Linux

Contents

• What is Linux? - Comparison to Windows NT/2000.
• Software
• Who Owns Linux
• Where Did Linux Come From?
• What is a Linux Distribution?
• Should Your Business Use Linux?
• Who Can't Use Linux?
• How are Other Companies Using Linux?

What is Linux?

• Both are available in workstation and server configurations.
• Both are marketed to business rather than consumers.
• Both offer "point and click" graphic desktop user interfaces.
• Both are most often run on Intel x86 based computers (PCs).
• Both have a very wide range of available software
• Neither is much of a game platform.
• Both are far more capable, stable and secure than Windows95/98/Me.
• Both have a strong presence on the Internet.
• Both make good departmental servers, but have scalability limitations.
• Both want to be Unix when they grow up.

• Lineage - Windows NT is descended from an early (and incomplete) version of OS/2, a single user multi-tasking operating system IBM intended to replace DOS, and incorporates the GUI (Graphic User Interface) from the DOS based Windows95. NT didn't scale, didn't perform and wasn't stable, so a major rewrite was done to produce Windows 2000.

  Linux is a variety of Unix, a multi-user multi-tasking networked operating system derived from Multics, a multi-computer multi-user multi-tasking networked operating system developed in 1965 and used until 10-30-2000. Unix was first distributed in 1970 and has been in continuous development in both commercial and academic environments for over 30 years.

• Software - Windows NT/2000 computers will run just about all the new software titles you read about in the magazines (except many games). Windows 2000 is, however very poor at running older DOS and Windows 3.1 programs.

  Linux has a huge amount of excellent software available, much of it fully as capable as equivalent Windows titles, but they are not the titles you read about in magazines. See our separate Software section below.

  Linux runs DOS programs quite well, and can now be outfitted to run most Windows business titles, including Microsoft Office, but will not run Windows games (no Direct-X support) or viruses.

• User Interface - Windows NT/2000 comes with the Windows95 GUI (Graphic User Interface) with which most people are quite familiar.

  There are two major GUIs for Linux, KDE and GNOME, and at least a dozen minor ones. Business oriented distributions generally default to KDE (K Desktop), which is similar to the Windows GUI. Linux is much more flexible and customizable than Windows because the GUI itself is separate from the underlying graphic engine (X).

  You can see how people are configuring their desktops through our Screenshots page.

  Linux also has a command line (text) user interface. While it looks to the user much like the DOS window provided by Windows, it is far more powerful. The GUI doesn't have to be launched to use it, and all administrative tasks can be done from the command prompt. This allows complete administration of Linux computers remotely over slow phone lines.

  While Windows has a single console (the one that runs the GUI), Linux is multi-console. You can have the GUI up on one console, and text applications and command line sessions up on a couple of others - and hot-key among them. The GUI itself offers four separately configurable desktops, but most people use only one.

  Servers are usually configured not to load a GUI at all, since all administration can be done in text mode. This allows Linux to achieve high performance on lower cost computers than is possible with NT/2000.

• Cost - Bill Gates and his billionairs got very, very rich selling Windows and Windows software for a lot of money. You can get Linux on CD-ROM for $3, and you can get Linux and all the office software you probably need for about $49 a person.

  Microsoft's defense: "The initial cost is just a small fraction of the total cost of an operating system". This is certainly true, but those continuing support costs are precisely where Linux tends to save the most money.

  Linux can be compared to Novell NetWare (though we consider Linux easier to administer). Companies transitioning from NetWare to Windows NT found they could get by with less skilled support staff, but needed about three times as many people - and about three times as many servers too. Here's an interesting story (and, it's true).

• Stability - While Windows 2000 is a vast improvement over NT in crash resistance, running months instead of weeks without a crash, Linux can run for years. We don't see many Linux boxes with over a year of uptime simply because Linux is evolving rapidly. Most Linux servers are brought down every year or so for a kernel update.

• Performance - Windows NT/2000 provides somewhat higher performance on very high end computers ($50,000 and up), while Linux provides much higher performance on more modest computers, and will run usefully on computers NT/2000 won't even install on.

• Administration - Linux is a "lights out" operating system, Windows is most definitely not. A Linux server can easily be managed from half way around the world over a phone line or over the Internet. Remote administration of an NT/2000 server is slow and only partial, and requires third party tools like PC Anywhere or NetOp.

  A Linux server doesn't even need a keyboard or monitor, but a Windows server is useless without them. We administer a number of Linux servers for our clients, working from our OS/2 workstations using a 56K modem.

