The Itanium Solutions Alliance, in collaboration with Red Hat has announced that in the upcoming release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 5.1 (RHEL), integrated software virtualisation will be supported and optimised for Itanium 2-based systems. This release broadens Itanium-based solutions in the marketplace.

"Itanium Solutions Alliance founding sponsors worked with Red Hat to test, validate and optimise this fully integrated virtualisation solution. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.1 provides customers with the maximum choice among enterprise systems when deploying open source applications on Itanium," said Scott Crenshaw, vice president of product marketing at Red Hat.

"The Itanium Solutions Alliance is pleased to have the opportunity to coordinate efforts with Red Hat to expand software solutions for Itanium-based systems and contribute to the growth of the Independent Software Vendor ecosystem," said Yoichi Murakami, Fujitsu Limited, chairman of the Itanium Solutions Alliance Enabling Committee.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.1 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux Advanced Platform 5.1 for Itanium systems are scheduled for availability in Q4CY07.