Red Hat has unveiled the second release of its enterprise-scale operating platform, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 (RHEL), with enhanced scalability, performance and cross-platform compatibility features.

The new release incorporates a number of improvements to its core open source architecture, including support for common chip-sets, a logical volume manager and enhanced Java support.

Red Hat hopes the release will make it an enterprise-scale alternative to Windows, taking the operating system from the desktop to the data centre.

"We have shifted the emphasis of RHEL 3.0 to fully address enterprise-scale requirements," said Paul Salazar, Red Hat EMEA director of marketing.

"Migrating to it will be easy. And for those considering their first move to a Linux-based operating system it puts a globally focused organisation at their disposal, with a better support infrastructure."

Gary Barnett, principal consultant at Ovum, said that Red Hat had now addressed the total cost of ownership challenges raised by the Microsoft in terms of ease of running and administering the platform.

"Red Hat has made improvements to the overall manageability of its Enterprise Linux operating system.

"RHEL 3.0 contains essentially more of what you'd expect from an enterprise-class operating system. Its future will depend on its uptake by independent software vendors," he said.

Price details will be made available alongside the first RHEL 3.0 shipments in the third week of October.

"Linux is only ever free if your time is worth nothing," said Salazar. "Most businesses are happy to pay to have this type of mission-critical system run under full support. All I will say is that it is unlikely to be much changed from RHEL 2.1 pricing structure."

For Red Hat customers with a full subscription to previous versions, upgrades will be possible at no extra cost, he added.

Salazar distanced Red Hat from the ongoing controversy over whether SCO's claim that its code has been used in Linux. "The main difference between RHEL 3.0 and our competitors' offerings is its completely visible and open architecture.

"We have a legacy of transparency which tells large organisations that Red Hat can be trusted with enterprise infrastructures."

But he declined to comment on whether Red Hat would indemnify customers against the licensing cost implications of an SCO victory.