Pensacola Linux User Group

1
Pensacola Linux User Group

• www.pcolalug.org

2
Brett Hoff Open Source Enterprises

• www.open-sourceenterprises.com

3
Welcome to intro to Linux

• Presented By Brett Hoff
• Owner Open Source Enterprises
• Intro.
• What is Linux in a nutshell.
• The big 5
• Commercial releases.
• Free releases
• Support.
• Linux certification and training.
• Interoperability.

4
Introduction

• Over the last decade we have seen Microsoft and
  it's partnerships with various companies try to
  dominate the IT industry forcing us to purchase
  software and upgrade hardware to meet the needs
  of the software. This is a continuing cycle that
  seems to have no ends in sight. But there is an
  alternative. With the ability to work better with
  legacy hardware and offer better support at a
  much better price. LINUX

5
What is Linux in a nutshell?

• Linux is a free open-source operating system
  based on Unix. Linux was originally created by
  Linus Torvalds with the assistance of developers
  from around the globe and released 17 September
  1991.
• It combined shortly there after with the GNU
  project to become GNU/Linux. There was a study
  done in 2001 of Debian Linux. The distribution
  contained 55 million lines of code. Using the
  Constructive cost model it would have taken 8000
  man years to develop at a cost of 1.08 Billion
  dollars.

6
The big 5

• Of course there is big company's that have taken
  Linux serious and even built business models off
  it.
• HP, Novell, Dell,SUN, and RedHat.
• Just recently Novell acquired Suse Linux.

7
Commercial releases

• We will discuss two commercial US releases
• that will be of interest to DoD organizations.
• Novells SUSE Linux Enterprise
• Novell SUSE Enterprise
• Redhats RedHat Linux Enterprise
• Redhat Enterprise

8
Redhat Enterprise

• Redhat Linux Enterprise has had plenty of time to
  perfect the Linux system for commercial use. They
  offer excellent support and packages to meet
  almost any need. From a jboss server platform to
  directory server and global file system platforms
  even a cluster software version. They have there
  own certification process for users that is
  industry recognized and a list of bundled server
  and support packages to meet your needs.

9
Redhat pros/cons

• Pros
• Wonderful package management.
• Great tech support.
• Large user base for support.
• Cons
• Documentation satisfactory
• Cost can be quite large depending on your needs.

10
SUSE Enterprise

• Novell acquired SUSE to compete against RedHat
  this was a great move as SUSE is a very strong
  distribution with years of development under its
  belt. With Novell acquiring it they have steadily
  been enhancing it and making it a challenger to
  RedHat. Novell offers great tech. support and
  well documented manuals. And again they have
  bundled there distribution and service support in
  several tiers for the wide range of users.

11
SUSE pros/cons

• Pros
• Excellent documentation.
• Well supported.
• Competitive pricing.
• Cons
• Recently acquired by Novell will be some issues
  with move.
• Have not been in the business as long with Linux.

12
Free releases

• Free releases are free as in beer. You can
  download and try them out for no cost.
• Slackware Linux
• Debian Linux
• Many free releases offer LiveCDs, which allow you
  to try Linux without altering your Windows
  installation in any way.

13
Slackware Linux

• Slackware is distributed for free by download or
  you can purchase a set of either cd-roms or dvds.
  It is the last remaining distribution forked from
  the original Linux project. So it has years of
  development behind it and rock stable. A new
  version is released about every 9-12 months. This
  will quickly become a favorite for your admin
  types.

14
Slackware pros/cons

• Pros
• One of the original Linux distributions.
• Very large user base well documented on web.
• Very stable and secure.
• Has great support for hardware.
• Cons
• Not the largest list of application packages
  available by default. (although anything can be
  compiled to run on it)
• User training needed to fully utilize the power
  of Linux.

15
Debian Linux

• Debian is what the purest would call true Linux.
• It is forked off the Linux/GNU project and they
  strive to keep it that was incorporating as much
  as possible from the GNU project. It has a large
  developer base thus, it keeps growing and adding
  applications almost daily.

16
Debian pros/cons

• Pros
• Huge developer base! (One of the largest
  collaborative software projects ever.)
• Well documented.
• Large application base well over 20,000.
• Cons
• A little end user training required as with all
  Linux.
• Package management can be a bit trying at times.
• Due to its purest path people can be a little
  trying )

17
Support

• Support for Linux and open-source is far and
  wide.
• With literally millions of people using and
  working with it. There are a couple big ones I am
  going to talk about. First there is companies
  like mine
• Open Source Enterprises ....Shameless plug
• That offer support in consulting, design and
  implementation of open-source solutions.
• Also pay as you go support as with several Linux
  distros.

