UK misses out in HP-Mandrakesoft tie-up

HP is to support the Mandrakesoft Linux distribution on server products for the first time, but only for customers in France.

HP will not pre-install the operating system on its products, but is helping the Linux distributor achieve certification for each platform. Server products pre-installed with Mandrake Linux will be offered by HP resellers.

The company already offers the Mandrake Linux distribution on a number of desktop products, but is extending this support to the server line due to demand from the French public sector, said Eva Beck, HP's Linux Business Manager in Europe.

"Our general strategy is to support only two distributions -- Red Hat and SuSE," said Beck. "This decision was driven by demand from the public sector market in France."

Beck said HP has no plans to support Mandrakesoft on the server outside France, due to the costs of supporting more than two distributions.