Discussion on choices for software solution

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Discussion on choices for software solution

• Alberto Pace

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Agenda

• Open / Proprietary implementations
• Open / Proprietary Standard
• CERN Examples

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Type of Software

• Proprietary
• Usage, Redistribution, modifications, access to
  source code under control of the intellectual
  property owner
• Open Source
• Usage, modifications, access to source code
  allowed
• Redistribution and intellectual property rights
  kept
• Public Domain
• Everything allowed, No intellectual property
  rights
• All software types can have a commercial or
  non-profit (free) policy
• Example 1 Freeware software can be proprietary
• Usage allowed
• modifications, access to source code under
  control of the intellectual property owner
• Example 2 You can pay to use Open Source
  products
• You typically need maintenance, documentation,
  improved services

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What is a standard ?

• ISO Metric Screws
• Domestic AC power plugs and sockets
• PAL Broadcasting system
• Compact Disk
• VHS Video tape
• DVD-Video

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What is a standard ?

• Fortran
• The C/C Programming Language
• Java
• C

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What is a Standard ?

• HTML
• PDF
• Microsoft Word Document Format

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Types of Standards

• De Facto
• Established by some actors on the market without
  any accreditation from an official
  standardization body
• De Jure
• Established by an accredited body
• Proprietary
• Somebody controls its specifications and its
  usage rights
• Somebody can be an individual, a Company, a
  Consortium
• Patents are an effective way to enforce
  intellectual property rights
• Open
• When the specifications are published without
  restrictions on the access, on the usage, on the
  implementation

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Open Standards
Proprietary Standards
HTML
DVD
Open Specifications
CD
JPG
PDF
Java
RTF
DOC
HTTP
MP3
GIF
XML
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But the classification is difficult

• Classifying technologies in few categories
  (standard / non-standard) is difficult
• Many grey areas
• What is a standard ?
• Who publish the standard
• standardization bodies
• consortium of manufacturers
• consensus among various agents implicated in the
  technology
• single manufacturers
• Not published reversed engineered, de facto
  standard
• In computing, how many implementations available
  ?
• From multiple independent vendors on multiple
  platforms
• From multiple independent vendors on single
  platforms
• From single vendor on multiple platforms
• From single vendor on single platform
• Who is using this standard ?
• Everybody
• A large fraction of the community
• A small fraction of the community
• nobody

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of user community
Specifications
of implementations, of platforms
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Other important factors of choice

• Cost
• A turnkey, proprietary solution may be cheaper in
  the short term
• It is difficult to control long term cost in
  self-developed solutions
• Standard versus Customized solution
• A Customized solution solved better your
  problem
• A standard solution is more interoperable
• Risk
• It is always possible to reduce cost by
  increasing risk
• Single vendor solution
• Small companies have aggressive prices because
  risk is higher

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Open Source

• A must if you plan to modify / extend
  functionalities
• Unless a standard is well established
• If you want to understand what the software does
  or verify it does what it is supposed to do
• If you want to preserve the investment by keeping
  the possibility to maintain the software yourself
  in the long term
• Difficult to keep control on endless improvements
• Number of programmers (and cost) can only increase

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At CERN

• Problem extremely complex, not a single answer
  for all scenarios
• However, some common patterns

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Pattern 1

• Whenever the technology is strategic within CERN
  core business and not consolidated
• In-house developments
• Open source approach to preserve In-house
  developments in the long term
• Example
• Software for Physics, Grid Middleware
• Document Server

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Pattern 2

• Whenever the technology is consolidated or not in
  the CERN core business
• Easy-to-implement solutions are sought to
  minimize cost
• This can be Commercial or Open-Source
• Must be outsourceable
• Effort limited to integrate various
  technologies together
• Consolidated technologies are guaranteed to
  continue in the long term
• Technologies outside the core business can be
  replaced with limited impact on the organization
  operation

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Examples

• Strategic, non-consolidated
• Ensure that the software we write for LHC will
  still run in 10 years
• Grid, Castor, Root, CDS,
• Consolidated
• Electronic mail Why would CERN build his own
  mail server ? Take one of the many commercial
  products and change it if not happy
• Database Why would CERN build his own database ?
• Administrative computing Human Resource
  Management, Recruitment, Financial Management,
  Logistic, Procurement Plenty of consolidated
  commercial offers, best of breeds.
• In addition
• To minimize the impact of changing a commercial
  product, native product GUI are replaced by CERN
  ones with consistent look and feel
• Similar Human interfaces for administrative
  applications despite they are hiding Oracle,
  Qualiac, SAP, Baan,
• Similar human interface for Network management,
  despite they are hiding products from Cisco, HP,
  Enterasys, Spectrum
• Similar Human interface for all desktop managent
  services Windows, Web, E-mail, Search services,
  hiding microsoft excange

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Summary and Conclusions

• Both Open Source and Proprietary solutions based
  on standards have reasons to exist
• There is no catch all answer for this problem,
  a case by case analysis is necessary
• The final choice may depend
• On short versus long term commitments and costs
• On the amount of risk to be taken
• How much you accept a generic solution compared
  to the specific developments required.