Carrier Grade Debian

Debian Project Embraces OSDL Carrier Grade Specification

Debian "sarge" release registered as Carrier Grade platform

BEAVERTON, Ore., June 5, 2006   The Open Source Development Labs (OSDL), a
global consortium dedicated to accelerating the adoption of Linux® and open
source software, today announced that the Debian GNU/Linux distribution, with
the help of HP, has successfully registered compliance with the OSDL Carrier
Grade Linux (CGL) 2.0.2 specification.

Debian is one of the leading distributions of the Linux operating system. Its
registration adds more than one thousand developers and tens of thousands of
end users to the CGL community. In addition, the Debian registration gives
telecommunications providers a fully open platform that comes with the
support of one of the strongest Linux communities.

"The Debian-based CGL platform represents an ideal balance between
'roll-your-own' Carrier Grade Linux solutions and available commercial
options," said Bill Weinberg, senior technology analyst, OSDL. "OSDL welcomes
Debian's registration and anticipates it having a strong and positive impact
on CGL adoption. Thanks to the hard work of Debian developers and HP's many
contributions, telecom equipment providers can now also look to a very
complete community-based CGL distribution."  

Debian's CGL registration complements its latest release   Debian GNU/Linux
3.1, codenamed "sarge." The "sarge" release includes security updates and
deploys the 2.6.8 Linux kernel. The Debian CGL implementation is the first
step in plans to build a telco-Debian custom distribution that will tout full
CGL compliance with all primary requirements and the majority of roadmap
items.

"CGL registration marks an important milestone in Debian's support for Linux
in communications infrastructure," said Anthony Towns, Debian project leader.
"With the assistance of our industry partners in meeting OSDL's CGL
specifications, we look forward to better addressing the needs of the
increasing market for Linux systems in telecommunications."

"For a number of years HP has used Debian to deliver fully-supported Linux
solutions  as an essential piece to the telecommunications infrastructure,"
said Steve Geary, director, research and development, Open Source and Linux
Organization, HP. "This was a strategic decision from HP to use Debian in its
own customer deployments, and now these key solutions will be available to a
larger audience through the OSDL CGL offering, providing greater confidence
in today's global communications networks."

HP is leading the CGL effort within the Debian community by registering the
current Debian "sarge" and founding the Debian-CGL subproject.  HP employs a
significant number of Debian developers, focused on CGL and other related
activities.

Linux adoption in telecommunications infrastructure is on the rise, according
to Venture Development Corporation (VDC). More telecommunications providers
than ever before are seeing the benefits of using Linux and other open source
solutions to drive down costs and increase scalability and reliability.
According to VDC, Linux is expected run 30 percent of voice and data
communications equipment applications worldwide b y 2010. 

OSDL at GLOBALCOMM
OSDL will be at GLOBALCOMM 2006 June 5-7 in Chicago in booth# 13048. It will
co-host an Interop Panel at the booth on June 5 at 2 p.m. with the
Communications Platforms Trade Association (CP-TA), PICMG, SA Forum and SCOPE
Alliance. 

About Debian
The Debian Project is an organization of more than one thousand Free Software
developers from all over the world who volunteer their time and effort in
order to produce the completely free operating system Debian GNU/Linux.
Debian's dedication to Free Software, its non-profit nature, and its open
development model make it unique.

About Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) 
OSDL   sponsor of Linus Torvalds, the creator of the Linux kernel - is
dedicated to accelerating the growth and adoption of Linux-based operating
systems in the enterprise. Founded in 2000 and supported by a global
consortium of major Linux customers and IT industry leaders, OSDL is a
nonprofit organization that provides state-of-the-art computing and test
facilities available to developers around the world. With offices in China,
Europe, Japan and the United States, OSDL sponsors legal and development
projects to advance open source software as well as initiatives for Linux
systems in telecommunications, in the data center and on enterprise desktops.
Visit OSDL on the Web at http://www.osdl.org/.

OSDL is a trademark of Open Source Development Labs, Inc. Linux is a
trademark of Linus Torvalds. Third party marks and brands are the property of
their respective holders.
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