Linux is making great strides in its usablity and utility. Server systems like the one described in this article illustrate how Linux can inexpensively and efficiently replace very expensive commercial systems. The biggest obstacle for a company adopting Linux based solutions is skills development. Linux is just like any other operatings system -- it takes time to develop the skills to deploy, manage, and maintain. Let's assume that the skills are at least as easy and expensive to acquire as any other commercial system. The next argument corporate IT types come to the table with is support for the software. The communities supporting these software packages are often times much larger, more experienced, and quicker to respond than most customer support organizations in commercial software companies. I, for one, am thoroughly convinced that corporate IT types have had the bar set so low for them by commercial software companies that provide "acceptable" levels of support and dissatisfied users that they do not require their people to keep their skills up to date or develop their skills beyond what is required to meet the minimal requirements of their jobs. If IT shops were run as real support organizations, many of these issues would disappear.
A Cluster System to Achieve Scalability and High-Availability with Low TCO. The authors describe a commercialized version of the Linux Virtual Server. [Linux Journal]