  Microsoft boasts that with their familiar "point and click" interface, you don't need highly trained (read expensive) administrators. This is an illusion, resulting in many very poorly administered servers - to the point massive credit card theft from Windows based e-commerce sites has become a cliche. Proper administration of servers is demanding regardless of whether they are Windows, Linux or something else, but Windows hides that fact from you until you have a problem.

  All Linux systems can be administered from a command prompt. Better distributions also have both text menus and GUI (point and click) administrative tools.

  NT/2000 needs to be rebooted after even minor changes, and as part of most software installs. NT needs to be rebooted every couple of weeks and 2000 every couple of months to recover lost resources. Linux needs to be rebooted only for a major kernel update (every year or two).

• Configuration - Windows NT/2000 itself, and applications running on it, are configured using "point and click" graphic tools. Configuration information for both system and applications is binary coded and kept in a central database called "The Registry" (one of the truly bad ideas of the 20th century). Once something is in the registry, it's often just about impossible to get it out, and if the registry is damaged, even an experienced administrator has little choice but to "Triple R" the system (Reboot, Reformat, Reinstall).

  Linux system configuration information is kept in easily edited text files. Applications use the same method and keep their own configuration files in their own directories. When an application is removed, its configuration files go with it. The top distributions include a "pont and click" interface to some of important system files for administrators allergic to text editors.

• Support - Windows 2000 support comes primarily from Microsoft, the only organization with easy access to the source code. Support is paid "per incident" or by contract. Effective free support is no longer provided. Microsoft makes some parts of their support "knowledge base" available on their Web site, but only if you use a Web browser that allows them access to your computer (IE 4.x, 5.x).

  Support for Linux was originally by posting questions on the Internet. This mode is still available and still much used, but paid support and support contracts are available from Caldera, IBM, Red Hat, LinuxCare and other organizations. Each distributor has a searchable knowledge base, and you can search the Deja newsgroup archives (we prefer Jeremy Nixon's "old style" front end).

• Documentation - Windows 2000 comes with an on-line help system. Beyond that you buy books (Microsoft Publishing and many others).

  Linux distributions aimed at business (Caldera, Red Hat, etc.) come with a useful manual covering basic installation and administration.

  Huge amounts of documentation in text and HTML format are provided by most Linux distributions. This documentation ranges from wonderful to marginal depending on who wrote it. There are also the "man pages" and "info pages" on-line help systems. New administrators should check out the HOWTO documents.

  Updated documentation can be found on the Internet, especially through the Linux Documentation Project. Beyond that you can buy books, and there are a lot of them.

• Installation - Windows NT/2000 installs smoothly if all the hardware in your computer is compatible. Linux installs just as smoothly (if you have chosen a business oriented distribution and your hardware is compatible).

• Installing Software - Most Windows NT/2000 software packages install easily and automatically. Installing from a Windows workstation to a Linux server is just as easy, the workstation thinks it's an NT server.

  Installing Linux software packages on a Linux system ranges from "pretty easy" to "requires advanced skills". This is currently Linux' weakest point and makes it necessary to have an experienced person do most installs. Not a problem for most businesses, but it will definitely keep Linux out of the home market for some time.

  On the plus side, once installed, Linux software rarely needs to be reinstalled. Even upgrading to a newer version of Linux or moving to a bigger hard disk will not require reinstalling software if the original configuration was done right.

• Device Drivers - New devices always come with drivers for Windows95/98. Drivers for Windows NT have been a problem, and a much worse problem for Windows 2000. Linux also has driver problems because manufacturers are still not enthusiastic about supporting yet another operating system.

  Linux developers have, however, become highly adept at writing device drivers, and most manufacturers are now cooperative and provide the necessary information so reverse engineering isn't required. Some are now even "Open Sourcing" their device drivers, since they know there will soon be an "Open Source" version out anyway.

  If a device is useful, it will have Linux drivers soon, even if the manufacturer doesn't want it to (see Cue Cat).

• File System Fragmentation - as every NT/2000 administrator quickly learns, the NTFS filesystem fragments hideously, until the system bogs down and finally collapses. You have to buy something like Diskeeper to defrag it. Windows 2000 comes with "Diskeeper Lite" built in, but its shortcomings are severe enough to make you want to buy the full product anyway.

  The Linux filesystem does not fragment (unless you run out of disk space). Of course the Unix, OS/2 and NetWare filesystems don't fragment either, only NT/2000.

• DLL Hell - Even Windows 2000 has not completely eliminated "DLL Hell", the situation where different applications require different versions of common system libraries. DLL conflicts can make the entire system highly unstable. Microsoft is suspected of using this "feature" to make competitors' products unusable.

  While DLL Hell is theoretically possible in Linux, in practice it is not a problem. Applications are not allowed to touch system libraries, and multiple versions of the same library modules can run simultaneously. Applications generally keep their own DLLs in their own directories.

