Linux/unix Proposal

Abstract

At some point in time, an application will eventually be replaced by a competitor. UNIX ruled the operating system market for several decades. In the early 90's, Novell and Microsoft introduced their respective operating systems and these moves eventually eroded the stranglehold UNIX once had on the market. Microsoft would emerge as a dominate player while Novell and UNIX lost market share. After several years of a largely underground movement, Linux is now poised to wrestle control of the operating system market from Microsoft. For the past three years, shipments of Linux have been growing at a phenomenal rate. According to the Aberdeen group, "Linux shipments, measured by licenses are growing more than 25% per year". Aberdeen.com (2004). This growth is faster than any other operating system. For the purpose of this paper, I intend to discuss the merits of adopting a Linux/UNIX operating system for a work site.

Cost of Linux/UNIX

The total cost of acquisition for software, hardware and additional equipment to support Linux is a very small when you look at the total cost of ownership. A three month study performed IDC found that the "TCO of Linux versus Unix, released today by analyst IDC, reveals a 45 to 80 per cent lower amount for Linux on Intel against Unix on Risc." IDC.com(2004).

The UNIX platform is can be more expensive, the scalability and performance that UNIX brings to the table makes ideal for mission critical applications. Additionally, UNIX based systems are typically hardware redundant and this alone skews the numbers when attempting to perform a cost comparison. Although it is difficult to get an apples to apples comparison of the total cost of ownership between Windows, Linux and UNIX, an overriding theme in each study names Linux as the most economical and efficient platform. UNIX is slated as more costly, but the performance is unmatched.

Benefits

Since Linux and UNIX runs on many different types of systems from workstations to servers and mainframes, resources can easily be shared across multiple computers on demand, allowing transaction processing to be distributed during peak times, improving performance and responsiveness. In addition to these benefits, Linux can be installed and run on an Intel platform. Using both platforms in a hybrid manner provides unique the advantages each operating system would not necessarily enjoy standing alone. (See table 1.)

Subsystem Component Windows Linux/UNIX Comments

Disk Primary Partition FAT16, FAT32, NTFS Ext2fs and ext3 journaling/Non-journaling On an Intel system, both Linux and Windows use the same 4 primary partitions allowed per physical disk. Linux can boot from either a primary partition or a logical partition inside an extended partition.

Disk File Hierarchy Drive Letters Mount Points Windows uses a volume-based file hierarchy, Linux uses a unified scheme.

Windowing GUI Windows X Windows X is a windowing system that provides the ability to connect diverse laptops, terminals, and desktop computers to Unix servers, making network-wide interoperability a reality.

Subsystems Network and Service Systems Started after registry is loaded. Started at boot time Consistency when troubleshooting, a process that fails at boot will fail when an attempt s made at the command line. Linux allows you to trace the issue and vary the command until it is resolved.

Table 1. Benefits of Linux over Windows

Linux Support

Given UNIX's longevity, support for third party applications and tools are commonly supported. Some of these applications have distributions that can be "ported" to Linux but not all. However, Linux continues to receive support from companies that would otherwise be considered a rival or competitor. Novell is looking to capitalize on their purchases of Ximian and SuSE. Long know as an industry leader in file and print services, Novell is trying to make over its image from a NetWare company to a provider of Linux and Linux based products.