18
Support cont.

• Then there are LUG's (Linux User Groups.). These
  are groups of Linux minded people that come
  together to discuss and educate on many
  open-source ideas. They usually have computer
  backgrounds. LUG's are known for the lectures and
  monthly meetings highlighting different tools and
  applications. There is even one here in town.
• The Pensacola Linux User Group or pcolalug.

19
Support cont.

• Thirdly there is Google which by far is my most
  powerful tool for finding Linux support.
• If you have a problem, I guarantee you somebody
  has already had that same problem and posted the
  answer somewhere.
• On the downside, this means you do have to be
  somewhat intrepid.

20
Linux certifications.

• There are basically three widely accepted Linux
  certificates as of right now.
• Red Hat Certified Professional Program
• Red Hat Certified Technician (RHCT)
• Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE).
• Linux Professional Institute (LPI) Program
• three levels of vendor-neutral certification
• (LPIC1, LPIC2 and LPIC3)
• CompTIAs Linux
• A single entry-level, vendor-neutral
  certification.

21
Linux certs. And training

• The migration path from Microsoft Certified
  Professional (MCP) to Linux Certified
  Professional (LCP) is rather difficult.
• To become an LCP You need to learn to work
  inside the command shell. That is where the power
  is in Linux. There is no cut and dry approach to
  this Cert.
• Get Linux start using it. There are several study
  courses available.

22
Linux training

• Several companies and educational groups offer
  good Linux training both in sit down and over the
  Internet. I would recommend that all techs have
  the minimum of the CompTia Linux. It is a good
  introductory starting point. Also it is available
  locally with Triangle of Technology.
• Redhat training is available on-line and would be
  another recommended certification. When deciding
  on a path to your certification be sure that it
  is one of the recognized certifications.

23
Note on Linux administrators

• Just a side note here. Linux/Unix administrators
  with certificates generally draw in 15-20
  larger salaries than their windows counterparts.
  This is something you may want to either remember
  or use as enticement to get your MCSE's to work
  towards them. This must also be factored into
  your cost calculations for deploying Linux.

24
Interoperability

• Linux aims for interoperability with other
  operating systems such as (but not limited to)
  Microsoft Windows and Apple OS X, and by
  extension the software that runs on Linux aims
  for interoperability with other Linux and
  non-Linux software. It also has been ported to
  run on a wide range of Items from watches and
  cell phones to desktops and mainframes. It can
  even be loaded onto your wireless routers and
  even toasters.

25
Linux a polished O.S.

• The following are screen shots of various Linux
  distributions, to give you a feel for the level
  of polish and professionalism present in a modern
  Linux distribution.

26
Suse Linux
27
RedHat Linux
28
Linux GUI desktop Gnome
29
Linux GUI Gnome cont.
30
Linux GUI Gnome cont.
31
Moving Between Linux and Windows

• Migrating from a windows environment to a Linux
  one can be a daunting task.
• But there are applications that span the two and
  allow for an almost seamless migration.
  Thunderbird email clients and Qmail and Sendmail
  email servers. Firefox for web browsing.
• Open office for an Open source replacement for
  Microsoft office. These all work on Microsoft
  platforms as well.

32
More

• MySQL, an enterprises level database, features
  excellent performance and some really nice admin
  tools.
• Apache web server holds about 70-80 of the Web
  server market right now.
• Samba for sharing files across the network
  between different platforms.
• WINE allows you to run windows instances inside
  Linux (more on this later)

33
Other Important Linux Applications

• Virtualization engines such Vmware and Qemu are
  gaining in popularity
• Remote Desktop
• VNC
• Network monitoring
• Backup and fail over services

34
Intro to Wine.

• WINE is a way of loading the necessary libraries
  into Linux to allow running windows and windows
  applications.
• WINE Is Not an Emulator in the since as other
  emulators but acts in the same way.
• You can run many of the most popular windows
  programs on Linux. That includes games like World
  of Warcraft and Diablo II as well as business
  applications like Microsoft Office 2003, Quicken,
  and Internet Explorer.

35
Intro to Wine.
36
Benefits

• Greatly reduced cost of software mostly free.
• Very stable and secure operating system.
• Great number of applications that work across
  both platforms.
• Better control over and the ability to make
  source changes to fit your needs.
• Better use of your hardware no need for new
  hardware every time you update your software
• Great virtualization and clustering software.

37
Drawbacks

• Some user retraining required.
• Learning the new file system.
• MCSE's are going to need some advanced training
  to get caught up.
• Some applications will need to be hosted in a
  WINE or virtual windows environment till they can
  be phased out or rewritten for Linux.
• Moving from Microsoft AD to Linux version will
  take some tweaking.

38
Costs

• List cost factors to consider
• User Retraining
• Administrator Retraining
• Salaries (nix admins make more)
• On the other side the savings
• Licenses
• Viruses