| This question has sparked allot of debates in the past. | | | | editions). They had a server for their Website, another |
| Is Linux designed and will it run properly as a business | | | | server for their database, another one for the e-mail... |
| enterprise system, or is it mainly designed for use on | | | | well...you get the picture, and you can imagine the |
| your home PC, or maybe just as an experimental | | | | surprise on their faces when I walked in with this little |
| system? I have recently read an article, written by one | | | | PC under my arm. I still remember them asking me... |
| or another Oracle database expert, proclaiming that | | | | "What are you running on that little piece of junk?"....to |
| Linux is not a true Enterprise Server platform, but | | | | which I replied..."EVERYTHING!" |
| rather a system designed for use on your home PC. | | | | So the days went past, with a windows server reboot |
| Let me tell you a little story... something I have | | | | here, and another reboot there. Sometimes their |
| experienced about 9 years ago. | | | | systems gave weird problems, that made them do |
| I was working for a medium sized private company | | | | faultfinding for hours on end, and in the corner, on the |
| (around 120 employees). In 1999, we decided to move | | | | floor, our little Linux system just kept on going and |
| all our in-house systems over to a Linux PC. Yes that | | | | going. Needless to say, in the end, I made them see |
| is correct!...a Linux PC. No server hardware technology, | | | | the light!(Even though it took me a year to convince |
| no high end memory or hard drive technology, just a | | | | them). In 2002 I helped them to move all their Windows |
| plain, simple PC. If my memory serves me correctly, it | | | | based servers over to ONE Linux server. Sure it was |
| was a Pentium II with 256Mb RAM. | | | | a MUCH better system than our old little Linux PC, but |
| So in the end, we were running our Internet FTP site, | | | | at least I could mature our old Linux system, to be a full |
| our Website, our E-mail system, as well as our Intranet, | | | | blown Linux Server system, fancy hardware and all! |
| Database and Call Logging system on this little PC. | | | | Sure we have come a long way since 2001 and 2002. |
| In 2001, we were bought by another IT company | | | | The server platforms have evolved and many |
| (about the same size as our old company). The big | | | | problems of the past were sorted out. |
| "moving" day arrived, and I took our little Linux "server" | | | | So if we go back to the original question: "Is Linux a |
| to the new companies premises. I still remember just | | | | good choice, when it comes to a business enterprise |
| before switching the system off, the "uptime" on the | | | | server solution?" For us it was a good choice in 1999 |
| system was 390 days! In their server room, they had | | | | and 2002, and I can promise you it is STILL a good |
| the nicest looking servers (All Windows 2000 server | | | | choice! |