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By Joey Gardiner, 9 January 2001 18:00

NEWS Oracle will offer its 9i Application Server on Linux 2.4 with immediate availability. The announcement follows last week's news that the latest version of the Linux kernel - the basis of the operating system - is now complete. In contrast to most corporate IT announcements, last week's release received no fanfare from the industry. It was instead revealed in an email from Linux originator Linus Torvalds to the Linux developer community. Linux kernel 2.4 had promised a number of improvements to make the operating system (OS) better suited to adoption by large enterprises, key for its continued growth. The 2.4 kernel, now almost a year overdue, should offer improved desktop features, better performance, and automatic compatibility with Intel's new 64-bit chip architecture. Analysts say that with just a few days since release, it is still too early to say whether the long-delayed upgrade has lived up to its billing. However, commentators are confident the release will show improvements. Dr. Malcolm Beattie, Unix system programmer for Oxford University Computing Services, said the real move forward for the new OS kernel will be in performance, due to the cleaning up of the code that has taken place. He said: "The focus has been on developing it right, not on adding the latest fashionable pieces of functionality. As a result, it should be easier to develop on, better at coping with future changes and quicker to use. As much code has been taken out as has been put in." For Tony Lock, senior analyst at Bloor Research, the great benefit is the new kernel's improved scalability on large, multi-processor servers. He said: "Linux's inability to scale much beyond four processors has really left it out of the enterprise arena up until now. This now moves it there." However, he added that the biggest issue influencing adoption by large enterprises is still whether the releases are properly supported.