[clug] Enterprise Linux use

[Tony Breeds]

On Mon, Oct 11, 2010 at 10:28:11PM +1100, David Cottrill wrote:
> Hi list,
> I work on AIX p595 hardware for the government. I can't convince anyone to
> look at Linux, or open source seriously because of a few points, which I
> would like some suggestions on.
> 1. OSS vendor support will point the finger at hardware and hardware vendor
> support will point the finger at OSS when we have a problem.
> 2. It doesn't boot from SAN. ( well it does on a p595 - thank IBM for that)
> 3. It is less efficient than a hardware specific OS

Without putting too finer point on it "crap".  Talk to RedHat and/or Novell get
a support contract.  You get enterprise and support.

> 4. It is less stable than a paid (Unix) OS

For the OS/kernel this is incorrect but I can imagine that some "certified"
apps are less stable on linux than other platforms.  This is of course a
chicken and egg scenario  the vendors will care less about linux while is has a
smaller market share.

> 5. OSS sales staff can't compete with predatory pricing from the hardware
> vendors.

Perhaps, but I doubt it.

> 6. Can't get certified, experienced staff. Not so much OS as programming
> environments such as a 'PHP solutions architect' or similar title that the
> Websphere world seems thick with

Don't know about this one but it sounds hollow.

If there is a sale behind it you can almost certainly get time with the ozlabs
team here in Canberra :)

Disclaimer, I work for IBM as a kernel developer.  I should also state that
this email is from my personal address and doesn't necessarily represent the
views of my employer.

Yours Tony