Global demand for Linux servers reached record levels in the last quarter of 2005 to account for $1.6bn in quarterly revenue, the 14th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth, IDC reported today.

The analyst firm's latest Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker noted that the stellar market performance of Linux servers was marked by year-over-year revenue growth of 20.8 per cent.

Linux server revenues for the full year were $5.7bn, putting it in third place for the first time from an operating system perspective.

The report said that this rapid growth is due to businesses expanding the role of Linux servers and using the operating system for a wider array of commercial and technical workloads.

The Windows server market continued to show solid growth, with factory revenues increasing by 4.7 per cent year over year.

Overall, Windows servers accounted for sales of $4.9bn in the fourth quarter of 2005, representing 33.6 per cent of quarterly server market revenue.

Windows server revenues for all of 2005 were $17.7bn, which means that for the first time the Windows server segment modestly exceeded spending for Unix servers as customers deployed more fully configured Windows servers in support of scalable enterprise workloads and server virtualisation projects.