Turbolinux has signed deals under which Hewlett-Packard and Compaq Computer will promote and sell its Linux (news - web sites) server management software, the company plans to announce Wednesday.

Turbolinux got its start selling a version of the Linux operating system, with a stronghold in Japan. However, it's been diversifying into other software, with an emphasis on proprietary products that don't share the open-source qualities of Linux, which may be freely copied, modified and redistributed.

PowerCockpit, introduced in September, is one such proprietary product. It lets administrators control Linux servers remotely, sending out bug fixes or even a completely new operating system and software. The company plans to release a version soon that will control Windows servers as well.

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