Compare and Contrast three Separate and Distinct Linux Vendors of Workstation and Server - Report Example

? Compare and Contrast Three Separate and Distinct Linux Vendors of Workstation and Server Executive Summary Linux is one of the most user supported community websites which aims at promoting Linux products and providing education and training to its users. The vendors of Linux, namely, Red Hat, SUSE and Oracle are considered the leading open source community which provides innovative software and trains enterprise customers about the usage. The report will provide a brief analysis of all the features and competencies of the workstation and the servers offered by the vendors of Linux. Furthermore, the benefits and feasibility it provides to the customers in terms of support and training will be evaluated. The cost of availability and after-sales support of the three vendors will also be analyzed. Most importantly, any hidden charges or licensing fees as required for subscription of Microsoft applications will also be reviewed. Finally, a recommendation in choosing Linux and the reasons behind preferring Linux over Microsoft will also be provided. Moreover, the feasibility in using Linux workstation and servers will be analyzed which will provide the key benefits that can be experienced by the enterprises. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 3 Introduction 4 Thesis Statement 5 Red Hat Enterprise Workstation 5 Red Hat Enterprise Server 9 SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation 11 SUSE Enterprise Server 15 Oracle Linux Workstation/Server 18 Conclusion 21 References 22 25 Introduction Organizations around the world are looking for better alternatives to Microsoft due to the introduction of one of the most controversial licensing agreements in May, 2001. The licensing program was introduced to promote the rights and to ensure maintenance of software which was named Software Assurance (SA). The experience Microsoft had after the development of this licensing program made them stall the releases of other licensing programs subsequently. The variance nature of modern day industries did not accept the new program thereby, making the company to modify the program (BetaNews Inc, 2012). Business organizations typically are different from consumers which brought software without signing any contract. However, organizations required to enter into a multi-year volume licensing contracts. Prior to the release of this agreement, existing customers were provided a discount while upgrading their software based on their contract. However, new customers had to pay full price for the software intended to buy. With the introduction of SA, the customers had to pay Microsoft 29% of the full license price each year for upgrading desktop software and 25% for server software. Furthermore, customers were required to buy the upgrade rights at the same time while purchasing the new software, before they actually needed it (BetaNews Inc, 2012). Thus, business organizations were facing lots of hardships with the new licensing agreement and therefore, started looking for better alternatives. In this regards, Linux is one of the most preferred options due to certain advantages possessed over Microsoft. For instance, Linux is an open source and free software which provided customers the opportunity to develop the visualization mechanisms to enhance the performances. Furthermore, Microsoft consumers who did not posses volume licensing agreement were not allowed to install software in virtual machines running on the same organizations. However, with Linux, users can deploy purchased software to multiple machines with no additional cost (Gabriel Consulting Group Inc, 2009). Thesis Statement The study will provide a contrasting analysis of Linux vendors, namely, Red Hat, SUSE and Oracle software on the basis of reliability, performance, application, support and training, availability and cost of ownership. Moreover, the study will define the best distribution of workstation and server of Linux among its vendors. Red Hat Enterprise Workstation Reliability Red Hat Enterprise assures users to provide the best in class applications and features available on the open source community. Moreover, the company commits to build on the reputation of Linux of being an extremely protected operating system and provides consumers a secure desktop free from any security threats. Firstly, applications provided by Red Hat offer protection against commonly exploited security threats, such as buffer overflows incorporated within the standard software products. Secondly, the SELinux security element provides the highest status of protection to its system services, from any kind of external threats, thereby, offering optimum transparency and making it feasible to adopt and develop. Moreover, the open source community allows users to manage complex situations by the simple and speedily deployable tools on desktops which are dispersed in different locations, from a single web-based console. The network of the organization offers consumers free update existing software, and enables to deploy and group different desktop systems (Red Hat Inc, 2012). Performance With regard to performance, Linux is technically flexible which allows users to use as much of the operating system as required for conducting a specific task. In other words, the operating systems are accompanied with third party tools which analyze the application size and then load the required Linux operating components. Thus, the third party tools reduce the load of software thereby, improving the performance of