Red Hat last week continued its appliance assault via a partnership with Symantec.

The companies have crafted a pair of software bundles meant to give Linux customers easier access to high-end security features. Customers can pick from pre-tested packages that included Red Hat Enterprise Linux or the Red Hat Application Stack with Symantec Critical System Protection. As you might expect, the packages are aimed at small- to mid-sized business that could use some help securing their data centers with relative ease.

Symantec's Critical System Protection handles a wide variety of tasks, including protection against zero day exploits and buffer overflow and memory-based attacks. It also automates some security policy procedures.

Since Critical System Protection covers both server and application protection, the companies will sell their new bundles as Secure Server Host and Secure Server Host for Applications. The server bundle, which will run on two-socket systems, covers intrusion protection and detection, while the application bundle, also aimed at two-socket x86 gear, focuses on security policy and compliance.

The bundles will be sold through the "Red Hat on Intel" channel. Red Hat and Symantec will independently handle updates and support for their products, which seems like a bit of a pain.

Last month, Red Hat revealed a similar database bundle with Sybase. The Linux maker has vowed to create more and more pre-packaged appliances. ®

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