IBM customers can now buy their POWER servers with Red Hat Linux Enterprise Linux v.3 already pre-loaded.

Red Hat says the deal is significant for the company, as it marks the first big Linux distro to appear as an optional pre-load for the POWER platform.

Red Hat Linux will be available all the way from entry level 1-2 way POWER4+ systems to the high-end 32-way POWER4+ systems, taking in the POWER-based, IBM eServer BladeCenter along the way.

IBM has resold Red Hat Linux to enterprise customers since 2001. This month it joined HP in supporting Red Hat's whirlwind tour of seven cities in three continents to "meet, educate, and present to customers and users around the world". ®