the system. Although, this process of tasking is observed in the Microsoft operating systems however, the same levels of performances are not obtained (Gabriel Consulting Group Inc, 2009). Support A Red Hat subscription offers users the power to utilize its exclusive position on the ‘open source community’ within their strong industry relationships with the business organizations. The shared relationships allow Red Hat to combine innovation of the industry and community with the foundation products of the company aligning the requirement of the customers and partnering companies. Thus, the strategy provides the users to deploy effectively manageable and low cost IT infrastructure which are highly demanded by them. Moreover, the company assures that all subscription holders are delivered latest enterprise software with security and bug fixes along with add-ons for any of the supported versions. It further maximizes return on investment by integrating new features without compromising on its reliability and stability. The company provides a 10 years guarantee for maintenance and support to the users of the applications. Furthermore, it offers solutions alike Red Hat’s vendor relationships providing certifications for software and hardware products. The subscription also provides the customer the opportunity to motivate technological and industry advancements through the open source community developments and partner ecosystem. The company also assures users to safeguard applications of customers from legal harm which are being provided in the ‘open source solutions’ (Red Hat Inc, 2012). Application Red Hat Enterprise Linux has provided one of the best environments for deploying, testing and creating business class applications. By offering few of the famous products, such as PHP, Apache, MYSQL and Java stacks, the company emphasizes on the enhanced development environment that entirely suits to their accelerated and strong web deployment communities. Moreover, the desktops developed by the company incorporate a few of the most popular desktop applications with no additional cost. The applications are uniquely featured with spontaneous interfaces that provide users with higher productivity with fewer requirements for training. Furthermore, the Red Hat applications are similar as Microsoft, which allow consumers to share data between different computer systems. The company has further developed technologies that provided users the facility to plug and play in an environment which is dominated by Microsoft products (Red Hat Inc, 2012). Training Red Hat Inc believes to deliver one of the most efficient training programs in the present market. Furthermore, Red Hat’s certification programs are designed to suit the modern jobs and tasks providing IT professionals the skills and talent to maximize the technologies of the company and enhance productivity. The company provides training for improvement of core technologies which are administered by Linux developers. Moreover, it provides certifications that are based on performance, which is considered as one of the most highly reputed within the industry. The training center provides a single stop solution to the user that allows downloading datasheets, watching videos of training and introducing new training programs. The organization offers a wide range of industry related courses that are compatible in providing training to either the user or a team of IT professionals. Furthermore, it provides customized solutions to enhance the return on investment in Red Hat enterprise. The company also offers a series of savings programs which are designed for large and small organizations as well as individuals. The training courses are cost effective and user friendly which allow the users to customize the training programs according to their personal requirements (Red Hat Inc, 2012). Cost of Ownership Red Hat provides software and services through subscriptions, thereby, requiring no extra charge for upgrades and maintenance fees. The cost for Red Hat Enterprise Linux basic software is US $179 which includes an annual subscription model with 3 years free subscription, whereas, standard software which includes additional features costs US $299. Furthermore, customized subscription based on the dimension of business and type of corporate organizations, are available that enhances the performances required in the companies (Cybersource Pty. Ltd., 2004). Availability A subscription in Red Hat Enterprise program is entitled to avail the services 24/7 throughout the world without paying any additional cost. The technical advisors who are responsible for providing solutions are a few of the best in class based on the industry standards. Moreover, the online community services provided by the company are included with rich contents that guide the users to effectively plan, deploy and operate the applications. Thus, the company commits its users to remain stable and secure from the hazards of external threats (Red Hat Inc, 2012). Red Hat Enterprise Server Reliability Red Hat Enterprise Server is developed to support extremely scalable and multicored systems. The server also handles basic system complexities and ascertains end-to-end data integrity. Furthermore, the server provides a total security related stack that with the help of network firewall controls and secure containers for application remoteness (Red Hat Inc, 2012). Performance The server reduces data bottlenecks and improves the performances of the application. It also saves cost by lowering the power consumption. Moreover, the administrators and application