[kwlug-disc] Best Server Distribution??

[Khalid Baheyeldin]

Glenn (Insurance Squared) extolled the virtues of Linux, and he is right.
Your case is a bit different because he is the owner of a smaller business
and gets to say what technology to use. In your case, you have many end
users and they will fight you every step of the way to stay within their
area of comfort.

Also, the owner(s) of the company you work for have to see value to what you
are proposing. Anything "different" has to be justified by dollars and sense
in the end. Inconvenience the end users (sales, manufacturing, accounting,
...etc.) and you will see a huge backlash. Show management that they can
save real money (tens of thousands, not just a few thousands) and you may
have a chance. If you want to do it because "Microsoft sucks" or "Linux is
better", it will never fly.

On Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 10:10 AM, Bill Hazelwood <
bhazelwood at delta-elevator.com> wrote:

> Here are some details;
> - Continue to run WinXP as the desktop OS for the users
>

I assume you use Outlook internally? There are features that it has that are
unmatched by just IMAP/SMTP for email. Scheduling meetings, shared folders,
...etc.

Research what the alternatives would be for this.

- Need Microsoft SQL Server
>

That can be a standalone MS server.


> - Need (I think) Microsoft Server for other Server applications (AutoCAD,
> Alarm System, Terminal Server for remote offices, Desktop Antivirus server)
>

You mean file and print sharing? Samba and CUPS does that well.

If you mean applications on servers, then you have to keep those.


> - DHCP, DNS, PDC, File, Email, Security, Backup, Print and Fax servers to
> be some flavour of Linux
>

Most of that is available under Linux. Not sure if PDC will work or not, but
there are stable solutions for everything else.

Try to find solutions for some major areas that you want to replace and find
financial justification for those.

Do it piece meal. An elephant can be eaten one bite at a time.

Ignore the distro for now, but if you must: RedHat and SuSE have better
hardware support from well known vendors (HP, IBM, Dell). Things like
hardware RAID controllers, exotic storage, ...etc. Debian to me is better,
but for most businesses, they want to support certain hardware.

Partner with a vendor who will support you locally and has done that stuff
before (John van Ostrand has already responded, but he failed to toot his
own horn, and say that this is the main business for NetDirect. Go for them
first ...)

Again, do the math first, and see if the pain of change for the end user is
justified by ongoing cost savings. Otherwise, don't try it.
-- 
Khalid M. Baheyeldin
2bits.com, Inc.
http://2bits.com
Drupal optimization, development, customization and consulting.
Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. --  Edsger W.Dijkstra
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. --   Leonardo da Vinci
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