HP xw4550 Frequently Asked Questions Manual page 9

Where can I find technical
information to guide my
installation, configuring, or
customizing of my Linux
workstation solution?
Why is HP enabling the Red
Hat distribution?
Will Linux distributions other
than Red Hat work on HP
Workstations?
What is HP's Linux strategy in
the future?
What does the future hold for
HP and Linux?
Why doesn't HP offer a dual
boot with Windows and Linux?
What version of Red Hat Linux
supports 64-bit?
Are there other 64-bit
distributions of Linux that will
work on the HP Workstations?
Can I run 32-bit apps on a
64-bit Linux OS? How does
this work?
At www.hp.com/support/linux_user_manual under "setup, install, and configure" you will find multiple white papers on
Linux configuration tips such as enabling large memory configurations, hyper threading, multi-headed graphics
configurations, and release notes for each Red Hat Enterprise Linux Update.
HP has a strategic corporate relationship with Red Hat resulting in Red Hat solutions across all of HP product lines. As well,
Red Hat has a market presence that results in customer demand for this distribution. The ISV's of importance to the Linux
workstation market are certified on Red Hat Enterprise Linux as well.
Most likely they will work. However HP warranty support is only available for the Red Hat distribution. In addition HP has
reviewed the performance, functionality, and reliability of the Red Hat distribution on the hardware platform and made
any required adjustments.
At www.hp.com/support/linux_hardware_matrix you can find a detailed hardware support matrix that is kept up to date
every month with the latest support information for hardware platforms and their components.
HP workstations are continually evaluating market trends along with customer requirements to determine solutions that best
meet customer needs. HP's corporate strategy is strategic relationships with both Red Hat and Novell/SUSE and many of
HP's products offer both Red Hat and SuSE distributions.
HP simplifies the integration of open source and Linux! Our solutions are built with best-of-breed software from our
industry leading partners, complemented by HP value-add in areas like management and high availability clustering,
implemented on market-leading standards-based platforms, and supported by HP Services worldwide.
Known for its performance, scalability, reliability and low cost, Linux is proving to be the answer for workstation
environments that were in the past traditionally a proprietary UNIX infrastructure. Such markets as Digital Content
Creation (DCC), oil and gas, EDA, MCAD, and software development areas are adopting and using Linux in
their infrastructures.
HP cannot offer dual boots due to licensing agreements.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS4 (RHEL WS4) has both a 32-bit version and a 64-bit version. HP will preinstall the 64-bit
version of RHEL WS4 and will also support the 32 and 64-bit versions with a Driver CD in the HP Installer Kit for Linux.
It is very likely that other Linux distributions will work. However Red Hat Enterprise Linux is the distribution HP is choosing
to do a full engineering evaluation and support for our customers.
Yes, you can run 32-bit apps on 64-bit Linux OS as the runtime support (mainly shared libraries) for the application exists
on the system. The Linux convention for having 32-bit libraries and 64-bit libraries on the same OS is to have companion
library directories. The 32-bit libraries are in the conventional locations.... /lib, /usr/lib, /usr/X1 1R6/lib, etc whereas
64-bit libraries just append 64 to the directory name such as /lib64, /usr/lib64, and /usr/X1 1R6/lib64. This also
includes 32-bit versions of the graphics libraries which HP has included from the graphics vendors.
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