• Scalabiltiy - Scaling downward, Linux will run fine on low end machines Windows NT/2000 won't even install on. Scaling upward, Windows 2000 supports higher end hardware than Linux (though the new 2.4 kernel may do a lot to equalize that). On the other hand, if you're not up to spending over $70,000 for a server, this point is moot.

  The current trend is to merge Linux and Unix into a smooth continuum from desktop to supercomputer with the same software able to run from one end to the other. The merged Caldera / SCO is leading this movement, but IBM, Hewlett Packard and others have strong development programs going. If you look at Unix as "Big Linux", then Linux scales far beyond Windows 2000's wildest dreams.

• Raw computational power - Windows is not even in this picture. Companies build Linux clusters out of cheap PCs that rival the computational power of multi-million dollar supercomputers - at the cost of a single high end Windows server. Windows 2000 does not support performance clustering, and it doesn't run on computationally powerful chips like Alpha and Sparc. Typical applications.

• Running multiple tasks - Microsoft recommends using a separate server for every major process, because Windows tends to bog down and crash if you try to run several major processes on the same machine. Linux tends to bog down if you have more than a few hundred processes running, but it does not crash. Unix does a lot better.

• Platforms - Windows NT/2000 runs on Intel x86 family computers, 486 and higher (2000 on Pentium or higher). Windows NT also runs on DEC Alpha chips, but as a 32-bit process on a 64-bit chip. Windows 2000 does not support Alpha.

  Linux runs on x86 (386 to latest), Alpha (full 64-bit), MIPS, Power PC (Apple Macintosh), Sparc (Sun), IBM AS/400, IBM S390 (mainframe), and others.

  IBM just installed an S390 mainframe Web server in Europe that replaced 70 Sun Unix servers. The single S390 box currently runs 1,500 instances of Linux (expandable). NT/2000 runs one to a PC server.

• Client Support - As a server, Windows 2000 fully supports only Windows 2000 clients. Partial support can be retrofitted into Windows95/98, but not into Windows Me. Windows NT also supports DOS, Windows 3.1, OS/2 and Windows Me clients.

  Linux, as a host/server, supports DOS, Windows 3.1, OS/2, Windows95/98, NT, 2000, Linux, Unix, Apple Macintosh, dumb terminals, thin clients, and any device capable of terminal emulation (including the Apple II and TI 99/4).

• Standards compliance - Microsoft makes a lot of noise about compliance with Internet standards. Problem is, this is generally in name only. They almost always corrupt those standards into "Windows Only" versions, making it difficult to integrate Windows with other systems. Linux developers are fanatics for unwavering compliance with public and industry standards.

• Security - Only in Windows is it possible for a virus to e-mail itself to your entire address book, implant a back door into your system, e-mail your IP address to its perpetrator and destroy your entire pornography collection, all in a matter of seconds - without your even opening an e-mail attachment. See Microsoft Security Model for an explanation why.

  Sure, a poorly administered Linux system with a user dumb enough to work as root isn't hard to compromise, but at least the perpetrator has to work at it, it isn't all automated for him.

  The NSA (National Security Agency) has just released back to the Linux community "Secure Linux", designed to be resistant to highly skilled attacks. Dubbed "Spook Linux", it will be examined with great care for NSA back doors (there is evidence such back doors exist in Windows). Since it's Open Source, the code can be completely examined.

• Customization - Windows NT/2000 is a monolithic monster - pretty much an "all or nothing" proposition. Linux is highly modular. You can load just what you need, to the point a functional Linux system can be set up on a single floppy disk.

  With Windows, what you get is what you get, but with Linux you have the source code and the right to change it. Very few companies will ever so much as look at the Linux source code, but some have special requirements, or wish to create a Linux based product. For them, the source code is invaluable.

Software

Use of Windows software under Linux can be considered a temporary measure, because most of the gaps will be filled in short order. New Linux software is coming in from a number of sources:

• Many Unix business software packages are being ported to Linux, and much of this porting is being done by major companies like IBM, Oracle, SAP, and Hewlett Packard. It is almost trivial to port a Unix program - many need only a recompile. The Applix office productivity suite, Appgen accounting and Data Pro accounting are examples.

  Of particular interest to small business is the vast library of software written for SCO Unix. Since Linux distributor Caldera now "owns" the SCO developer community, porting of this software will accelerate.

• Windows software. Corel WordPerfect Office for Linux is an example. Not a whole lot yet, but the dam breaks when Borland's Delphi for Linux (Kylix) hits the street (soon - Kylix training seminars start in February). There's a lot of Windows business software developed with Delphi.

