Why Use Linux

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Why Use Linux?
Don Denoncourt Denoncourt Consulting [phone]
denonco_at_attglobal.net 410074 17PB 
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If Linux is so great...Why am I using Windows98?

• I can't answer that.
• But I can tell you why you should use Linux
  instead of 98.
• 1) Linux is free
• 2) Office environments are free
• 3) Linux file system more robust
• 4) Linux is a real multi-tasking OS
• 5) No vendor lock-in

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My Desktop Environment

• Redhat 7.1
• KDE Desktop
• StarOffice
• Documents, Presentations, Spreadsheets
• gimp, open-source Photoshop
• On the rare occasions that I need Windows
• Such as to test Web app with IE or use Notes
  Client
• Win4Lin (www.netraverse.com)
• Java Development
• VAJ, JBuilder, WDT, but I use Linux editors and
  shell

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But we're talking about servers...

• Samba
• a better file server than Windows
• Apache
• 60 of the Web server market
• The latest and the greatest Internet utilities
• Unix programmers built the Internet
• Web Application servers
• Tomcat , WebLogic, and WebSphere
• Databases
• DB2 UDB, PostgreSQL , MySQL ,
  Oracle

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School Project

• Linus Torvalds
• 1991, University of Helsinki
• Universal OS
• Runs on all major platforms
• Supplanting most flavors of Unix
• POSIX-compliant
• Runs all the grand and glory of Unix
• Apache, sendmail, BIND, ftp, etc.

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History of Open Source

• Multics, 1969
• ATT Bell Labs' Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson
• Thompson developed a portable OS
• called Unics
• Ritchie developed C
• platform independent language
• Unix was written in C
• platform independent OS

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Unix Wars

• ATT made Unix freely available
• Berkley Systems Division Unix (BSD)
• Sun Microsystem's SunOS
• ATT's System V
• ATT breakup caused legal hassles
• Unix considered a commercial asset
• Vendor lock-in
• Regardless, Unix programmers built the Internet

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Free Software Foundation

• Richard Stallman, MIT scientist
• Missed the spirit of source code sharing
• GNU project
• Mission to create free Unix-like OS
• Open Source movement
• Promote free software
• Free, as in free speech not free beer
• Eliminate restrictions on
• Copying, redistribution, understanding, and
  modification of software.

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GNU GPL

• Don't rip the tag off
• New code gets the label
• Tell the users where the code came from
• Don't use the organization's name
• If it breaks, it's not their fault

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Multics, Unix, Minix, and Linux

• Most technical Universities taught Unix
• Because of the availability of source code
• Andrew Tannenbaum
• Author of industry standard books on operation
  systems and compilers
• Developed Minix for Intel-based machines
• Linus Torvaldis
• Tired of Minix's limitation
• Started Linux and asked for help

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Linux takes on the World

• October 5, 1991
• Linux version 0.02 released
• March 1994
• Linux version 1.0 released
• The first business-quality version of Linux
• Coincided with the explosion of the Web
• Unix coders
• usin low-end machines, Linux, and Open Source
  software
• built first personal then commercial Web sites
• IBM put a Billion dollars into Linux in 2001
• They call Linux the "Universal OS"

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Open Source Software

• Internet software
• Apache HTTP server, Tomcat Web application server
• Sendmail, Domain Name System (DNS), FTP, News,
  Proxy, and Search Servers
• SAMBA, a better NT file server than NT
• Desktop
• Gnome, KDE, and a dozen others
• Office
• StarOffice and Corel

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Who's Going to Support It?

