers guidelines on Linux for datacenters

In a move to accelerate the development and adoption of Linux in datacenters, a global consortium of IT companies known as Open Source Development Labs Inc. (OSDL) has issued a set of technical guidelines for the use of the open source operating system in running mission-critical enterprise applications on server platforms.

The technical document, called Data Center Linux (DCL) Technical Capabilities, defines and prioritizes the Linux capabilities required in datacenters that use mid-tier and high-end multiprocessor servers as platforms for a variety of demanding enterprise applications, OSDL said Thursday.

The industry group hopes the paper will lead to standards that encourage businesses to use Linux for large-scale IT initiatives.

The document defines more than 300 capabilities, in eight major categories: scalability, performance, manageability, clusters, standards, security, usability and reliability/availability/serviceability (RAS). The paper is available on the group’s Web site at www.osdl.org.

OSDL also plans to publish a DCL requirements document for use by Linux distributors, enterprise users and developers of the Linux kernel.

The industry group, made up of such industry heavyweights as Dell Inc., IBM Corp., Intel Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Sun Microsystems Inc., is examining the use of Linux on edge, application and database servers.

Founded as a nonprofit organization in 2000, OSDL operates test facilities in the U.S. and Japan. Last month, the group welcomed its first Chinese member, Beijing Co-Create Open Source Software Co. (Beijing Co-Create). Beijing Co-Create is participating primarily in Linux kernel development and OSDL’s desktop Linux initiative, announced in January. The company, which was launched in April 2001, is a joint venture between 10 Chinese companies.