developers can develop policies by process, as well as provide guest users to match the use of network, memory and CPU according to the needs of the business and service-level agreements. Moreover, the server is integrated with advanced caching technologies that provide the users to scale as per requirement exclusive of any kind of complexities (Red Hat Inc, 2012). Support Courses related to advanced and core skills are provided by the Linux system administration for supporting the application developers and training those who are seeking to become a developer. Furthermore, the performance based certifications are among the most vastly regarded, within the industry. The certifications include an entry level Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA), senior level Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) and Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA) level among others. Moreover, the training resource center offers a one-stop repository that makes the users aware about the downloadable datasheets, available training programs, watch videos and provide location directions of the training centers. Red Hat also has different saving programs specifically for individuals, small organizations and multinational corporations (Red Hat Inc, 2012). Application The server provides simple ways of deploying applications from a single portfolio. It also integrates a broad range of application development portfolios which comprises LAMP stack and scripting languages, for instance, TurboGears 2 framework, OHO, Eclipse IDE and tuning and debugging tools. The application also offers support as well as maintenance for various packages which are associated with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, such as middleware, cloud services, web or enterprise applications. Furthermore, the server is created to provide superior virtualization host and guest on the foremost hypervisor (Red Hat Inc, 2012). Training Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides training through various procedures, such as classroom training, self-paced training, virtual training, remote classroom training, on-site team training and Live Access Labs (Red Hat Inc, 2012). Cost of Ownership The company’s offered prices vary from US $349 per socket pair, self support and 1 guest to US $1299 per socket pair, premium with an additional guest. Furthermore, the company charges US $1999-3249 for the server that allows unlimited guests. In addition, Red Hat Enterprise Linux servers for IBM vary from US $15,000 to US $18,000 per Integrated Facility for Linux (IFL) for one year (Red Hat Inc, 2012). Availability Similar to workstation applications, the company provides a support and maintenance guarantee for 10 years. Moreover, Red Hat Enterprise Linux is the world’s largest provider of workstation applications and server in the industry (Red Hat Inc, 2012). SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Reliability The plug and play facility offered by the company makes USB and Bluetooth devices simpler to use. Furthermore, the USB detection device can identify and install numerous ranges of Firewire devices, such as printers, scanners, laptop port replicators, portable music players and digital cameras. The multimedia support is provided by Banshee multimedia player in SUSE Linux. Banshee supports playback of MP3 files and offers opportunities for using Advanced Audio Coding (ACC). The network standards provided by the company allow users to view or download e-books or applications without disregarding the security concerns. Moreover, the SUSE Linux Desktop connects easily and rapidly to wired and wireless networks and completely supports IPv6. Furthermore, the SUSE Linux Desktop supports almost all of the Linux file systems as well as NTFS, Microsoft FAT, MAC HPFS and numerous varieties of network file protocols (SUSE, 2012). Performance Interoperable SUSE introduced the desktop in order to exist simultaneously with Mac, Windows and UNIX among other operating systems which provide users to eradicate more returns on investments. In relation to security, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop is committed in providing appropriate security in two different ways. Firstly, Linux modular structure provides loosely attached elements of operating system ensuring less probability of security attacks from one part of the system to other parts. Furthermore, the SUSE Linux does not offer the opportunities of creating administrator profiles which entitles the user from unlimited privileges, thereby, allowing the application to perform according to its directions. In addition, the SUSE Linux provides flexibility in order to meet the requirements of the consumers. It can be treated as a general desktop, viable for large and small clients and for conducting works related to high end configurations. The SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop is developed on the basis of the open source software which is comparably more flexible than traditional platforms. Additionally, any element of the desktop can be customized according to the preferences of the users. However, compared to Windows, users are not entitled to pay additional charges for advanced configuration (SUSE, 2012). Support SUSE includes a free knowledge base which is available 24/7 to the customers. Two kinds of subscription are offered by SUSE, one is the standard subscription and the other one is priority support subscription. It also has an extensive support from Novell and all business partners in order to ensure that all products work for each customer. SUSE also