Red Hat returns to developer roots

Red Hat will release a set of certification and testing tools under an open source licence

Red Hat has unveiled a series initiatives to further push adoption of open source applications and content. 

The company promised at its Red Hat Summit in Nashville to release a set of internally developed Red Hat certification and testing tools under an open source licence that will enable enterprises to more quickly test and certify software for IT networks. 

The need for such applications is the direct result of the increased appeal of open source, argued Red Hat chief executive Matthew Szulik.

"Much about Linux and open source software has focused on the cost of acquisition," Szulik said in a press meeting. "The market is now moving to certification and testing tools."

Red Hat has released its Dogtail testing tool under a GPL licence and the application will be part of the upcoming, but as yet unnamed, offering. 

The Linux vendor performs daily tests to ensure compatibility of its Linux distribution with third-party software.

Enterprises have similar needs for internally developed applications or for changes made to the Linux operating system, but currently have to rely on commercial testing tools from vendors such as Mercury Interactive. 

Red Hat plans to submit the project to the Fedora board and will name it at a later stage. The company has not yet determined whether it will turn the project into a commercial service where it charges for support.

Szulik also unveiled the Red Hat 108 community website, where the company hopes to engage in conversations with partners and developers about open source projects. 

The vendor gets a lot of questions about its views on the Xen virtualization technology, for instance, which is being built into the forthcoming version of its operating system.

The 108 website will offer a single place for the company to publish its views on how the technology will affect other areas of open source.

Red Hat also introduced the Mugshot social entertainment application and website. The service combines elements such as social bookmarking and instant messaging to create online entertainment communities that allow users to explore new content. 

The service is available as a limited beta and accounts are currently handed out by invitation only. The software runs on Linux and Windows.

Although social entertainment services targeting consumers is not a core business for Red Hat, the company hopes that Mugshot will expose mainstream consumers to open source software and raise the overall profile of the open source movement.

The new products all indicate a trend towards increased openness and transparency, Szulik told delegates in his opening keynote.

"At the youngest of ages, we see this tremendous thirst and appetite for transparency," he said, adding that he sees it as Red Hat's goal to promote such transparency.

"This is what you should expect from a modern enterprise as you think less about brand and more about reputation capital," he said.