LINUX - a Cheap, Fast and Absolutley Stable Operating System

• Appetizer (Introduction)
• Main Dish (Experiences)
• Dessert Tastes (Examples of concepts)
• Digestive ("Management Summary" for Mission environments)
• Linux Workshop Paper (in German language)
• Mirror Directories by Email

Appetizer - Introduction

My standard question, if asked for advice, is "What do you want to do with it?"

Concerning a new or expanded computer system, your answer probably is:

• manage files

• send and receive email

• browse the WWW
• create and edit large text documents (e.g. PhD Dissertations), perhaps in a "what you see is what you get" fashion

• create and edit WWW sites

• connect an entire LAN to the Internet, with dial on demand, firewall, accounting, masquerading, you name it
• run a file and print server, protocol compatible to Windows NT 4.0
• or run a file and print server, protocol compatible to Novell Netware 3.12
• run a WWW server
• run an email server
• occasionally play a game

Of course you want all this to have some properties

• run absolutely stable, no crashes due to faulty software

• no need to reboot the system except for hardware change or power failure

• runs on existing or cheaply available hardware

• low software cost

• ability to control the system to your needs, even if they differ from the ideas of the software manufacturer

• using time tested concepts, not turning you into a beta tester

• access to free technical support on the internet
• openly available source code, so every programmer in the world can correct bugs, not only the originating profit making company

You guessed it, I just described LINUX, a free variant of the UN*X operating system.

Most of the standard questions (Where may I get Linux? Will Linux run on my computer? How do I install Linux? etc.) are answered on Linux Online, so I won't repeat them here.

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Main Dish - Experiences with Linux

(page still under construction)

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Dessert Tastes - Examples of Concepts

(page still under construction)

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Digestive - "Management Summary" for Mission Environments

• Linux is a Unix-like operating system

• offers a very flexible platform for applications (e.g. mail servers and word processors)

• runs on cheap, standardized hardware
• free or cheap software (20-50 US$ for a set of CD-ROMs), often with source code included
• very stable (typical uptime: several months),
• very good in multitasking (e.g. file server and mail server on one machine)
• modular concept, so no or little influence between applications (e.g. the internet services don't bother even if the windows system crashes due to graphics driver misconfiguration)
• very well suited for networking tasks (router, firewall etc.; native language: TCP/IP)
• scales from mail handling (386, 8 MB RAM, 200 MB HD) to world class number crunching ("Titanic" movie effects, cluster of hundreds of CPUs)

• you'll need Linux versions of your applications

• server applications are widely available (e.g the famous apache web server or the sendmail mail server, various database servers)

• the Samba application can fully replace NT for file, print, web, mail, backup and database services; Windows boxes talk to Samba boxes as if it were one of their own

• end user applications are partially available - there will never be WinWord for Linux, but there is WordPerfect

• concepts are different from Novell or Microsoft, so administrators need training
• support is readily available through the Internet or by commercial consultants

• setup takes its time (due to the flexibility), but is eased by modular concept

• once set up, it needs very little maintenance

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Last updated: 05.05.2007 17:43:00 Martin Stut, email: , Marburg, Germany
URL: http://www.stut.de/linux.htm