Linux
It is widely
recognized that the open source movement and Linux
has forever changed the landscape of the IT industry. In a
very short time, Linux has become one of the fastest
growing operating systems in the IT industry. If you are a
business executive concerned with how your company can
reduce IT costs or improve efficiency and security, you are
probably considering Linux and what role it will play in
your company.
For example:
In 1999, IBM helped CBS Sportsline move its pga.com golf
website from a Windows system to Linux. The site functioned
so well that last year the sports information provider
rolled out Linux to the rest of its online
properties, buying 375 servers from IBM to handle the task.
Click here for an in-depth comparison of Linux vs.
Windows Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
Call INFINETWORK
to discuss the Benefits, Myths and TCO of utilizing the
Linux operating system in your organization today.
Benefits
Hardware:
Greater Variety, Better Efficiencies
One of Linux' greatest strengths is that it runs on a
wide range of hardware, from mainframe computers to laptops
and PDAs. Linux distributions are available from or
are supported by most of the major hardware manufacturers
including Dell, HP, IBM, Sun and others. This makes it
easier to select the type of hardware that is most
appropriate to support the business application.
Further, as
Linux is relatively efficient in its use of hardware
resources, organizations often find they can support more
users with less hardware. And, since Linux runs on
both Intel* and RISC*-based hardware, organizations can
realize significant savings by running Linux on the
less expensive Intel-based hardware. At the very least, the
same number of users can be supported on the less expensive
hardware. One result of this increased efficiency is that
companies can and do deploy Linux on older machines,
reducing capital expenditures for new hardware. Switching to
Linux reduces the necessity of always having the
"latest and greatest," allowing IT assets a longer useful
service life.
Software:
Reduced Costs
Linux as open source is free; as a bundled
distribution, its costs range from USD $50-1,500. However,
since many commercial distributions of Linux have no
per seat or per CPU charges, a company can purchase a single
copy and then install it on all their machines, resulting in
a substantial cost savings over other operating systems
(OS).
Availability & Scalability: Increased Uptime, Easier Scaling
Many enterprises select Linux because of its
reputation for stability. Linux system uptime is
often measured in years rather than days or weeks. For
example, Windows based computers generally have to be
completely shut down and restarted to install a patch or
upgrade. Patching or upgrading Linux, on the other
hand, generally only requires starting and stopping a single
process, which allows the computer to continue supporting
the enterprise while it is being worked on. Some Linux
systems support more than two (2) processors in the same
machine. Linux can also scale through cluster-based
computing, where multiple individual computers are linked
together to form a larger, more powerful computer or storage
complex. Thus, even if a single computer has to be shut down
and restarted, it does not disable the entire cluster.
Operations: Lower Costs, Better Efficiencies
In a study examining the cost of ownership for Linux
Web servers, the Robert Frances Group found that not only
are the average salaries for Linux system operators
lower than those of operators with expertise in proprietary
operating systems, but the nature of Linux is such
that they each can support more machines per operator.
The fact
that the same image can run on a variety of hardware
platforms reduces the cost of training system operators and
support personnel because they support fewer distinct
operating environments.
Development Resources: Plentiful and Experienced
The open source community consists of thousands of
experienced developers collaborating on hundreds of
different projects. The distributed nature of the community
and the diversity of projects make it much easier to locate
and leverage development expertise. With open source,
companies find that they are not held hostage to development
resources with scarce proprietary knowledge.
Companies
deploying Linux benefit from the combined efforts of the
open source community. Under specific guidance from Linux
experts, the open source community is continually improving
the Linux kernel, as well as other open source software, at
little or no incremental cost to the end user organization.
Applications: Compatible and Growing
Large numbers of applications (such as Ximian Evolution®)
are immediately available for use with Linux from
both the open source community and independent software
vendors. Open source solutions (such as StarOffice and
OpenOffice) have been constructed to be completely
compatible with comparable proprietary products (like
Microsoft Office).
Leading
Independent Software Vendors such as BEA, Computer
Associates, IBM, Novell, Oracle, PeopleSoft, SAP and Sybase
have ported (or made the commitment to convert) their
applications, middleware and databases to Linux.
Obsolescence: Protection Against
Businesses implementing Linux are not at the mercy of
a vendor's business plan. Discontinued products are no
longer a cause for alarm, since the product doesn't go away.
Upgrades can be delayed to meet your needs and the vendor
does not control your support options. Additionally, the
vendor's financial state does not put your company at risk.
Even if a vendor's business fails, it does not cripple you.
Vendors:
Independence and Flexibility
Open Source is not tied to a single hardware platform.
Software is not tightly bundled and vendors can be replaced,
because multiple vendors have access to the same source
code.
Myths
Support:
Lack of Credible Support Organization
One of the key issues inhibiting widespread adoption of
Linux and open source by many corporate IT managers is the
perception they will not have access to a credible support
organization to back up their IT workers 7/24/365.
Today's
reality is that enterprise-level support services that
address the totality of an organization's Linux
concerns are available from both the large system platform
vendors (such as IBM and HP), as well as infrastructure
solution companies like INFINETWORK.
Application Maturity: Few Products for Enterprise
Environments
Although Linux has been available for over 10 years, it has
only been widely accepted as ready for enterprise
environments in the last couple of years. Consequently, the
list of products and applications that are available on
Linux, while growing rapidly, is still relatively small
when compared with proprietary operating systems such as
UNIX or Windows.
Critical
services such as server provisioning, e-mail and
collaboration tools, enterprise directories and file and
print are available from a variety of sources, including the
open source community.
Cross-Vendor
Consistency: Disparate, Inconsistent Versions
Some industry observers have expressed concern that Linux
may follow the UNIX path of vendor fragmentation, with
disparate, inconsistent versions of the software being
released by different vendors.
The fact
that the open source community controls the "gold standard"
for Linux means that it is unlikely Linux will break
up into multiple, incompatible fiefdoms, because companies
will always have the choice to obtain the Linux
kernel directly from the open source community or from a
commercial distribution. The industry's focus on openness
and standards gives commercial vendors a strong incentive to
adhere to the standard and deliver compatible
value-added software and services for Linux.
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