provides extended support to include system engineers, depending on the level of service in order to customize the servers according to the business preference. Furthermore, the company provides ‘on-site health checks’ to ensure the system efficiency and any specified requirements in order to develop the performances (SUSE, 2012). Application The company introduced two software applications, namely, LibreOffice, Evolution and Moonlight. LibreOffice is a complete office documentation which has been supported by Novell to create it. The application is compatible with all Microsoft Office file formats. Evolution is one the most accepted e-mail and calendaring applications on Linux that is supported by Novell GroupWise (including version 8), Microsoft Exchange and open standard mail servers. Moonlight is the Firefox plug-in that provides ease of access to Microsoft Silverlight enabled websites and enables playing windows multimedia files (SUSE, 2012). Training SUSE has partnered with Novell that provides free virtual training classes and skill assessments courses in order to analyze the specific training requirements of the employees. Furthermore, it helps to provide certification in Linux as a Novell engineer, to employees of the organization client. Moreover, Novell provides online training and self study kit to guide the customers in using the applications (Novell, 2012). Cost of Ownership The cost of application provided by SUSE varies from a range of US $349 to US $1499 in order to provide support to small and large organizations depending on the package. Furthermore, for Itanium system and IBM power consumers are required to pay US $750-1000 depending on the level of service. However, VLA and MLA applications are available on a contract basis (SUSE, 2012). Availability Prices of all the applications are not available apart from volume licensing. Furthermore, applications pertaining to small business organizations are also not available on the company’s websites (SUSE, 2012). SUSE Enterprise Server Reliability The SUSE Enterprise server facilitates new hardware RAS features, such as CPU as well as memory off-lining. It further provides btrfs support with enhanced services availability, data integrity, integrated volume management and checksums. Furthermore, copy on write, new snapshots and rollback facilities provide enhanced resilience. The open source technologies, such as SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension mechanize application failover and recovery of data that delivers all the necessary capabilities for monitoring and assisting management of clustered resources (SUSE, 2012). Performance SUSE Enterprise Server through its 3.0 Linux Kernel is 20% faster in scheduling and memory management developments. The performance for computing and memory concentrated workloads has improved significantly with the support for visible vast pages. The transparent per-CPU load balancing on multi-queue devices provides faster network performances. Moreover, the server control groups developments such as I/O throttling and memory cgroup controller optimization for ensuring the best performances (SUSE, 2012). Support SUSE has a free knowledge base which is available to the customers 24/7. Furthermore, it meets nearly 99% of its service level contracts. Moreover, the company is reputed in resolving 65% of calls made to the support team. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server provides two effective support applications known as SupportLink and SupportAdvisor. SupportLink incredibly accelerates problem resolution by collecting the information of system crash or other vital data and organizing those for analysis. The SupportLink lets the user to report critical issues rapidly while sending securely the log files to SUSE. The SupportAdvisor tool lets the user to diagnose problems close by without sending the log files to SUSE. The tool is user friendly and compatible with Linux and Windows. Furthermore, the application provides the users an opportunity to make health checks of their systems on several servers, which helps to identify common trends and possible trouble spots before turning into a major problem (SUSE Yore, 2012). Application SUSE Linux Enterprise Server comes with AppArmor, a user friendly and effective security system. The security system helps in protecting the operating system and applications from both external and internal threats by blocking unknown applications from being operated. It further consists of default policies in order to arrange security measures for affected applications. The server also provides firewall technologies which allow the user to separate networks and control the flow of packet data through network interface. Furthermore, the server supports Trusted Platform Module (TPM) which validates general hardware devices (SUSE, 2012). Training The company in addition with Novell is dedicated in ensuring the client’s employees the best training and certification available within the industry. Furthermore, it has been providing free and flexible training options which have benefited the users. Cost of Ownership The company offers US $349-1939 for 1 year maintenance based on the number of instances of use. Moreover, 3 years maintenance server pack is also available which ranges from US $950-5,300 based on the instances of use. These are for the basic packages with sockets ranging from 1-2. The server for Itanium ranges from US $750-1,000 depending on the category of support (SUSE, 2012). Availability The SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is accompanied with a ‘service pack 