Linux as a Network Server

After experimenting with Red Hat Linux 7.1, with Samba, I'm thinking this may be a good replacement for a simple file and print server combination, as opposed to Novell Netware, Windows NT or Windows 2000. The Linux+Samba combination looks like a Windows NT Server from the perspective of a Microsoft desktop workstation. The Red Hat Linux "boxed set" distribution is available for around $40.00 and includes an innovative on-line update service which will automatically patch your copy of Linux to the latest version. Linux can also be downloaded from the Internet for free, if you have the stamina, bandwidth and knowledge to get it up and running. Samba is included with Red Hat, so it doesn't need to be installed separately.
Advantages

• Very low initial cost: the software is free.


• Good support from Red Hat. There are support forums for peer support, and you can submit installation support questions to Red Hat and they will actually reply!


• Stability. Linux is known for being more stable in general than Windows.
  
• Versatility: Linux includes a grab-bag of network utility programs including a decent mail server and firewall, as well as programs to connect the server to the internet and share the connections among multiple workstations.
  
• Linux does not require additional software to be installed at the workstation. Novell requires the installation of the Novell client software at the workstation.
  

Disadvantages

• Linux is less well known than either Novell Netware or Windows. Getting local support may be more difficult and expensive


• Unable to run Windows-compatible applications on the server. SQL-Server and Access (to cite two examples of databases that are often run on a network server) cannot run on Linux.
  There are others, however, including the open-source (almost free) MySQL and PostResSQL as well as commercial products like DB2 from IBM and Oracle databases from Oracle.
  

In short, I think Linux is worth considering, when thinking about buying network server software.

Several developments from Microsoft make one wonder whether it isn't time to think about alternatives to the same old Microsoft Office/Microsoft Windows desktop computer combination.

A year ago, I would have (and did) encourage the Windows 2000 Professional operating system for new desktop computers, and Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook Express and Internet Explorer) for a standard software suite for staff and students. This is a solid, reliable combination, and represents some of Microsoft's best efforts to date.

Now what? Microsoft has announced Office XP, the next version of office. It is available in the open licensing program for $54.00 a seat for the academic version. The OLP basically means, you must buy in lots of five seats. Office 2000 is no longer available. Of course, in the short term, we'll be compelled to buy XP licenses. If you buy onesees and twosees, (I know a few non-profits who do this), you'll pay a lot more for single-user copies, and end up having to register them on the phone or over the internet when you install them. The same applies for "activation" of Office on new computers from Dell. You can use Word or Excel up to 50 times before calling Bill and registering.

I do not install software illegally, and as a network manager I spend considerable time educating clients and end-users about the
perils of pirating software. What I find galling is the lack of good software tools for license managment, and a sensible policies for selling software. A sensible policy would include things like concurrent licensing, so that organizations could buy and use what they need and not what Microsoft thinks they should have.

Furthermore, Microsoft's sales model is moving toward a time-limited "software subscription" or rental, the "software as electricity model". In other words, at some arbitrary point after you have paid for your software, you will need to pay for it again just to keep using it.

The upshot is that users and IT managers should be keeping their eyes open for alternatives. Right now this seems to mean the Linux operating system and two or three office suites, including Star-Office and the Corel WordPerfect Office suite. In the past both of these suites seemed seriously flawed, but they are improving rapidly. I hope that in a year or two, I'll be able to confidently recommend one or more alternatives to Microsoft's offerings.