A recent decision by Lenovo to cut back sales of pre-installed Linux PCs has not altered the company’s commitment to offer operating system choice for its new server products launched this week.

Lenovo’s ThinkServer line of Intel-based tower and rack-mounted servers start at $1365 and are available from October 28 through resellers.

All servers can be pre-loaded with Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, or Novell’s SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 10, Lenovo’s “preferred Linux operating system provider”.

Matthew Steele, director of channel development, workstation and server for Lenovo Asia Pacific and Japan, said the company wants to give customers more choice of operating system. Likewise, its management software is also cross-platform.

“Most customers are choosing Windows Server 2003 right now because it is what they are familiar with,” Steele said, adding customers can install any operating system they like as the servers can be shipped without any disks or software pre-loaded.

Lenovo partnered with LANDesk to develop management software for deployment, updating and management of its server products.

ThinkServer customers also get a 90-day trial of Lenovo’s ThinkPlus Priority Support services during first-time setup.

Lenovo’s management software also extends to client devices.