• Open Source clones of Windows software. An outstanding example is GIMP, a clone of PhotoShop with pretty much the same capability and performance - except GIMP is free and Photoshop costs $575.

• Ports from OS/2 and other operating systems. PMFax is a good OS/2 example, with Papyrus coming soon.

• New development by commercial software companies. Not many major packages yet because there's just so much stuff to port.

• New development by Open Source communities. Outstanding examples are Apache and Samba. Hundreds of products and projects are listed at Freshmeat.net and on other Internet sites.

Of course, you aren't going to find any of this software in stores. The store chain's simply won't risk Microsoft's wrath, but it's all easily available over the Internet. E-commerce was where you were going anyway, wasn't it?

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Who Owns Linux?

A number of years ago, some yo-yo trademarked the name "Linux" with extortion in mind. He was handled rather roughly, and "Linux" is now a trademark owned by Linus Torvalds, the person who wrote the first version (and who controls development of the Linux kernel).

Linux is issued under the GPL License, enforced by US and other copyright laws. This license allows anyone to use Linux, modify it, sell it, give it away or whatever they want. It also requires that any changes, additions, fixes, or products integrated with it also be GPL'd, and that all source code must be made available without cost or restriction. Bill Gates gets the willies just thinking about it.

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Where Did Linux Come From?

Another effort to produce a free Unix clone was the GNU (GNU is Not Unix) project. GNU started in 1984 and had not yet produced an operating system, but they had produced a great quantity of the essential tools that run on Unix. These were adapted to Linux, so it is sometimes referred to as "GNU/Linux".

To make sure all this effort remained completely available to everyone, Linux code is issued under the GNU GPL (General Public License) which makes it a copyright violation to make any work based GPL'd code proprietary. The source code must always be available and unrestricted (except by the terms of the GPL).

Thousands of programmers and testers now work on Linux, coordinated through the Internet. All kernel work is cleared through Linux Torvalds. Many of these people are volunteers, but many are now paid to work on Linux by companies like IBM, Caldera, Red Hat and VA Linux.

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What is a Linux "Distribution"

Companies and organizations package the kernel with the GNU utilities, their own installation procedure and hundreds (even thousands) of subsidiary programs, documentation, and sometimes proprietary (non open source) products. This set is called a "distribution" ("distro" for short).

Each distribution has unique characteristics and targets a particular type of user. A business should select the distribution that best matches their needs. Remember though, they are all Linux and far more similar than they are different.

Should your Business Use Linux?

• Linux should be your preferred operating system on the server, unless there is a compelling reason to chose another operating system (NetWare, Unix, Windows NT/2000). See next section.

• On the desktop, Linux is viable for a lot of businesses, and will save them a lot of money, but you must evaluate its suitability carefully for your business. If you can get by with it now, you'll have a whole lot more to work with this time next year. Development will be very rapid.

Who Can't Use Linux?

• You depend on Microsoft Back Office servers (IIS (Internet Information Server), Exchange Server (e-mail), SQL Server (database), etc.). These are carefully crafted to run only on NT/2000 Server. Most small businesses are not using any of these.
• You depend on a Client Server software package that uses a database engine that runs only on Windows NT/2000. All the major database engines (except SQL Server, of course) have Linux versions, but we have encountered minor ones that do not.
• You depend on software for which you need support, and the vendor simply refuses to support it with a Linux server no matter how much better it runs with a Linux server. This is a common situation.
• All or parts of your network run traditional Novell NetWare with IPX/SPX protocol and you want to keep them that way. Caldera is quietly dumping its NetWare server module (could it be lack of demand?), although Linux can still act as a NetWare client.

You can't use Linux on any of your servers if:

• You have adopted Windows 2000 Server and Active Directory. You have already made your last technology decision and are incompatible with the rest of the world (even with Window Me and partially with Windows95/98). Microsoft will make the decisions for you now.

  Note of hope: the Samba Team is working very hard to engineer compatibility with Windows 2000 Server, but it's not easy, all those incompatibilities were carefully crafted, and Microsoft will release no information. They want you right where they have you.

• Your company's management culture dictates an "all Microsoft" environment regardless of cost.

How are Other Businesses Using Linux?

Some businesses, however, have adopted Linux top to bottom, desktops and servers. Others mix in Linux desktops with their Windows desktops depending on the task and the person.

Here is a List of Examples (with attached articles) of businesses using Linux for major systems, not just auxiliary servers. We have only a few at the moment, but will be adding a whole lot more as we have time.

Most of the examples are large businesses, and their applications may be quite different from the applications a small business would use, but they show just how seriously Linux is being taken in the business world. I assure you, adoption by small business is proceeding apace.

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