Apart from those tied to Microsoft, all the big guns are now on the
Linux bandwagon, writes Nick Langley.
What is it?
A variant of Unix from the open source
community, Linux is now offered by almost every hardware and
software supplier not intimately tied to Microsoft.
It has become a viable choice for businesses. IBM and HP offer 24x7
Linux helplines, there are specialist Linux support companies, and
distributors such as Caldera and Red Hat provide an accountable
source.
Nobody knows how many of the world's servers run Linux. Analysts
put annual sales at between 9% and 30%. But people get Linux from
all kinds of sources and load it on both new and old servers.
You can copy Linux as often as you like onto as many servers as you
like - a big attraction at a time when Microsoft is making its
licensing more restrictive and expensive.
Where did it originate?
"I'm doing a (free) operating
system (just a hobby, won't be big and professional)," wrote Linus
Torvalds in 1992, inviting help with the project that was to become
Linux. Linux entered the business arena with distributors Red Hat,
SuSE and TurboLinux, and joined the mainstream when big guns IBM,
HP and Sun adopted it.
What's it for?
The source code is freely available.
Although anybody can make any enhancements they like, they must be
kept in the public domain. The best enhancements are incorporated
into the current version.
What makes it special?
Less crash-prone than Windows,
the Linux operating system is free, or very cheap, and is
unencumbered by restrictive licensing. It is also a natural partner
for the most widely deployed Web server, Apache - another open
source product.
Linux champions say its open source nature means bugs and security
loopholes are more likely to be detected before deployment, and any
that slip through can be fixed more quickly.
How difficult is it?
"It is a fine Unix variant, and
Unix people take to it like ducks to water," says Gary Barnett,
research director at analyst firm Ovum. With more tools and
standardised user interfaces, Linux is becoming easier to use and
manage. But it is still more demanding than Windows or Solaris.
Red Hat specifies certain prerequisites for its developer training
programme. These include C programming experience, shell scripting
in a
Unix environment, and editors such as vi (Virtual Interface) and
Emacs (Editor Macros).
Where is it used?
Linux is most successful as a Web
server, but it is used in many other applications too. Red Hat has
launched secure, high-performance Advanced and Enterprise servers.
Customers include AOL Time Warner, Morgan Stanley, Cisco and
Amazon.com.
What does it run on?
Linux can run most Unix
applications. Emulation products such as VMware Workstation,
Win4Lin, Wine and Crossover Office run popular Windows applications
such as MS Office on Linux.
Few people know that
A geek - an insulting name which
the open source community has proudly adopted - was originally a
term used to describe a fairground freakshow performer who bit the
heads off live chickens.
What's coming up?
The first Linux handheld computer
designed for enterprise applications, Sharp's Zaurus SL.
Hewlett-Packard is to build an 8.3-teraflop Linux supercomputer -
the biggest Linux machine so far.
Rates of pay
Now it is mainstream, Linux can be
required for almost any IT function in almost any industry sector,
and salaries vary accordingly. According to the Computer Weekly/SSP
Survey, an office systems manager with Linux will receive between
£29,500 and £40,000, a systems auditor can expect £38,000, and a
systems developer, depending on experience, will command between
£35,000 and £45,000.
Training
Go the traditional route with IBM, Sun, HP,
Red Hat et al; look for Linux specialists such as First
Alternative; or try the tutorials at the following Web sites.
www.linux.orgwww.linux.comwww.li.org