Computer Operating Systems in the Business Environment - Assignment Example

Comparison of workstation operating system By Student Institute Date Part A: Comparison of workstation operating system This research will present the detailed analysis of the three most prominent operating systems for the workstations. Here this research will present the deep analysis of these three workstation operating systems against the specific features. The comparison table is given below (Marius, 2008) and (Ramel, 2009): No. Characteristic Microsoft Windows Vista Linux Redhat Apple OSX 1 Ease of integration into an existing Microsoft corporate environment Enhanced support to older version of MS Windows Less flexible for the adoption of the Existing version of MS Windows No support for the integrating of the Existing version of MS Windows 2 The level of hardware resources (CPU, DRAM, graphics, etc.) needed for workstation installation and reasonable performance Higher and newer technology required for the operating of this OS, higher performance on newer and high capacity hardware resources Can run on system with medium capacity. Better perforce on newer and enhanced technology Require system with better and enhanced hardware resource, unable to perform better on system with less capacity 3 The level of technical knowledge needed by IT professionals to install, customize, and maintain the workstations for employees IT professionals requires no such outstanding technical knowledge and expertise for management and handling IT professionals requires comprehensive expertise in management of tasks and activities because of the main command based operations Retirees extensive expertise for system handling 4 The level of user-support available from the vendor after purchase Extensive support and available in market and also on web Extensive support and available in market and also on web Not a great deal of user-support and vendor available 5 The range of business software available in the market Greater availability of business S/W in market. Application mostly developed for Windows OS. Grater availability in market and also on web Nowadays a greater trend of Open source business application is in market so we can have most of solution available for this OS Very small number of application and business S/W are available in market Description In the above give table, I have accessed the workstation operating system Linux Redhat, Microsoft Windows Vista, and Apple OSX. I have discussed these operating systems against different aspects and features. Here I have used five main aspects regarding the assessment of these operating systems. The integration of up-to-date technology in to older operating system technology minimizes the organizational cost of the technology handling and change. The Microsoft based existing Microsoft corporate environment can effectively be integrated into an existing Microsoft corporate environment. The Microsoft Windows Vista can support all types of files system used in pervious version of the Windows operating systems. The Linux Redhat can support the FAT file system technology so it can be greatly helpful for the working with existing Windows based operating systems. The Apple OSX provides only support to NTFS file format in read only mode so it is less supportive to the existing Microsoft based technology (Marius, 2008). The assessment of the level of hardware resources (CPU, DRAM, graphics, etc.) for the working of the workstation operating system is really necessary. Microsoft Windows Vista requires extensively powerful hardware resources for the execution. This overall increases the cost of system implementation. Another point that makes the Linux best as compared to windows is that: Linux can run much better on lower speed CPU’s but Windows did not support this feature. So we can run Linux on old machines that Windows XP would choke on. Typically after some period of time Microsoft will stop supporting earlier operating systems and you eventually get forced into a change. The Linux Redhat can run on system with medium system hardware support. We have appropriate performance even with less hardware resources. The Apple OSX operating system for workstation requires powerful hardware resources for operating, so it is accessed that Linux Redhat is best for system with less powerful hardware resources (Ramel, 2009). The Microsoft Windows Vista based working environment is similar to the old version of Windows. An IT professional with simple knowhow to system working can sun this system. In the contrast Linux Redhat provides GUI based working environment but still lot of working is done through the command based system that requires extensive knowledge of the operating system. Red Hat a commercial version that provides a friendly GUI install from start to finish for most situations and provide friendly text with clear, concise questions which aids the installation (Computer Hope, 2008). The Apple OSX Is also a GUI based operating system but for the workstation operating we require better knowledge of the system (Ramel, 2009). We have better support for Microsoft Windows Vista and Linux Redhat form vendor after purchase. The online website and market vendors have extensive expertise in management and handling of these system and support for the workstation working. The Apple OSX has less support availed for the workstation working areas due to its lesser use in this filed (Marius-Oiaga, 2008). If we see the software market then we will access that the 70 to 80 % software applications available are Windows based. The medium amount of business software available in the market provides support for the Linux Redhat and we have very less number of business applications availability for the Apple OSX (Marius-Oiaga, 2008). Part B In our organization we have to implement system that can provide better working and functionality with less cost of transformation. This office has 50 employees. All office computers use Windows 98, and communicate via the intranet with two Windows 2000 servers in a basic server/client network structure. The slow system functionality employs are wising to change the system with new and better technology. For the technology improvement we have limited budget that available for the OS purchase, hardware enhancement and employs training. Additional money can be spent if the added costs are justified in terms of increased employee productivity. Here we have Microsoft Vista for the system up-gradation but for this we need a complete hardware change. This operating system requires extensive hardware support and power. This operating system license cost is much higher. The Mac OSX will charge $129 for a single user. This cost higher when we want to implement lot of systems, so we require Linux that offers open source operating system with better working facility and less cost of implementation (Oiaga, 2008). I have chosen to implement the Linux for the all employees: Why for this project? (Marius-Oiaga, 2008) and (Ramel, 2009) The Linux operating system is free and open source, so our cost for parching an operating system license will minimize. We can save ~ $250. A small cost will be