Linux

As an open source platform,  Linux  is seen by many as their ticket to reduced IT infrastructure costs. Others see it as a more secure and reliable alternative to Microsoft. But  Linux  is not the right choice for everyone, or for all applications. So when does  Linux  make sense for your enterprise?

Where  Linux  Excels:

 Linux  is best at web services and applications servers. Every major web server except Microsoft's Internet Information Server (IIS) supports  Linux . Most commercial web servers support administration through excellent management interfaces, and even the popular open source Apache web server has tools which make web server administration manageable. For IIS shops, the similarity of PHP to Microsoft's Active Server Pages may make the transition to  Linux  less daunting than one might suspect.

 Linux  is equally well supported by all the major application servers. BEA, Borland, IBM, Oracle, and Sybase support  Linux  installations, albeit with varying levels of support. Excellent open source application servers for  Linux  are also available, such as the popular Java Server Pages/servlet engine Apache Tomcat and the J2EE server JBoss, but deployment and configuration with other tools can be a challenge for the novice. Some vendors offer inexpensive packages which bundle enhanced open source tools with some level of support, making  Linux  an excellent option for reducing the cost of ownership while still offering nearly turnkey deployment.

Where  Linux  Fails:

 Linux  falls short in areas in which the market demands support for Windows-related technologies and products.

Directory services are one such example. LDAP is a well-established directory service implemented on  Linux , and there are excellent products available, such as Novell's eDirectory. But anything from Microsoft, as well as many other applications, requires Active Directory Services. Databases on  Linux  are a mixed success. There are several excellent databases implemented on  Linux , each with their own ODBC support, but generic ODBC support is lacking. This poses a problem for those who want to run databases from multiple vendors. Finally, support for e-mail on  Linux  is poor. Although there are many e-mail servers that run on  Linux , configuring and managing them is notoriously difficult.

Conclusion:

 Linux  has been embraced by all of the major software vendors, with varying costs and degrees of support. Although some tradeoffs with cross-platform flexibility might be required, there are  Linux  products available at reduced prices for most market niches and uses.

Source by Jonathan Coupal