Commercial Unix was expensive so it was carefully tended – and indeed tendered. Linux is free so it has to fend for itself. . Linux itself was inspired by the tried and tested designs of the proprietary Unixes that preceded it – or predeceased it – which it drove into extinction. Some of their tech continues to make its way into Linux, and some is being reinvented, usually to get round IP issues. The goals are to make Linux more resilient : fault-tolerant, self-healing, and in general to lower the cost of its maintenance. Just as desktop distros get their core tech from the lucrative server ones, some of the methods being used started out in old enterprise Unixes, or are reimplementations of tools and methods from them, but that's only the beginning of the influence. A starting point is one of the longest-standing bits of enterprise IT: databases. They've been around for longer than minicomputers and their contents are usually very valuable so lots of time, effort, and money has gone into research into how to make them more resilient. A core property has been to make them transactional – once an important buzzword for big commercial databases, and something that later filtered down to the smaller ones . The idea is to make every alteration of your precious business data into a transaction. Ideally, it completes fully, but if it doesn't, you have a record of what was going to happen, so you can fully undo it, thus putting things back exactly as they were before. . The journey of Linux is rooted in commercial Unixes, crafting robust, budget-friendly alternatives for contemporary technology.. Linux Resilience, Fault Tolerance, Open Source Security, Database Transactions, Cost Reduction. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
We often bemoan the seeming immortality of username/password authentication schemes. Why can't everyone implement strong authentication, multifactor authentication, Secure Sockets Layer Virtual Private Networks (SSL VPN) for remote access?. The answer is really quite simple: Doing those things is too expensive -- the actual cost of the software and/or hardware, the ongoing maintenance, and support and the "human capital" cost in terms of educating and training users who only want quick and easy access to their data. Well, RSA believes they have the answer. That's "RSA, The Security Division of EMC," of course (and why is EMC so afraid we'll forget that?). We'll just call them "RSA" -- you'll know who I mean. The link for this article located at Network World is no longer available. . Investigating the hurdles and expenses involved in deploying two-step verification to ensure safe entry.. Multi-Factor Authentication, Remote Access Solutions, User Training, Security Measures. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
Some organizations consider taking the plunge off of big iron PBX platforms into IP telephony as being pretty daring, but that's nothing compared to what Sam Houston State University (SHSU) is doing. The south Texas school is boldly moving thousands of users off a Cisco VoIP platform to an open-source VoIP network based on Asterisk. . SHSU is in the process of moving its 6,000 students, faculty and staff off of Cisco CallManager IP PBXs and a legacy Nortel Meridian PBX over to Linux servers running Asterisk, which includes call processing, voicemail and PSTN gateway functionality. The driver for this project was cost, says Aaron Daniel, senior voice analyst at Sam Houston State University. "We thought that it will be more cost effective in the long run to go with an open source solution, because of the massive amounts of licensing fees required to keep the Cisco CallManager network up and running," says Daniel, who this week gave a presentation on his migration project at the VON show in Boston. The link for this article located at Network World is no longer available. . The University of Texas at Arlington shifts from proprietary Avaya systems to community-driven FreeSWITCH, improving budget sustainability.. Open Source Asterisk, VoIP Solutions, Cost Effective Telephony, Cisco Alternatives. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
If you call the Stanislaus County administrative offices and ask for Richard Robinson, be sure to specify that you want to speak with the director of strategic business technology. If not, you most likely will get the county's CEO, who has the same name. When you reach the technology director, you will meet a former Accenture (Anderson Consulting) professional steeped in high-level consulting methodologies. . . .. If you call the Stanislaus County administrative offices and ask for Richard Robinson, be sure to specify that you want to speak with the director of strategic business technology. If not, you most likely will get the county's CEO, who has the same name. When you reach the technology director, you will meet a former Accenture (Anderson Consulting) professional steeped in high-level consulting methodologies. In two years, he's reduced costs in his department by 30-65%, depending on how you want to figure it, by using Linux and open-source technologies. According to Robinson, he's only getting started. "In 2002, about two percent of the county's computer servers were Linux", Robinson recently told reporters from the Modesto Bee. "This year, about one-quarter of the servers are Linux. That number is expected to increase to more than one-third by next year." Robinson also said that "he expects the county will save money in the long run by moving to Linux because it won't have to pay software licenses every year, which nickel and dime you to death and can be very costly". After reading this article, I made a call to Stanislaus County and found Robinson. He gave me another number to a VoIP phone, and soon we starting talking about Linux and saving taxpayers money. After a few minutes, I realized Stanislaus had cornered a pro. . Stanislaus County optimizes expenditures and improves productivity by embracing Linux, elevating public sector tech services.. Linux Adoption, Government Technology, Cost Efficiency, Open Source Solutions. . Anthony Pell
Linux cannot hold a candle to Microsoft in the fight for OS space yet, but it is gaining popularity among enterprises because of its low cost and support from governments. According to IDC, paid shipments of Linux server operating environments captured . . . . Linux cannot hold a candle to Microsoft in the fight for OS space yet, but it is gaining popularity among enterprises because of its low cost and support from governments. According to IDC, paid shipments of Linux server operating environments captured 23.1% of the market in 2002, and 2.8% for client operating environments. The link for this article located at AsiaComputerWeekly is no longer available. . Linux cannot hold a candle to Microsoft in the fight for OS space yet, but it is gaining popularity . linux, cannot, candle, microsoft, fight, space, gaining, popularity. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
Secure wireless software developer Columbitech of Stockholm and New York, whose wireless VPN technology powers Symbol's AirBEAM brand of products, is supporting Linux servers in its latest version. This move is key for the company because it helps customers save . . . . Secure wireless software developer Columbitech of Stockholm and New York, whose wireless VPN technology powers Symbol's AirBEAM brand of products, is supporting Linux servers in its latest version. This move is key for the company because it helps customers save money. "Linux lets people do cost effective implementations. You don't have to license from Microsoft and the functionality is stripped to just what you need," says Pontus Bergdahl, CEO at Columbitech. The support is specifically for Linux Red Hat servers. Previously Columbitech's Wireless Suite supported Windows NT/2000 servers. Eventually they hope to expand to having embedded Linux clients and Unix servers. The link for this article located at 802.11Planet is no longer available. . Columbitech unveils new wireless VPN compatibility for Linux systems, boosting affordability for users.. Wireless VPN, Columbitech, Red Hat Servers, Secure Software, Cost Efficiency. . Anthony Pell
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