Intel Links To Linux For Merced

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March 02, 1999 (12:00 AM EST)

By Marcia Savage ,

Intel and VA Research announced an agreement to port the Linux operating system to Intel's 64-bit architecture.

VA Research, in Mountain View, Calif., will deliver the optimized port in mid-2000, the same time as systems based on Intel's upcoming Merced processor are available. Merced is the first chip in the IA-64 architecture for high-end servers and workstations.

"We look forward to working with VA Research on the development of Linux for the IA-64 product family and further extending industry commitment to the Merced processor," said Ron Curry, Intel IA-64 product marketing director, in a prepared statement.

"Linux complements the existing portfolio of operating systems, providing an additional choice for the user of high-end systems based on Merced," he said. The companies also announced that Intel is an investor in VA Research.

The Linux-related investment is another in a series of Intel investments in companies that offer competing operating systems to Microsoft's. Last fall, Intel invested in Linux software developer Red Hat Software as well as the BeOS, another alternative operating system.

Intel is working with Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, and others to provide operating systems for IA-64. Analysts have said Intel is interested in ensuring that its architecture is pervasive, no matter what operating system is used.

In its announcement, Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel also said Hewlett-Packard and Silicon Graphics are working on Linux development for IA-64. HP will contribute operating system kernel expertise and system-optimization technologies, and Silicon Graphics will provide operating system and compiler technologies.