spent on the some hardware resource enhancement. A better support for the systems with less powerful hardware Can adjust with already operational operating system A small cost can be spent for user training You don’t have to stay for years for the bugs to get fixed. We do not have to buy expensive hardware for the essential necessitate like RAM. Any GUI version of Linux can be more adoptable for the officer employee Linux also offers a lot of software, where you can install additional software and updates is simple. There are many packages available that can be switched in and out easily. Package management makes it obvious what software is being updated and security updates are easy. With open source software when a bug is found many times the fix is available on-line the next day. There are tools for installing, removing and updating software; apt and yum. The front end tool for them is named synaptic. Apt and yum are front ends to other software (McCune, 2001). References 1. Marius. (2008). Windows vs. Apple Mac OS X vs. Red Hat Linux. Retrieved 08 09, 2009, from Patch development time for operating systems in Symantec's vision: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows-vs-Apple-Mac-OS-X-vs-Red-Hat-Linux-82966.shtml 2. Marius-Oiaga. (2008). Microsoft Claims Vista Is Top Dog - Mac OS X, Ubuntu and Red Hat Linux - No Match. Retrieved 08 09, 2009, from http://news.softpedia.com/news/Forget-about-Linux-and-Mac-OS-X-Windows-Vista-the-Most-Secure-Operating-System-58009.shtml 3. Oiaga, M. (2008). Mac OS X vs. Linux (Red Hat) vs. Windows 98 and Above Including Windows Vista. Retrieved 08 09, 2009, from SOFTPEDIA.COM: http://keznews.com/3977_Mac_OS_X_vs__Linux_-_Red_Hat_vs__Windows_98_and_Above_Including_Windows_Vista 4. Ramel, D. (2009). OS Smackdown: Linux vs. Mac OS X vs. Windows Vista vs. Windows XP. Retrieved 08 09, 2009, from Operting System: http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:Red%20Hat%20Enterprise%20Linux%20Desktop%20with%20Workstation%20option:1991397623 5. System-Requirements. (2009). Operting System. Retrieved 08 09, 2009, from http://www.deerfield.com/Products/kerio-mailserver/requirements/ 6. CodeWeavers, 2005, Bringing Windows to Linux. Retrieved 03/01/09 from http://www.codeweavers.com/site/products/cxoffice/. 7. Eckstein, R., Collier-Brown, D., Kelly, P., Using Samba, Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly, 1999. 8. Computer Hope, 2008. History of Microsoft Windows. Available at , visited 9-8-2009. 9. McCune, M., Integrating Linux Windows: Open Source Technology Series. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2001. 10. Free Software Foundation, 2003. Frequently Asked Questions about the GNU GPL. Available at , visited 9-8-2009. Appendix Workstation and Server market captured by Linux: In a research conducted by IDC that is a leading market research firm approximates that almost 500,000 Linux servers were transported in 2001 and predicts that additional than 2 million Linux servers will be transported in 2008.1 This boost reveals a 33.6 % compound yearly expansion pace over the predicted phase and is additional than two times the increase pace of competing operating systems. In effect it is predicted that Linux had exceeded UNIX in annual server transported by the finish of 2003. IBM approximated that the whole server-based Linux marketplace (services, hardware, storage, software) in 2001 was additional than billion, and anticipated the marketplace to rise at a CAGR of 35 % to additional than billion by year 2006. Linux has shaped a discontinuity in the development of IT by bringing game varying worth to the market. Resembling preceding discontinuities, Linux is generating novel business chances for novel players. For instance additional and extra corporations are implementing Linux as the platform of preference for E business and central part commerce applications. As these appliances persist to be positioned in assorted situations, systems incorporation and execution services will be desirable. (Free Software Foundation, 2008) Figure 1 worldwide Server market 2001-2006—source: http://www.synaq.co.za/ Linux Business use Now I will discuss the main business use of the Linux. For the business or corporate user, Linux fits in fine way with a TCP/IP based client-server approach. Linux be able to turn low-end hardware addicted to a firm fileserver or PostScript print server. Linux facilitates healthier than a lot of commercial UNIX systems on ordinary Intel hardware. Linux is little and speedy. Linux be able to be totally examined and tailored by anyone. Linux has incorporated mail and internet tools. Phone maintains system and documentation for Linux are accessible (Ramel, 2009). Linux's foundations are physically powerful however Microsoft and IBM are continually developing latest technologies that might leave Linux behind, but there is lot is effort is needed. In common, Linux has the features to create it an improved option than NT or OS/2 in a number of conditions. As Linux increases coverage, additional businesses are probable to obtain benefit of this potential. For the technological user, Linux presents the agitating possibility to tinker with an operating system. All of the system's basis code is obtainable. It is an immense learning instrument and motivator. And because mainly present Linux users are technical hobbyists, an asset of applications are obtainable to go with these tastes. Morphing programs, compilers, games, graphics viewers, and extra are all accessible (Ramel, 2009). In business the whole thing comes down to a cost vs. benefits analysis and there are state of affairs in the actual world where a transformation of OS is far too expensive to validate any apparent profits. There are a lot of circumstances where Linux is truly is the best fit as compared to commercial, proprietary systems (Marius-Oiaga, 2008). The free of cost feature of Linux will titillate a bundle of teenagers and underprivileged people. Businesses are particularly probable to care concerning getting free software when the possible savings is lot of money (Code, 2005). The cause is that thriving businesses be inclined to be directed by people who understand that it is frequently healthier to not spend money a tools rather than spending money with a similar tools. Every copy of Linux be able to save the company a little amount of money, although computer geeks are a great deal additional costly than software (Eckstein et al, 1999). So, a business would save the majority money by taking free software that decreases the overall cost. A situation is when a business has a consumer who demands Windows and not satisfying that order will cost the company a precious consumer. In those situations a business is able to attempt and put up for sale a Linux solution by pointing out compensation over Windows (McCune, 2001). If the consumer buying then you have to consider the price of getting that customer . It's frequently a lot of consumers, not immediately one (Eckstein et al, 1999). In the end the company has no option although to please customer claim even if the consumers are making a underprivileged or uneducated choice (Marius-Oiaga, 2008). Read More