Firewall Server

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Mar. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- (http://www.oracle.com/tellmemore/?134934) Red Hat®, Inc. (Nasdaq: RHAT - news), the leading provider of open source solutions, and Oracle Corporation (Nasdaq: ORCL - news), the largest provider of software for e-business, today announced the availability of the Red Hat Linux Enterprise Edition product line that has been optimized for Oracle8i to support high-volume e-business and enterprise applications. Red Hat Linux Enterprise Edition for Oracle8i will be available within 30 days through Compaq's and Red Hat's value-added distribution channels, including Keylink/Pioneer and Hallmark/AVNet.

Red Hat Linux Enterprise Edition for Oracle delivers on Red Hat's commitment to provide reliable, scalable and highly available open source solutions in the enterprise environment. Red Hat Linux Enterprise Edition for Oracle offers performance and usability improvements for enterprise-class database operations.

Performance and Usability Enhancements

    -- Raw I/O:  Supports direct access to disks to increase Oracle disk
       throughput, resulting in faster database access and decreased memory
       pressure for more efficient use of memory.
    -- Large Memory:  Increases physical RAM used to 4 GB.
    -- 64-bit file I/O:  Allows access to files greater than 2 GB in size,
       enabling scalable database production servers.
    -- Integrated Java Run-time Environment (JRE):  Allows efficient
       configuration of Oracle database systems from Linux desktop using
       Oracle's Java configuration tools.
    -- Motif 2.1:  Provides GUI libraries for Oracle development and
       administrative tools.

``Red Hat Linux Enterprise Edition for Oracle is a clear indication of Linux's ascension into the most business-critical applications in the enterprise,'' said Paul McNamara, general manager, Enterprise Business Unit, Red Hat. ``As we continue to develop innovations with leaders such as Oracle, we will seek to meet the growing demand for Linux in enterprise applications.''

``Once again Red Hat has delivered improved Linux database performance to the growing number of corporate enterprises that demand the performance of Oracle8i and the reliability of Red Hat Linux,'' said Michael Rocha, senior vice president, Platform Technologies Division, Oracle. ``Demanding e-business environments need the scalability and wider data access made possible by this new enterprise offering from Red Hat.''

``Customers are assured of successful system deployment when leading industry players combine to provide value through integration,'' said Ray Villareal, vice president and general manager, Enterprise Solutions and Services Group, Compaq Computer Corporation. ``Certified and supported solutions from Compaq, Red Hat and Oracle mean that Linux customers can now implement their e-business solutions at the lowest cost with minimum risk.''

Red Hat Linux Enterprise Edition for Oracle includes enterprise incident-based support and an annual maintenance subscription to ensure that production servers are fully and consistently supported by Red Hat.

Pricing and Availability

The Red Hat Linux Enterprise Edition product line is a collaborative effort between Red Hat and industry leading application providers designed to deliver optimized solutions, incorporating support and simplified configuration of well-known enterprise and Internet applications, to enterprise customers. Red Hat and its partners then work together to produce a tested, integrated and configured enterprise solution that assures maximum reliability, performance and availability. In keeping with its commitment to open source and the open source development community, Red Hat will continue to freely share all modifications to the Linux OS with the open source community under public licenses.

Red Hat Linux Enterprise Edition which has been optimized for Oracle8i will be available within 30 days through Compaq's and Red Hat's value-added distribution channels, including Keylink/Pioneer (www.keylink.pios.com) and Hallmark/AVNet (www.hallmark.avnet.com). Available in the U.S. and internationally, the enterprise edition can be purchased through value-added distribution channels and can be ordered directly from www.redhat.com.

Open Source Momentum

International Data Corp. (IDC) research states that Linux-based operating systems were the fastest-growing server operating environment in 1998, growing more than 190 percent in that year alone and capturing more than 15.8 percent of the 4.4 million revenue shipment server operating environment market. Red Hat's numerous alliances with industry leaders and the demand for Linux-based applications has created open source support from many of the industry's leading software and hardware manufacturers, including Compaq®, Computer Associates, Corel, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, Netscape, Novell, Oracle® and SAP®. Red Hat Linux runs on Intel, Alpha and Sun SPARC platforms.

About Oracle Corporation

Oracle Corporation provides the software that powers the Internet. For more information about Oracle, please call Oracle Public Relations at 650-506-4176.

About Red Hat, Inc.

Founded in 1994, Red Hat is the market leader in open source operating system (OS) software and services. Red Hat offers open source solutions ranging from Internet servers to e-commerce and handheld devices. Along with its award-winning open source Red Hat Linux OS, Red Hat offers a full line of services, including telephone support, on-site consulting, developer training, certification programs and priority access updates, making Red Hat a leading and complete resource for knowledgeable, innovative, mission-critical open source solutions.

Red Hat shares all of its software innovations freely with the open source community under the GNU General Public License (GPL). The Official Red Hat Linux OS and related services are available directly from the company and through its partner, distributor and reseller programs, which include top PC and server manufacturers such as Compaq, Dell, Gateway, IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Silicon Graphics.

Red Hat and the Official Red Hat Linux OS have received industry praise. Recent accolades include: Red Herring's Top 100 Companies of the Electronic Economy, Upside's Hot 100 Companies, Network World's 10 Companies to Watch, Federal Computer Week's Government Best Buy, Software Development's Jolt Award and InfoWorld's Product of the Year for four years in a row. Red Hat was also voted a ``Linux World Favorite'' by the attendees of the two most recent Linux World Expos, winning Best Server Distribution at the August show.

Red Hat is based in Research Triangle Park, N.C. and has offices worldwide. Visit Red Hat on the Web at www.redhat.com. For investor inquiries, please contact Lippert/Heilshorn at 212-838-3777.

Trademarks

LINUX is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. RED HAT is a registered trademark of Red Hat, Inc. Oracle is a registered trademark and Oracle8i is a trademark or registered trademark of Oracle Corporation. All other names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Forward-looking statements in this press release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Investors are cautioned that statements in this press release that are not strictly historical statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding current or future financial performance, management's plans and objectives for future operations, product plans and performance, management's assessment of market factors, and statements regarding the strategy and plans of Red Hat and its strategic partners, constitute forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks associated with international operations and overseas expansion, Red Hat's dependence upon an open source business model, management of growth, reliance upon strategic relationships, expansion of Red Hat's business focus and operations to offer increased and enhanced services, the possibility of undetected software errors, the enforceability of the GNU General Public License and other licenses under which Red Hat's products are developed and licensed, the scarcity of Linux-based applications, the ability to attract and retain enterprise customers, and in Red Hat's industry specifically, the risks associated with competition and competitive pricing pressures, the viability of the Internet, year 2000 compliance efforts of Red Hat and of third parties on which Red Hat depends, and other risks detailed in Red Hat's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which may be accessed through the SEC's web site at http://www.sec.gov.