• Linux user community, in 1997
• "Best Technical Support" from InfoWorld
• News groups (www.usenet.com), Internet Relay Chat
  (www.irc.org), FAQs, LUGS, and more
• Distributors
• Red Hat, SuSE, Caldera, etc.
• Don't make their money off CDs
• They make their money off support
• Distribution-neutral firms
• LinuxCare and VA Linux
• IBM

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Linux for Corporate America

• Linux snuck in the back door of corporate America
• Networking administrators
• Bypassed formal procurement procedures
• (because it was free)
• And installed Linux
• Small companies
• Install Linux on antiquated Intel hardware
• Large companies
• Run 1000 virtual Linux OSes on one mainframe
• Run Linux in an OS/400 LPAR

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Linux for Colleges

• It's free
• As well as C, C, and Java development
  environments
• It runs on low-end hardware
• The source is on all distribution CDs
• As well as on the Web
• Students can extend Linux
• With downloadable updates and enhancements
• Students can pare Linux down
• To only required modules
• Myriad of Open Source software available

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Free Software

• Java IDEs
• Sun's Forte for Java
• http//java.sun.com/forte/jjfIB
• M's Visual Age for Java Entry Edition
  www.ibm.com/software/ad/vajava/download.htmBo
• rland's Jbuilder www.borland.com/jbuilder/foundati
  on/We
• b server
• www.apache.org
• Web application server
• http//jakarta.apache.org

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Free Software

• Databases
• MySQL www.mysql.orgPo
• stgreSQL www.postgresql.orgJa
• va Development Kits (JDKs)
• Sun's http//java.sun.com/products/Bl
• ackDown's www.blackdown.comIB
• M AlphaWorks' www.ibm.com/java/jdk/ji
• kes compiler

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Programmer Opportunities

• Find and report bugs
• Fix and then contribute bug fixes
• Administer open source culture
• Mailing lists, newsgroups, and source archives
• Document
• man pages
• FAQs
• Contribute to open source projects
• Enhance any of the myriad of projects available
  today

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The Numbers

• 1998, Linux had 17 of server market
• 1999, 25
• 2000, Linux number two with 27
• IDC predicts
• 25 compound annual growth through 2003
• Apache, runs 60 of the World's Web servers

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Why About Microsoft?

• Windows 95/98 sat on top of DOS
• Windows NT blue screen of death
• Windows/2000 now we can compare
• Security
• closed versus open source
• "given enough eyes, all bugs are shallow" Linus
  T.
• Let's talk about cost
• Multi-user licensing, email, etc.
• And then you have to pay to move to XP

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The Halloween Documents

• In late October of 1998,
• two confidential Microsoft emails leaked out to
  the open source community
• www.opensource.org/halloweenMi
• crosoft "Linux" task force
• Saw Linux a very real threat to Microsoft's
  dominance
• Concerns about battling a community instead of a
  company
• Worst case scenario "IBM adopts Linux"

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What about S/390?

• Linux taking over traditional Unix platforms
• Sun machines, IBM RS/6000 (pSeries), HP, etc.
• But Linux has also been very successful on IBM
  mainframes
• Why?
• Linux has the best and the latest Internet
  software
• There is more Unix Internet talent available
• Legacy applications right there, on the same
  machine, in a different partition

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IBM Puts a Suit and Tie on Linux

• Problems with Linux, till V 2.4
• Journalled File System (JFS) www.ibm.com/developer
  works/library/jfs.html
• Symmetrical multiprocessing (SMP)
• IBM contributed the bulk of the code to support
  JFS and SMP
• Linux versions of
• DB2 UDB, WebSphere, Domino, Visual Age for Java,
  MQSeries, and Tivoli
• Support infrastructure
• Again, a Billion dollars in 2001

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Linux for the iSeries

• Univeral OS
• Put Linux on
• a partition on the iSeries
• an Intel box
• a pSeries
• Whatever...
• The point is if you use Linux for your server
  platform you get
• The latest Internet software
• Greater availability of Internet technologist
• At a lower-cost

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Hot Linux Web Sites
Slashdot, www.slashdot.org Linux Today,
www.linuxtoday.com LWN.net, www.lwn.net
Linux.com, www.linux.com Linux Online,
www.linux.orgJu st Linux, www.justlinux.comLi nuxn
ewbie.org, www.linuxnewbie.org Linux
Programming, www.linuxprogramming.comLi nux
Central, www.linuxcentral.com Linux Planet,
www.linuxplanet.com
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Don Denoncourt denonco_at_attglobal.net [phone]