2’ which provides enhanced support to third-party hardware. Moreover, the security feature has been increased which provides the users to securely sent and receive files. These features are available free of cost to the users in the open source community (SUSE, 2012). Oracle Linux Workstation/Server Reliability Oracle Linux is one of the best options in terms of Linux application for enterprise’s computing needs. The application is 75% quicker than Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It provides the latest innovations that support both large and small systems of the customers. Furthermore, the application ensures better security and provides data reliability with superior application uptime (Oracle, 2012). Performance Oracle Linux offers a unique capability with the introduction of ‘Ksplice’ which allows updating Linux operating system (OS) kernel, without any interruption or rebooting. Furthermore, the application provides ‘zero runtime updates’ without burdening the employees’ team of additional operating cost and disturbances in rebooting for every update to Linux. Additionally, it helps the users to deploy faster with Oracle’s validated configurations (Oracle, 2011). Support Oracle Linux provides customer with 24/7 online support in 145 countries worldwide. It further delivers enhanced quality, enterprise-class and low cost support. Moreover, the application provides management and clustering software with no added charges. There are various category of support, namely, basic, premiere, Network and Errata which are focused to provide solutions to customers (Oracle, 2011). Application Oracle Linux accompanied with Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel provides the best operating system for the enterprises. It does not charge any money to download and the base distribution related to Oracle Linux is recognized to be completely ‘userspace-compatible’ together with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The ‘Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel’ is released, depended on the recent version of the mainline Linux Kernel. Thus, it provides latest innovations with enhanced stability and tested performance (Oracle, 2011). Training Oracle Linux along with its partners provides training resources and tools to enhance specialized knowledge and make sure in-depth proficiency on their selected path to specialization. Furthermore, OPN Competency Center offers an intellectual training tool that allows partners to supervise their Oracle training with guided learning courses. Oracle Linux 5 ISV Developer Guided Learning Course provides users specific training skills covering various topics. Moreover, OPN Boot Camps famously known as “jump start” training covers Oracle’s rising portfolio of products and has been developed in accordance with the standard programs presented by Oracle University (Oracle, 2011). Cost of Ownership Oracle Linux is offered free of cost to the customers which can be downloaded from the company’s website. However, the subscription support is chargeable but within an affordable price (Oracle, 2011). Availability The application is provided without any kind of additional charges to the customers. Users can download a cluster of additional software through the open source community available to the users (Oracle, 2011). Conclusion Recap The above analysis for each of the vendors of Linux depicts the reason for which many organizations are changing their preferences from the Microsoft workstations and servers. The support Linux provides is comparably higher than Microsoft. Moreover, majority of the applications are provided free of cost to the customers, unlike Microsoft. In addition, Linux offers a wide range of training programs that are flexible and can be utilized according to the feasibility of the customers. It also provides certification to the employees of the enterprise who have undertaken their training programs. Recommendation Analyzing the major benefits offered by Linux servers and operating systems, it can be stated that business enterprises will prefer using Linux in comparison to Microsoft. The preferences may develop as licensing fee required for subscription is minimal. Thus, the costs incurred in maintenance and updates are comparatively lower than Microsoft. Reason for Recommendation Business organizations will prefer in using Linux due to the unique features accompanying the applications, which reduce the operating costs by diminishing the supervision time required for rebooting. Furthermore, the open source community provided by Linux allows users to download and upgrade innovative applications and features without any additional charges. References BetaNews Inc. (2012). Microsoft software licensing: seven deadly sins. Retrieved from http://betanews.com/2011/05/16/microsoft-software-licensing-seven-deadly-sins/ Cybersource Pty. Ltd. (2004). Linux vs. Windows Total Cost of Ownership Comparison. Retrieved from http://www.softwarelivre.citiap.gov.pt/Documentacao/Folder.2004-05-06.4081126526/linux_vs_windows_tco_comparison.pdf Gabriel Consulting Group Inc, 2009. Virtualization & TCO: Linux vs. Microsoft. Retrieved from ftp://public.dhe.ibm.com/linux/pdfs/GCG_Virtualization-Linux_vs_MSFT.pdf Novell. (2012). Course locator. 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Retrieved from http://shop.novell.com/store/novell/DisplayCategoryProductListPage/categoryID.1581900?resid=UB-AFgoHAtQAAATNNOQAAAA@&rests=1344414991629 SUSE. (2012). Do more with new, advanced features. Retrieved from http://www.suse.com/products/server/features/best-linux-server.html Read More