Linux: Strengths & Limitations

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Report Contents:

• Executive Summary
• Description
• Market Leaders
• Conclusion
• Web Links

Executive Summary

Linux is a free Unix-type operating system that was originally created by Linus Torvalds with the assistance of developers around the world. Linux is an independent POSIX implementation and includes true multitasking, virtual memory, shared libraries, demand loading, proper memory management, TCP/IP networking, and other features consistent with Unix-type systems. Developed under the GNU General Public License, the source code for Linux is freely available to everyone.

Description

What is Linux?

Linux was initially created as a hobby by a student, Linus Torvalds, at the University of Helsinki in Finland. Linus was interested in Minix, a small UNIX system, and decided to develop a system that exceeded the Minix standards. He began work in 1991 when he released version 0.02 and worked steadily until 1994 when version 1.0 of the Linux Kernel was released. The current full-featured version is 2.2 (released January 25, 1999), and development continues.

Linux is developed under the GNU General Public License and its source code is freely available to everyone. This however, doesn't mean that Linux and it's assorted distributions are free, companies and developers may charge money for it as long as the source code remains available. Linux may be used for a wide variety of purposes including networking, software development, and as an end-user platform. Linux is considered an excellent, low-cost alternative to other operating systems.

Due to the nature of Linux's functionality and availability, it has become quite popular worldwide and a vast number of software programmers have taken Linux's source code and adapted it to meet their individual needs. At this time, there are dozens of ongoing projects for porting Linux to various hardware configurations and purposes.

The open-source model also means increased security; because code is in the public view it will be exposed to extreme scrutiny, with problems being found and fixed instead of being kept secret until the wrong person discovers them. Open-source software is peer-reviewed software; it is more reliable than closed, proprietary software. Mature open-source code is as bulletproof as software ever gets. Of all these benefits, the most fundamental is increased reliability. This is a radical idea to many businesspeople. Many believe that open-source software is necessarily not `professional', that it is shoddily made and more prone to fail than closed software.

An important side-effect of the open-source model will be a much wider platform range for your product. Open-source authors frequently find themselves receiving, for free, port changes for operating systems and environments they barely know exist and can't afford developers to support. Each such port, of course, widens the market appeal of the product.

In the past months, Linux has gained momentum in corporate acceptance. Recent announcements by IBM, Netscape, Oracle, Sun and others have triggered a new degree of recognition for Linux. However, many major corporations may have been using Linux without fanfare. While small businesses and start-ups such as cybertronics have been more then happy to look at Linux's viability for their systems. 

Most businesses today are running a mix of computer types and computer operating systems to get their work done. The right mix of computers offering the necessary interoperability is almost always a better choice than selecting one type of computer and operating system and then attempting to make it fit all tasks.  

Although Linux development was started on an Intel 386-based system, the philosophy of inclusion means that other architectures were considered. Today Linux runs on SPARC, PowerPC (including Mac), Digital Alpha and machines with ports on the way for others.

This portability is significant because

• Linux can grow with you. For example, if you are running a web or file server on Intel-based hardware and you need a higher performance system, you can upgrade to a system based on the Sun SPARC or Digital Alpha.
• Linux can grow with the future. New hardware is being introduced every year. The Linux community has already proved it will port Linux to new computer architecture from multiple vendors.

Along with these advantages, Linux offers the connectivity capabilities that have been the trademark of UNIX-based systems as well as some additional connectivity capabilities that are unique to Linux. These capabilities include:

• TCP/IP connectivity
• Drivers for many serial, ISDN and Frame Relay controllers
• Appletalk for Mac/Linux connectivity
• SAMBA for Microsoft Windows/Linux connectivity
• IPX protocol support for Novell Netware/Linux connectivity

While this survey does show a rapid increase in the use of Linux in the corporate environment, 14% of all the sites surveyed used Linux, the survey is limited as a guide to the total numbers of Linux users. Linux use follows the PC model, where the users are making their own purchasing decisions. There has been little effort to date to sell Linux as an enterprise solution to the type of corporate managers surveyed here.

Issues to Consider

Market Leaders

The current market leaders in implementing Linux on a large scale Linux vary in industry and in scope:

• Internet Companies such as Domain Host Services
• Non-computer related consulting companies like Ravensfield Geographic Resources, Ltd.
• ISP's such as Telnet Canada Enterprises, Ltd. and CyberSites, Inc.. 
• Media Companies like Sony Development, Studio C, Cisco Systems Inc., and Blue Sky|VIFX, Inc. 
• Engineering firms such as UNITED RAILWAY SIGNAL GROUP, INC., Kärnkraft Säkerhet och Utbildning AB 
• Manufacturing companies like Siemens S.A. de C.V.
• Wholesalers and retailers from Pacific Semiconductors Inc. to Jubilee Office Supplies,
• Oil and gas industry leaders Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers
• The publishing industry's O'Reilly publications in France and ZDNet UK
• Financial leaders Sallie Mae Inc.
• Automotive giants like Mercedes-Benz AG
• The aerospace industry's The Boeing Company
• The healthcare sector chimes in with Canadian Medical Laboratories, and Clinical Pharmacological Research, Ltd.
• The military and its support industries United States Army Publishing Agency
• Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
• Real Estate and Construction's Keyline Building Materials
• Tourism and travel leaders such as Allied Tours, and Prime Hotels International Corporation
• Transportation's Canadian National Railways
• Educational and research institutions such as Calif. Polytechnic State Univ., Millbury Public Schools, University of Botswana, and California Institute of Technology
• Government organizations such as the National Disaster Communication Response Team, United States Postal Service where Linux reads the addresses on your envelopes!, National Research Council Of Canada, and Environment Canada
• Non-profit and charitable organizations like The Green Parties of North America, World Council of Churches, and Little Brothers - Friends of the Elderly

Conclusion

As you can see from the above list, Linux isn't just for developers anymore, it is beginning to make it's way into the Enterprise Market and with the encouragement of these supporters there is a great push on the development level to port more and more applications to Linux, therefore pushing the envelope forward for Linux to take an even larger space of the Corporate IT Market.

Computer Industry leaders like Lotus Domino, Corel, HP, IBM and many others are moving forward with their work on Linux and in doing so will eventually open the market to an even fuller measure of why Linux's strengths will outweigh it's late incursion into the Corporate Zone.

About the Author

Chrystie Terry is a freelance writer, editor, and Web page designer. She has worked for print and on-line magazines such as BYTE Magazine, ExtraCheez.com, and PCWorld.com, and others. She has written and edited articles on a variety of IT topics including networking, Web development hardware, software, and the Internet.

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