The Debian Linux distribution has been certified under the Open Source Development Lab's (OSDL's) Carrier Grade Linux (CGL) specifications. 

The certification indicates that the Linux distribution meets a set of requirements for availability, reliability, performance and the service response times typically required by telecoms providers.

"CGL registration marks an important milestone in Debian's support for Linux in communications infrastructure," said Debian project leader Anthony Towns.

"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 telecoms."

HP has been pushing the CGL registration, and uses Debian on servers for telecoms applications. 

The CGL certification is limited to the Debian 3.1 version, codenamed 'Sarge'. The new release also offers security updates and deploys the 2.6.8 Linux kernel.

There are currently eight Linux distributions that meet the CGL criteria, including SuSE Linux Enterprise Server, MontaVista and Asianux. 

Red Hat does not sign up to the standard because it finds some elements lacking. Compliance is not audited, for instance, forcing users to rely on the distribution's reputation and track record. 

Red Hat claims that its Linux distribution incorporates about 85 per cent of the CGL's requirements, and dismisses the remaining 15 per cent as " immature technologies".